How Many College Lacrosse Teams Are There? D1, D2, D3 and NAIA Counts

By Steve Hauck, Co-Founder | Products & Operations · Reviewed by the Recruit Plan team

Numbers derived from the Recruit Plan dataset as of 2026-10-22.

Recruit Plan tracks 562 women's and 420 men's college lacrosse programs across NCAA Division I, II, III and the NAIA. Division III is the largest by a wide margin: about 53% of all programs. Division I, the level most families picture when they say “college lacrosse,” is 132 women's and 75 men's teams. Counts reflect the 2026-10-22 data refresh.

College lacrosse teams by division

These are programs that field a varsity team and appear in Recruit Plan's rankings. The NCAA's own sponsorship figures move a little each year as schools add, drop or reclassify programs, so a count you see elsewhere may differ by a handful. Each division page lists every program, ranked: D1, D2, D3, NAIA.

How many D1 lacrosse teams are there?

132 women's and 75 men's programs compete at the NCAA Division I level, spread across 28 states. That is a small number next to the size of the high school game, which is the arithmetic behind most of the advice on this site. A typical D1 women's program adds about 12 new players a year, so the whole division takes in a few hundred recruits per class. See the full list at D1 lacrosse colleges, or by gender at D1 women's and D1 men's.

How many D2 lacrosse teams are there?

Division II has 114 women's and 81 men's programs in 28 states. D2 is the division families most often overlook. It offers athletic scholarship money, usually split across the roster rather than given as full rides, and coaches can start talking with recruits on June 15 after sophomore year, more than two months before D1 opens. Full list: D2 lacrosse colleges.

How many D3 lacrosse teams are there?

Division III is where most college lacrosse is played: 280 women's and 237 men's programs in 31 states, led by Pennsylvania, New York, Massachusetts, Ohio, Virginia. D3 schools do not award athletic scholarships, but many of the most selective academic colleges in the country field D3 lacrosse, and merit and need-based aid can bring the cost in line with a scholarship elsewhere. A typical D3 women's program brings in about 9 new players a year. Full list: D3 lacrosse colleges.

How many NAIA lacrosse teams are there?

The NAIA fields 36 women's and 27 men's programs. NAIA schools are mostly smaller private colleges, they can offer athletic aid, and the NAIA has none of the NCAA's contact-date rules, so coaches can recruit at any point in high school. Full list: NAIA lacrosse colleges.

Where recruits actually end up

Program counts tell you where the roster spots are. Tracked commitments tell you where players go. Both point the same way: the D3 level has the most teams and takes the most recruits.

What the counts mean for your list

A balanced list reflects the shape of the sport, not the shape of the highlight reels. If there are roughly three D3 programs for every D1 program, a list that is nine-tenths D1 is a list built on hope. The division comparison covers what changes between levels in academics, cost and playing time, and the program rankings show where your level of play fits across all four.