CLEVELAND, OH – Ohio Wesleyan has been unanimously tabbed as the top team for the 2026 North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) men's lacrosse season, based on votes submitted by the league coaches.
The Battling Bishops, aiming for their league-leading 23rd NCAC title, swept all nine first-place votes to top the league poll with 81 points. Denison secured second with 72 points, while Oberlin followed in third with 60 points and Kenyon landed in fourth with 55 points. Wooster (42), John Carroll (38), Wabash (22), Wittenberg (20), and DePauw (15) completed the nine-team field.
Ohio Wesleyan finished the 2025 season with a 15-4 overall record after posting a perfect 8-0 mark in league play en route to earning both the conference and tournament titles. The Battling Bishops competed in the second round of the 2025 NCAA tournament before falling to St. John's Fisher, 17-16.
OWU returns five All-NCAC selections from a season ago, led by junior midfielder
Henry Ross (Snoqualmie, WA/Mount Si), the 2025 NCAC Offensive Player of the Year and a first-team all-conference selection. Ross paced the league with 80 points on 51 goals and 29 assists, while adding 30 ground balls and 10 caused turnovers. Joining Ross from the first team is junior attack
Wade Beckstrom (Devon, PA/Conestoga), who posted 47 goals, 30 assists, 31 ground balls and eight caused turnovers last season.
The Battling Bishops bring back another key piece on the defensive end in senior defenseman
Trey Weber (Castle Pines, CO/Rock Canyon), an NCAC second-team selection who finished with 28 ground balls and 21 caused turnovers. A pair of senior midfielders,
Will Siegenthaler (Elmhurst, IL/York) and
Garrett Smith (Fishers, IN/Hamilton Southeastern), also return after collecting third-team all-league honors last season. Siegenthaler totaled 29 goals and 12 assists, while Smith added 28 goals and 10 assists.
The 2026 season begins on February 7, with the first league game scheduled for March 21, with John Carroll hosting Wabash, Ohio Wesleyan facing Denison at home, Wooster at Wittenberg, and Oberlin traveling to DePauw. The NCAC Tournament begins with semifinals on Wednesday, April 29, with the tournament final set for Saturday, May 2.
2026 North Coast Athletic Conference
Men's Lacrosse Coaches' Poll |
| Place |
Institution (1st Place Votes) |
Points |
| 1 |
Ohio Wesleyan (9) |
81 |
| 2 |
Denison |
72 |
| 3 |
Oberlin |
60 |
| 4 |
Kenyon |
55 |
| 5 |
Wooster |
42 |
| 6 |
John Carroll |
38 |
| 7 |
Wabash |
22 |
| 8 |
Wittenberg |
20 |
| 9 |
DePauw |
15 |