Conference Tournament seeding scenarios for every men's lacrosse conference, 2026 edition

A-10

The A-10 tournament will be hosted by Richmond, and the top four teams in the conference qualify. Richmond and High Point currently have 5-0 records and are locked into the top two seeds. St Bonaventure and Hobart are winless in conference and can’t qualify. UMass has completed A-10 play and has a 3-3 record. Relevant games this weekend are Richmond vs High Point and St Joe’s vs Delaware. A St Joe’s win is maximum chaos. 

Richmond and Delaware win: Seed order is Richmond, High Point, Delaware, UMass

High Point and Delaware win: Seed order is High Point, Richmond, Delaware, UMass

High Point and St Joe’s win: High Point and Richmond are the top two seeds in that order, then it goes to a three team tiebreaker between Delaware, St Joe’s and UMass. First tiebreaker is head to head competition between tied teams. All three are 1-1 against the other two. The next tiebreaker is winning percentage against all common conference opponents. They are all 3-3 in conference. Next is winning percentage against the high common opponent in standings, descending downward. All three lost to Richmond and High Point, all three beat St Bonaventure and Hobart. Next is goals against of the tied teams in head to head competition. UMass gave up a total of 20 goals against St Joe’s and Delaware. St Joe’s gave up 14 to UMass, Delaware gave up 7 to UMass. The total number of goals surrendered in the St Joe’s vs Delaware game will determine who the odd team out is. If St Joe's wins exactly 13-6, then all three teams will be at 20 goals allowed and we go to the next tiebreaker, which is RPI.

Richmond and St Joe’s win: Richmond and High Point are the top two seeds in that order. Then it goes to a three team tiebreaker between Delaware, St Joe’s and UMass. Same steps are followed as above. 

This is one of the most in depth tiebreakers of the tournament fields so far. If St Joe’s wins, someone will be left out based on goals against. 

UPDATE

The field is set. Richmond and St Joseph's won, which meant we travelled into crazy tiebreaker territory. With yesterday's results, the odd man out thanks to goals against is Delaware. The final seeding for the tournament is:

1. Richmond

2. High Point

3. Saint Joseph's

4. UMass

ACC

The ACC tournament field is set, and the tournament will be played at American Legion Memorial Stadium in Charlotte. The conference only has five teams, and this year Duke is the odd man out. Even with games to be played, Duke is winless in conference and all other teams have at least two wins, so there is no way for Duke to qualify. Teams play for seeding this weekend. UVA is done with ACC play, they are 2-2. The games that impact seeds this weekend at Notre Dame vs Syracuse and Duke vs North Carolina.

Notre Dame and UNC win: Seed order is Notre Dame, North Carolina, Syracuse, Virginia

Syracuse and UNC win: Seed order is North Carolina, Syracuse, Virginia, Notre Dame

Notre Dame and Duke win: Tiebreakers are needed. Notre Dame is the one seed, but UNC, Syracuse, and UVA are all 2-2 in this scenario.

Syracuse and Duke win: Tiebreakers are needed. Syracuse is the one seed, but UNC, Notre Dame, and UVA are all 2-2 in this scenario.

UPDATE

Notre Dame and Duke won their games, which sets the ACC field. Even with the win, Duke could not make the ACC tournament. Notre Dame's win gives them the ACC regular season crown outright, and the one seed. Final seeding:

1. Notre Dame

2. North Carolina

3. Syracuse

4. Virginia

AMERICA EAST

The America East conference tournament is set. Top overall seed Albany will play host to the tournament as they have locked up the top seed. Other seeding is still being determined. Two games will impact standings. Bryant vs UMass Lowell, and Vermont vs Binghamton

Bryant and Vermont win: There is a three way tie, with these two joining UMBC at 4-2.

Bryant and Binghamton win: Seed order is Albany, UMBC, Bryant, Vermont

UMass Lowell and Vermont win: Seed order is Albany, Vermont, UMBC, Bryant

UMass Lowell and Binghamton win: Seed order is Albany,  UMBC, Bryant, Vermont

UPDATE:

The dust has settled. Bryant and Vermont won. After sorting through the tiebreaker mess, the conference has announced the seedings.

1. Albany

2. Bryant

3. Vermont

4. UMBC

ASUN 

The ASUN field is set. Air Force, Jacksonville, Mercer, and Utah make up the four team field. The tournament will be held at Jacksonville at Rock Stadium. Seedings, however, can still change. Two games can impact the standings are Air Force vs Utah and Jacksonville vs Mercer. 

