APRIL 18, 2025 | composed by STEVE ULRICH

Welcome to D3 Lacrosse, devoted to NCAA Division III men’s and women’s lacrosse

FEATURE
Data Appears Mixed on Growth of Youth Lacrosse Participation

by Steve Dittmore, D3Lacrosse.net

Data from the NCAA’s database about participation reveals that in 2024, D3 men’s lacrosse had 8,901 athletes, 37.7 per team, matching the sport’s high water mark from 2022. D3 women’s lacrosse participation observed its highest per team average at 22.2, but the overall number of participants (6,254) was below its 2022 all-time high.

Does the data suggest fewer athletes in the pipeline? Not necessarily.

Last month’s Project Play Summit sponsored by the Aspen Institute included interesting pieces of data and statistics around youth and high school participation, particularly within the sport of lacrosse.

According to Project Play’s State of Play participation report, slightly more than 168,000 kids between ages of 6-12 played in 2023, down 18% from 2022. Meanwhile, the number of kids participating between ages 13-17 doubled to nearly 360,000 kids in 2023, but still down 4.1% from 2022.

The most intriguing finding from the Project Play report was the high churn rate in lacrosse. The report found 51.6 percent of kids ages 6-17 stopped playing lacrosse, but 57.7 percent of kids were either newcomers or returners, yielding a net growth of 6.1 percent. That growth percentage was the 7th highest among the sports profiled, and exceeded the net growth of soccer, basketball, and track and field.

This is both good news and bad news for those high school students picking up the sport of lacrosse and seeking an opportunity to play in Division 3. The good news is the average roster size in D3 is at an all-time high for both men and women, suggesting more opportunities. At the same time, the number of schools sponsoring D3 lacrosse is shrinking, and there is increased competition in the high school ranks.

According to the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) data, participation in boys lacrosse is 11th nationally, just 1,800 participants behind swimming and diving, and 10th nationally in girls lacrosse. In total, 216,205 high school students participated in lacrosse in 2024. A total of 15,155 participants in all of D3 lacrosse in 2024 (per the NCAA), equates to 7 percent of the total population of high school lacrosse players.

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