ROSEMONT, Ill. – The Big Ten have announced the 2026 Big Ten Women's Lacrosse Preseason Poll and Players to Watch list. Penn State women’s lacrosse had three players named to the list: Erika Ho, Sydney Manning and Rocquette Allen. The Nittany Lions were also selected to finish fifth in the Big Ten.
Ho, who was already selected as a preseason All-America honorable mention by USA Lacrosse Magazine, is set for another big year for the Nittany Lions offense. In her breakout junior season, Ho became one of the nation’s top draw takers and developed into an incredible offensive force. The senior captain won 112 draw controls during the 2025 campaign, becoming the third Nittany Lion to eclipse 100 draw wins. Ho ranked 23rd nationally and fourth in the Big Ten with a 7.00 draws per game on average. The Frankfort, Illinois, native led the Nittany Lions with 46 goals, 56 points, 14 free-position goals, three game-winning goals and had the third highest amount of picked up ground balls with 26 on the year. Outside of the draw circle, Ho ranked inside the top-10 in the Big Ten in goals, goals per game, free-position goals per game, points per game, shots per game and shots on goal per game.
Manning has been a stalwart at goalie for Penn State the past two seasons. The former Big Ten Freshman of the Year has amassed 110 saves in her sophomore campaign with five performances with double-digit saves. The Pennsylvania native secured a season-high 12 saves on four occasions, including during an overtime thriller against Ohio State. In addition to her work in the cage, Manning has also notched 47 ground balls in her career and caused six turnovers.
Allen, an attacker from Lone Tree, Colorado, was the lone freshman named to the list. During her high school career, Allen was named as the Colorado lacrosse Player of the Year and was Inside Lacrosse’s No. 51-ranked freshman coming into the 2026 season. She was also a member of USA Lacrosse’s Select U18 Team, a three-time All-Colorado honoree and the three-time CHSAA 5A All-Conference Player of the Year.
The full rankings can be found below.
Penn State women’s lacrosse is set to begin its 60th season of competition on Saturday, February 7th at 12 p.m. as the program travels to Richmond, Va. to take on the Richmond Spiders. The Nittany Lions will welcome UMass on Wednesday, February 11th at 12 p.m. for the team’s home opener.
Visit GoPSUSports.com for more information on Penn State women's lacrosse. Fans can keep up to date with the Nittany Lion women's lacrosse team on Facebook at /pennstatewomenslacrosse as well as Twitter and Instagram @PennStateWLAX.
2026 BIG TEN WOMEN’S LACROSSE PRESEASON POLL
- Northwestern (Unanimous)
- Maryland
- Johns Hopkins
- Michigan
- Penn State
- USC
- Rutgers
- Ohio State
- Oregon
2026 BIG TEN WOMEN’S LACROSSE PLAYERS TO WATCH
Ava Angello, Sr., A, Johns Hopkins
Lacey Downey, Jr., M, Johns Hopkins
Reagan O’Brien, Sr., D, John Hopkins
Kori Edmondson, Sr., M, Maryland
Kayla Gilmore, So., M, Maryland
JJ Suriano, Jr., GK, Maryland
Grace Callahan, Sr., D, Michigan
Ava Class, Gr., M, Michigan
Calli Norris, Sr., A, Michigan
Mary Carroll, So., D, Northwestern
Madison Epke, Sr., A, Northwestern
Madison Taylor, Sr., A, Northwestern
Camryn Callaghan, Sr., A, Ohio State
Jocelyn Torres, Sr., GK, Ohio State
Kate Tyack, Jr., A, Ohio State
Lexi Jenkins, Jr., M, Oregon
Gabby Santucci, Jr., A, Oregon
Anna Simmons, Sr., M, Oregon
Rocquette Allen, Fr., A, Penn State
Erika Ho, Sr., A, Penn State
Sydney Manning, Jr., GK, Penn State
Lily Dixon, Sr., A, Rutgers
Hilary Elsner, So., A, Rutgers
Charlee Thomas, So., D, Rutgers
Hannah Barron, RS-Jr., M, USC
Emma Bunting, Jr., A, USC
Reese Robinson, Jr., A, USC