Utah and JU win: seed order is Utah, Jacksonville, Air Force, Mercer

Air Force and JU win: There is a three way tie for the top spot between Air Force, Utah, and JU. Multi team tiebreaker procedure says record between tied teams against each other is first. They are all 1-1 against the others. Next tie breaker is a comparison of records against the highest seed not involved in the tie, and on through the lowest. They all beat Mercer, Bellarmine, and Queens. The next tiebreaker is comparison of record versus common non-conference opponents. They all lost to Duke. Then it’s goal differential between the tied teams, and the differential can be no more than eight per contest. Jacksonville is +5 and can't change from that number for the tiebreak. Air Force comes in at -6 so they can't catch Jacksonville (thanks to the eight goal cap). Utah is at +1. So the margin in the Air Force/Utah game will decide seeds in this scenario.

Air Force and Mercer win: seed order is Air Force, Utah, Mercer, Jacksonville

Utah and Mercer win: This is where it gets wild. Jacksonville, Air Force, and Mercer are all 3-2 in conference in this scenario. Multi team tiebreaker procedure says record between tied teams against each other is first. They are all 1-1 against the others. Next tie breaker is a comparison of records against the highest seed not involved in the tie, and on through the lowest. They are all 0-1 against Utah, and they are all 2-0 against Queens and Bellarmine. The next tiebreaker is comparison of record versus common non-conference opponents. There is no common non-con opponent for all three teams. Then it’s goal differential between the tied teams, and the differential can be no more than eight per contest. JU comes in at +6, Air Force +2, and Mercer -8. Mercer needs to seriously blow out JU in this scenario to end up anywhere other than the four seed.

UPDATE

Air Force and Jacksonville, which means we get into the tiebreaker rat's nest. Goal differential after today's results is JU +5, Utah 0, Air Force -5. Note that per the ASUN site, the entire process for multi-team ties will be completed, and the conference will not revert back to the two-way tie formula once the multi-team tie has been resolved. Seeding should thus be

1. Jacksonville

2. Utah

3. Air Force

4. Mercer

BIG EAST

The Big East tournament will be held at Providence this year. Four of the six teams in the conference make up the field. St John’s has been eliminated from contention going into the final weekend. Georgetown and Villanova have both secured spots in the Big East tournament. Relevant games this weekend are Georgetown vs Villanova, Marquette vs Denver, and Providence vs St John’s

Georgetown, Marquette, and Providence win: Georgetown is the one seed, then there are three teams are tied at 3-2. St John's and Denver are out.

Georgetown, Denver, and Providence win: Seed order is Georgetown, Providence, Villanova, Denver

Georgetown, Denver, and St John’s win: Georgetown and Villanova are the top two seeds, then there is a three way tie to break for the last two spots between Marquette, Providence, and Denver.

Villanova, Marquette, and Providence win: Seed order is Villanova, Georgetown, Marquette, Providence. St John's and Denver are out.

Villanova, Denver, and Providence win: Seed order is Villanova, Georgetown, Providence, Denver

Villanova, Denver, and St John’s win: Villanova and Georgetown are the top two seeds, then there is a three way tie to break for the last two spots between Marquette, Denver, and Providence.

UPDATE:

The Big East field is set. Georgetown, Providence, and Denver won. The seed order for the tournament is:

1. Georgetown

2. Providence

3. Villanova

4. Denver

Marquette and St John's have been eliminated.

BIG TEN

The Big Ten is hilarious, and there was a four way tie for the regular season crown. Johns Hopkins, Maryland, Ohio State, and Penn State are all Big Ten regular season champs. Despite this, they are in fact seeded for the Big Ten tournament. Quarterfinal games are held at the higher seed, then the semifinals and championship are hosted by Rutgers. 

Johns Hopkins and Penn State are the top two seeds and have byes into the semifinals. Michigan visits Ohio State in one quarterfinal, while Rutgers visits Maryland in the other. 

CAA

Four teams make the CAA tournament. Towson has locked up the top overall seed. They have yet to lose in conference and even if they get upset this weekend, they own a head to head tiebreaker with 5-1 Drexel. Hampton, Fairfield, and Hofstra have been eliminated. Hampton is winless, Fairfield is 1-4 and two wins won't get them in, while Hofstra even with a win this weekend would have head to head losses against both Stony Brook and Monmouth, so they're out. Stony Brook plays Hampton this weekend, it would be one of the biggest upsets in the sports history should they lose. The most likely seeding for the CAA tournament is.

