📈 THE NEXT LACROSSE HOTBED?

College lacrosse is coming to Texas in 2025.

The Lone Star State is set to host two neutral-site games featuring four NCAA Tournament teams from last year. Virginia and Towson will meet at Kinkaid School in Houston on March 8, followed by a clash between Duke and Denver at Highland Park in Dallas on March 22.

Virginia announced their Houston trip with this epic graphic:

These Texas-sized matchups are part of the College Lacrosse Live Series by Corrigan Sports Enterprises. Tickets and more information are available on the official website for the event.

Virginia head coach Lars Tiffany sounds like he’s trying to establish a talent pipeline from Texas to UVA’s campus in Charlottesville.

“Two of our current men, Matthew Nunes and Reese Stepanian, hail from the Houston area, and more are coming to Charlottesville in the near future,” Tiffany said in a press release.

Virginia also has three players from the Dallas area: senior face-off specialist Anthony Ghobriel, senior attackman Thomas Mencke, and five-star freshman Sean Browne (attack/midfield).

While the talent in Texas is rising — four recruits in the Class of 2026 Top 100 Junior Rankings at Inside Lacrosse are from Texas — the state is already home to some of the best players in the world. Charlotte North (Boston College/Boston Guard) and Nakeie Montgomery (Duke/California Redwoods) are both from Dallas.

Texas does not have any NCAA Division I teams in men’s or women’s lacrosse, but it’s a good sign for growth that blue blood programs want to mine the state’s talent and play neutral-site games there.

Will Texas become the next major lacrosse hot bed? Reply to this email with an area that YOU think is on the rise!

👊 Joe Rogan Reacts To Lacrosse Fight

Is fighting in lacrosse a good thing?

It’s a controversial topic, but one thing can’t be debated: It draws eyeballs.

Last weekend, the Toronto Rock’s Elijah Gash fought Zack Belter of the Buffalo Bandits and delivered a knockout so clean that it almost broke the Internet. Even Joe Rogan watched and reacted to it on his podcast.

“If lacrosse does this, it might become famous,” Rogan said.

Rogan is an MMA enthusiast and UFC commentator, so it’s no surprise he enjoyed this fight. But will it convert him and others who saw it into actual lacrosse fans?

It’s a good time to become a new fan — college lacrosse is about to begin, the 2025 PLL Championship Series is around the corner, and there are seven more NLL games streaming on ESPN+ this weekend.

🌊 Northwestern To Host 2026 WLAX Natty

Imagine soaking in an NCAA Championship game on a lake.

The 2026 NCAA Division I Women’s Lacrosse Championship will be held at Northwestern Medicine Field at Martin Stadium, which overlooks Lake Michigan from Chicago.

This title game will mark the first D1 lacrosse championship (men’s or women’s) played outside the Eastern Time Zone.

The location for the 2026 men’s championship remains undetermined. The game was originally scheduled to be played at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts, but a scheduling conflict prompted a venue change when Gillette was named as one of the sites for the 2026 FIFA Men’s World Cup.

🇯🇵 Lacrosse is About to Explode in Japan

To continue hammering on the geographical growth of the game, Thursday was a massive day for lacrosse in Japan.

The day started with World Lacrosse introducing Tokyo as the host city for the 2026 Women’s Championship.

Shortly after that news dropped, the Premier Lacrosse League announced that it will return to Japan for an exhibition game on March 15. The newly formed Women’s Lacrosse League will also send a squad of All-Stars this year.

On the international level, Japan is one of the fastest-growing lacrosse hotbeds in the world. They are particularly adept in Sixes, the Olympic-version of the sport. The Japan men’s national team currently ranks third in the world behind only Canada and the United States. The women’s team ranks sixth (fifth in field).

🐊 Mitchell Pehlke Takes You to Florida

We’ve already made stops in Texas, Chicago and Japan in this newsletter. Now, let former Ohio State lacrosse player and famous YouTuber Mitchell Pehlke take you to Gainseville for a visit with Florida’s D1 women’s team.

Florida is coming off an unexpected run to the NCAA semifinals, where they fell to Northwestern by a final score of 15-11. The Gators finished the season 20-3.

“It was a great run for us coming off two losses in the very beginning of the season,” Florida head coach Amanda O’Leary said in the documentary. “I think a lot of people said, ‘Well, the Gators aren’t going anywhere this year.’ And then I think we came back and proved some people wrong.”

Florida opens the 2025 season against Johns Hopkins on Feb. 7.