The Whitman Blues and the George Fox Bruins have been selected as co-favorites in the 2026 Northwest Conference (NWC) women’s lacrosse preseason poll, as voted on by the conference’s head coaches.
Whitman and George Fox each collected 59 points to share the top spot. The Blues earned five first-place votes after finishing the 2025 season with a 7-1 conference record and advancing to the NWC Tournament championship game. George Fox received three first-place votes and enters the season as the three-time defending NWC Tournament champion and nine-time NWC regular-season champion. The Bruins posted a perfect 8-0 conference record last spring and defeated Whitman, 12-9, in the title game.
Willamette was selected third in the poll with 52 points, followed by Lewis & Clark in fourth with 43 points. Whitworth claimed fifth with 36 points, while Linfield placed sixth with 30 points.
Puget Sound was picked seventh with 19 points, Pacific earned eighth with 16 points, and Pacific Lutheran rounded out the poll with 10 points.
Northwest Conference play is scheduled to begin on March 4. The 2026 NWC Women’s Lacrosse Tournament will be held May 2–3 at the site of the regular-season champion.
|
Team
|
Pts.
|
2025 NWC Finish
|
|
Whitman (5)
|
59
|
2nd
|
|
George Fox (3)
|
59
|
1st
|
|
Willamette
|
52
|
3rd
|
|
Lewis & Clark
|
43
|
4th
|
|
Whitworth
|
36
|
4th
|
|
Linfield
|
30
|
4th
|
|
Puget Sound
|
19
|
8th
|
|
Pacific
|
16
|
7th
|
| Pacific Lutheran |
10 |
9th |
*Numbers in parentheses indicate first place votes.