1. Towson

2. Drexel

3. Stony Brook

4. Monmouth

UPDATE

Monmouth defeated Fairfield to get to 3-3. Towson defeated Hofstra. So the above seeding is final.

IVY

Four teams make the Ivy Field, with the regular season champ hosting the tournament. A whole lot of possibilities are still out there for this game. Either Cornell or Princeton will be the host. Only Penn has finished their Ivy schedule, they are 3-3, and their only paths to the tournament require a Yale loss. Brown and Dartmouth have been eliminated from tournament contention. Relevant games this weekend are Yale vs Brown, Dartmouth vs Princeton, and Harvard vs Cornell. It’s even possible that all four teams in the tournament finish with a 4-2 record. 

Yale, Princeton, and Harvard win: Seed order is Princeton (host), Yale, Harvard, Cornell

Yale, Princeton, and Cornell win: Seed order is Cornell (host), Princeton, Yale, Harvard

Yale, Dartmouth and Harvard win: See order is Princeton (host), Yale, Harvard, Cornell

Yale, Dartmouth, and Cornell win: Seed order is Cornell (host), Princeton, Yale, Harvard

Brown, Princeton, and Harvard win: Seed order is Princeton (host), Harvard, Cornell, Penn

Brown, Princeton, and Cornell win: Seed order is Cornell (host), Princeton, Yale, Harvard

Brown, Dartmouth, and Harvard win: Seed order is Princeton (host), Harvard, Cornell, Penn

Brown, Dartmouth, and Cornell win: Seed order is Cornell (host), Princeton, Yale, Harvard

UPDATE

Cornell and Yale both won their games. The Princeton vs Dartmouth result no longer can change things. Cornell will host the Ivy tournament, and the final seeding is

1. Cornell

2. Princeton

3. Yale

4. Harvard

MAAC

The MAAC championship has five teams qualify. There’s a first round game between seeds four and five, hosted by the four seed. The semifinal and final are hosted by the top overall seed. Siena has clinched the regular season title, they will host. Canisius, Iona, Mount St Mary’s, and Manhattan have been eliminated. That means the five teams in the tournament are set; seeding was set courtesy of some mid-week results.

Friday: Merrimack vs Quinnipiac (at Merrimack)

Thursday, 4/30: Semifinals. Siena vs winner of Mack/QU. Marist vs Sacred Heart

Saturday, 5/2: Championship.

NEC

The NEC tournament includes the top four teams in the conference, all games are hosted by the higher seed. Robert Morris has locked up the top spot, LIU and Cleveland State have qualified, and the last spot is still available. Mercyhurst is winless in conference and has been eliminated. There are 16 different seeding scenarios, with six teams available. Detroit Mercy has just one path to the dance, but they are still alive. Wagner also has a long odds, but can still make it. Relevant games this weekend are Cleveland State vs LIU, Robert Morris vs Wagner, Mercyhurst vs Le Moyne, and VMI vs Detroit Mercy. A massive shout out to the NEC Conference for just adding this graphic to their site for ease. Here are the ways it can go:

UPDATE

Robert Morris, Le Moyne, LIU, and VMI have all won. That eliminates Detroit Mercy and Wagner from contention and sets the top four as RMU, LIU, Cleveland State, and VMI. Final seeding:

1. RMU

2. LIU

3. Cleveland State

4. VMI

PATRIOT LEAGUE

Always an adventure. Six teams make the Patriot League tournament. The top two seeds get byes. The other four teams play first round games hosted by the higher seed. The semifinals and finals are then hosted by the top overall seed. Army, Loyola, BU, and Colgate have clinched a spot in the tournament, while Lafayette and Holy Cross have been eliminated. Seeding can still go a large number of ways. Relevant games this weekend are BU vs Holy Cross, Colgate vs Army, Lehigh vs Lafayette, and Loyola vs Navy. The easiest way to show all the possibilities is with an image. The left set of columns shows the winners, the right set shows the seeds with those outcomes.

UPDATE

All Patriot League regular season games are now done. The field is set. Army will host the semifinals and finals. Full standings are:

1. Army

2. Loyola

3. Boston U

4. Bucknell

5. Colgate

6. Lehigh

Navy, Holy Cross, and Lafayette are officially eliminated.