2026 NCAA Field Hockey Season Preview: Division I

The 2025 NCAA runners-up are bringing in one of the strongest freshman classes, with four U-18 USWNT members and one U-21 USWNT member. Josie Bianco, Lilly Cimaroli, Reese Milone, Savannah Faulkner, Lizzie Trant, and Lilly McMahon will have big shoes to fill as the Tigers graduate six, including senior national team member Beth Yeager.

In their 2025 campaign, the Tigers upset Harvard to win the program’s first-ever Ivy League title. Yeager led the charge with 15 goals and 10 assists. Their opening weekend includes recent rival North Carolina, and later on in the season on October 11 a rematch of the 2025 NCAA Championship when they host Northwestern.

On the field for the Tigers, senior Ella Cashman and junior Pru Lindsey will be stepping up to the plate. Cashman was a Second Team All-American last season, and Lindsey was second on the team in points behind Yeager. Also returning is junior Clem Houlden, who was named All-Ivy League Second Team last season and competed in both the 4 Nations Tournament and U-21 EuroHockey Championships with England this summer. Another who competed in the 4 Nations Tournament was Gabby Anderson, but with the USA side. The defender will be entering her sophomore season at Princeton, having been named to the NCAA Final Four All-Tournament Team last year.

Tabbed as the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) favorite, the Tar Heels are looking to regain their throne after falling in the semifinals for the second season in a row last fall. A large part of their campaign will come from their rookie defensive duo in Sofia Ferri and Morgan O’Donnell. Ferri earned a silver medal at the 2025 Junior Pan American Games (JPAG) and was a key part of the 2025 Junior World Cup squad. Ferri was also one of 16 high school athletes named to the NFHCA High School All-American First Team last year. O’Donnell is a member of the U-18 USWNT, who was pulled up to the U-21 squad for this summer’s 4 Nations Tournament, where the team placed first.

Rounding out North Carolina’s incoming class are Devon Anderson, Floor Holzenbosch, Imme De Leeuw, Micky van Baasbank, Cecily Moorhead, and Molly Nussbaumer. Nussbaumer is also a member of the U-21 USWNT and was on the 4 Nations Tournament squad.

The Tar Heels also return a plethora of experience, including Second Team All-American Charly Bruder, who will be entering her senior season. Also on the roster is second-year Reese Anetsberger, who had a busy off-season attending the 2025 Junior World Cup, 2026 JPAC and 4 Nations Tournament. She scored five goals and added nine assists in her freshman campaign. U-21 USWNT member Reid Miller took a redshirt season last year for the Tar Heels but will be sure to make an impact on the pitch, having been named a Third Team All-American during her high school career.

Duke is never far from the top, being tabbed to finish third in the ACC Preseason Coaches Poll. They finished the 2025 season with a 13-8 overall record, splitting their conference schedule an even 4-4. They fell in the NCAA tournament to North Carolina in a 2-1 overtime loss.

The Blue Devils bring a stacked roster to the pitch this season, headlined by First Team All-American, Alaina McVeigh. McVeigh was named to the Senior USWNT this offseason, after being the leading goal scorer during the 2025 JPAG and earning Player of the Match on December 1st at the Junior World Cup. Joining her is her former U-21 teammate, Madison Beach, who was also on the Junior World Cup squad that earned USA’s highest-ever finish. Abigail Gerdeman, Callie Rogers, Sofia Fidalgo Schioppa, and Shae Woziniak round out the five Duke athletes on the 2026 U-21 USWNT roster.

The Blue Devils lost defenders Macy Szukics and Ava Cickavage, midfielders Paige Bitting and Brynn Crouse, forward Issy Carey, and goalkeepers Abigail Spear and Brooke Borzymowski. But, they bring in five promising first-years: Gerdeman, Floor Hoogendoorn, Adriana Ensani, Callie McCarron, and Catherine Rosser.

The Crimson will be back for vengeance this season after falling short to Princeton twice last year, both in the Ivy League final and the NCAA semifinals. While they graduated First Team All-Americans, Bronte-May Brough and Kitty Chapple, they returned Second Team All-American Sage Piekarski and Third Team All-Americans Linde Burger and Martha le Huray. Burger had an impressive freshman campaign in goal, leading the nation in goals-against average and earning herself Ivy League Rookie of the Year. Also returning to Harvard is England U-21 National Team member, Tilly Butterworth, who was named an NFHCA Northeast All-Region First Team selection.

NFHCA First Team All-American, Nilou Lempers will be returning for her fourth season in goal for the Cavaliers. The Goalkeeper was named the 2025 ACC Goalkeeper of the year and boasted the second highest save percentage in Division I last season. Joining Lempers in the backfield are USWNT athlete Mia Abello and U-21 member Lauren Sloan, along with Emily Eaton, Ria Chhina, Charly Nemec, Cassidy Thibodeau, and Emerson Ross. On offense, Virginia boosts a U-21 national squad quartet in Mary Adams, Caitlin Connell, Riley Savage, and Bella Moore. Connell will be entering her first NCAA season, while Adams, Savage, and Moore will all be entering their second.

The Flames earned themselves the number one position in the Big East Pre-Season Poll, with Dara Semmartin earning Preseason Defensive Player of the Year and Diane Saint Martin winning Preseason Goalkeeper of the Year. Saint Martin, along with Zoé Gaillard, competed for France at the 2026 EuroHockey U-21 Championship. Also bringing international experience to Liberty are incoming first-years Clarisa Iudicello from the Argentina U-21 National Team and Teshawn De La Rey from the South Africa U-21 National Team.

2026 FIH Hockey World Cup athlete Mia Schoenbeck will be leading the Demon Deacons’ campaign this fall. The midfielder, known for her drag flick and aerial, was a First Team All-American in 2025 and was the ACC Offensive Player of the Year. Also returning for Wake Forest are ACC Freshman of the Year Reabetswe Phume, who is a 2024 Paris Olympian for South Africa, and Third Team All-American Mia Montag, who competed for Germany in the EuroHockey U-21 Championship and 2025 Junior World Cup.

Shocking many during the 2025 season, Miami upset No. 1 Virginia in the first round of the NCAA tournament before falling 3-2 to Northwestern in the Elite Eight. They return both of their top goal scorers, Malena Sabez and Justina Intzes, who combined for 25 goals and 6 assists. The midfield duo was named MAC Offensive Player of the Year and MAC Freshman of the Year, respectively.

Tabbed to finish fifth in the NCAA, the Orange finished their 2025 campaign with a 13-7 record, falling to Princeton in the NCAA tournament. They lost All-American Bo van Kempen, who led the team in scoring last season, but the returning roster includes U-21 USWNT members Taylor Bigbie and Aubrey Turner. Turner had an impressive freshman campaign, being named NFHCA Second Team All-Region.

Rutgers finished the 2025 season sixth in the Big Ten, as one of three teams that went 4-4 in-conference. U-21 goalkeeper Emily Nicholls will return in goal for her junior season after winning a silver medal at the 2026 JPAC. The Scarlet Knights are also bringing in former U-21 USWNT member Talia Schenck, who is transferring after four seasons at Princeton.