UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State Nittany Lions, in its first year of competition under Head Coach Kayla Treanor, have secured a spot in the NCAA Tournament as announced during the ESPNU broadcast of Sunday night’s selection show.
The Nittany Lions have earned an at-large bid and are set to travel to Ann Arbor, Mich. where the seventh-seed Michigan Wolverines will host the first round on Friday, May 8, and the second round, Sunday, May 10. Penn State will first take on the Stanford Cardinal at 6 p.m. on Friday at the UM Lacrosse Stadium. The Nittany Lions are one of six Big Ten teams to make the NCAA Tournament alongside Northwestern, Maryland, Johns Hopkins, Michigan and Rutgers.
Penn State had an impressive 2026 campaign including an unblemished 9-0 start to the season that matched the 1989 and secured 12 wins for the first time since the 2017. The Nittany Lions made strides on the offense and defense under new Head Coach Kayla Treanor.
On the offensive front, Penn State has seen a surge of production compared to the 2025 season. In terms of points, the Nittany Lions have scored 141 more in 2026, good for a 53% increase year-over-year. Additionally, shot percentage has skyrocketed under the Treanor offense with Penn State shooting a conference-best 50.1% compared to shooting under 40% a year prior. Defensively, Penn State has seen improvements in the amount of caused turnovers as well as saves and save percentage.
The Blue and White earned an abundance of accolades throughout the 2026 season. Freshman phenom Rocquette Allen was named the Big Ten Freshman of the Week six times, a Penn State record, and was selected as the Big Ten Freshman of the Year. Alongside Allen, freshman Susannah O’Connell was additionally named to the Big Ten All-Freshman squad. Breakout star Delaney Radin was named to the All-Big Ten First Team, was honored as the Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week after tying Marsha Florio’s 1985 program record of eight assists in a single game and was added to the prestigious Tewaaraton Watch List. Radin became the first Penn State player with at least 80 points in a season since Steph Lazo did so in 2017. Defender Maggie Driver also earned All-Big Ten First Team honors, the first of her career, while midfielder Anna Salerno was named to the All-Big Ten Second Team, her third all-conference award in her career. Junior captain Kelly MacKinney secured both the Big Ten and IWLCA Offensive Player of the Week after dominating Oho State to the tune of seven goals and nine points while goalie Sydney Manning earned the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week accolade after a 14 save outing against the Buckeyes. Erika Ho was a member of the initial Tewaaraton Watch List prior to the start of the season and Lilly Spilker earned the Big Ten Sportsmanship Honor.
This is the fifth time that a Treanor-led team has went dancing with previous four coming her stint at Syracuse. All five teams that Treanor has helmed as head coach have won double-digit games. This is the first time Penn State has entered the NCAA Tournament since 2024.
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.