It seemed inevitable that Maryland men’s lacrosse would make the NCAA Tournament after being selected as the top-ranked preseason team — no program ranked No. 1 heading into the season had missed the field over the last decade.
But after a 1-3 start and an early exit in the Big Ten Tournament semifinals, the Terps were on the wrong side of a highly-competitive bubble. Maryland missed the tournament for the first time since 2002.
Despite playing the nation’s fourth-hardest schedule, the Terps failed
to garner a signature victory. They went 3-6 in games against ranked opposition and needed triple overtime to collect their only top-10 win of the season over No. 5 Virginia.
Maryland’s six losses came by a combined 13 goals — it simply couldn’t complete a comeback victory after falling behind in the second half.
The Terps conceded just 7.7 goals per game across their final seven games. But an inconsistent offense plagued Maryland all season despite it bringing in two of the top three attacking transfer portal additions.
After logging the program’s most regular season losses since 2009, the Terps’ disappointing 2026 campaign came to a close without a postseason appearance.
With 18 players graduating, including seven in the starting lineup, John Tillman will need a strong offseason to return to the tournament.
