MILWAUKEE, Wis. (naccsports.org) --- Aurora University has been selected as the unanimous favorite to capture the 2026 Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC) men's lacrosse title.

The Spartans - who are 41-1 in NACC play over the last five seasons and have won four straight titles - secured all 24 first-place votes from the league's head coaches and athletics communications professionals to finish atop the table with 288 points. Concordia University Wisconsin edged Lake Forest College, 246-241, for second place, while the University of Dubuque is fourth with 210 points.

Milwaukee School of Engineering sits fifth with 186 points, followed by Illinois Institute of Technology (173) and Benedictine University (162), while Edgewood University holds a 10-marker advantage (111-101) over Lawrence University for the eighth-and-final presumptive spot in this year's NACC Tournament. Cornell College (72), Beloit College (48), and Marian University (34) round out this year's poll.

2025 Recap
Aurora (14-6, 11-0 NACC) overcame a difficult nonconference schedule to post an unblemished mark in league play for the fourth consecutive season. The Spartans survived a late challenge from Lake Forest on April 16, holding off the Foresters for a 10-9 victory.

The top four seeds in the NACC Tournament - Aurora, Dubuque (11-7, 9-2 NACC), Concordia Wisconsin (12-8, 8-3 NACC), and Lake Forest (10-8, 8-3 NACC) - all posted quarterfinal victories with Dubuque having the biggest scare as the second-seeded Spartans needed two late fourth-quarter goals to get past No. 7-seed Benedictine, 12-10.

Dubuque would not be as lucky in the semifinals, falling to Concordia Wisconsin, 14-13, as the Falcons scored twice in the final 5:07 to score the upset. Aurora advanced to the final by escaping another stiff challenge from Lake Forest, winning 12-9.

In the tournament final, Aurora used an eight-goal second quarter to put the game out of reach en route to a 14-9 victory over CUW. The Spartans advanced to the NCAA tournament, falling to Ohio Northern University, 14-7, in the first round.

After the season, Concordia Wisconsin attack Max Esposito (USA Lacrosse Magazine, USILA) and Aurora midfielder Ben Strub (USILA) were both named honorable mention all-America. Additionally, Esposito was named to the USILA Senior All-Star Game, capping a career that saw him become the NACC's runaway leader in career goals (196), assists (201), and points (593).

New Coaches
Four programs - Cornell College, the University of Dubuque, Edgewood University, and Lawrence University - will feature new head coaches to start the 2026 season. The first is a familiar face in a new place as Kasey Burst made the transition from Dubuque to Lawrence. Burst had compiled a 76-80 record - including four straight 10-win seasons - with one Midwest Lacrosse Conference (MLC) title over the course of 10 seasons in the Key City. Last season, the Spartans finished 11-7 overall and second in the NACC with a 9-2 mark.

Filling the vacancy at Dubuque will be Aurora University alumnus and former UD graduate assistant Tyler Thomas. Since 2022, Thomas has been the defensive coordinator and face-off coach at Albion (Mich.) College. He helped lead the Britons to the 2025 Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) title and a national tournament berth and was a member of Burst's 2022 Spartans staff that won the MLC and qualified for the NCAA Division III Men's Lacrosse Championship. 

Stepping in at Edgewood is Mitch Wilkins. Wilkins, a former player and assistant coach at Indiana Tech, brings 10 years of coaching experience to Madison. He spent the last six years at Indiana Tech where he helped the program to a top five team in the NAIA. Wilkins began as a graduate assistant before being elevated to assistant coach. During his time as an assistant coach, the Warriors collected five consecutive Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference (WHAC) Championships and finished as NAIA national runners-up in 2021, 2022, and 2023. During his time at Indiana Tech, he also served as the offensive coordinator and oversaw recruiting.

Finally, Cornell College has brought in former NCAA Division I player and seasoned collegiate coach Jack Spallone to direct its program. Spallone arrives on the Hilltop immediately off two recent head coaching stints at the NCAA Division II level (Saint Thomas Aquinas, 2025; American International, 2023-24). A three-year letterwinner at Division I Saint Joseph's University, Spallone has helped build collegiate programs throughout his coaching career, which includes successful stops in assistant roles at Division II Lewis University (offensive coordinator, 2020-22) and Division III Lycoming College (offensive coordinator/recruiting coordinator, 2016-19).

2026 Schedule
MSOE was the first NACC program to get its season underway, falling to Carthage College, 10-2, last Saturday (Feb. 7). Five more programs get underway this weekend. Dubuque hosts Southwestern (Texas) tomorrow evening (Feb. 13), while Illinois Tech travels to Nashville for a couple of neutral-site contests against Bridgewater (Va.) and Transylvania. On Saturday, Feb. 14, Lake Forest makes the short trek up Interstate 94 to take on Carthage, while Lawrence ventures to Greencastle, Indiana, to face DePauw University. Aurora opens at home on Sunday, Feb. 15, with a contest against Colorado College.

Benedictine and Concordia Wisconsin join the fray next Wednesday (Feb. 18) with home contests against Augustana (Ill.) and Carroll (Wis.), respectively. Edgewood dives right into NACC play to open the year, hosting Lake Forest on Feb. 22 in its season opener, while Beloit hosts Spalding University the same afternoon.

Cornell College travels to Augustana to open its season on Feb. 25, while Marian will be the last program to take the field in an official contest when they host Alma on Friday, March 6.

Aside from a smattering of early-season conference matchups, the first big day on NACC competition will be Wednesday, March 18, with four games - Aurora at Concordia Wisconsin, Marian at Cornell College, Benedictine at MSOE, and Illinois Tech at Beloit. The first full slate of six games will be held the following Saturday (March 21), while the league slate wraps with six games on Wednesday, April 22.

2026 Tournament
The top eight teams in the final NACC regular-season standings will qualify for the NACC Tournament. Quarterfinal play is slated for Saturday, April 25, with semifinals to follow on Wednesday, April 29. The semifinal winners will meet for the tournament crown Saturday, May 2, with the tournament champion receiving the NACC's automatic berth in the 2026 NCAA Division III Men's Lacrosse Championship. All NACC Tournament games will be held on campus with each contest being hosted by the higher seed.
 

Men's Lacrosse	Points
Aurora University (24)	288
Concordia University Wisconsin	246
Lake Forest College	241
University of Dubuque	210
Milwaukee School of Engineering	186
Illinois Institute of Technology	173
Benedictine University	162
Edgewood University	111
Lawrence University	101
Cornell College	72
Beloit College	48
Marian University	34