Big Ten Announces 2026 Women’s Lacrosse Individual Awards

ROSEMONT, Ill. – The Big Ten Conference announced its 2026 women’s lacrosse individual awards on Tuesday, following a vote of the league’s coaches. 

Johns Hopkins and Northwestern claimed two awards each, as the Blue Jays’ Lacey Downey and Reagan O’Brien were named Midfielder and Defender of the Year, respectively, while the Wildcats’ Madison Taylor and Kelly Amonte Hiller repeated as Attacker and Coach of the Year. Maryland’s JJ Suriano was named Goaltender of the Year, while Penn State’s Rocquette Allen earned Freshman of the Year honors. 

Taylor collected her second consecutive Attacker of the Year award and the fifth honor for the Wildcats in the last six years after posting 111 points and 80 goals, both second in the country. The senior recorded at least five goals on six occasions and surpassed eight points seven times, including a pair of 10-point outings against Ohio State and Oregon.

Downey scored the first Midfielder of the Year honor for the Blue Jays. Downey leads the team with 90 points on 49 goals and a team-high 41 assists to go with 57 ground ball, 40 caused turnovers, and 39 draw controls. The junior ranks third in the country in free position goals per game (1.00), eighth in points, and ninth in ground balls per game (3.17), and scored at least one goal in 17 of Johns Hopkins’ 18 games.  

O’Brien claimed her second straight Defender of the Year honor after another record-breaking campaign. One season after setting an NCAA record with 103 caused turnovers, O’Brien’s 241 career caused turnovers have established a new NCAA career mark. The senior has forced a Division I-best 75 miscues on the season to go with 3.88 ground balls per game, good for fifth in the nation.

Suriano becomes the third Maryland netminder named Goaltender of the Year, joining Megan Taylor (2016-19) and Emily Sterling (2022-23). The junior’s 197 saves on the season rank second in the country, while her .517 save percentage is good for third. The Baltimore native recorded double-figure saves in 12 of 19 games, including a season-high 16 stops in a season-opening win at Syracuse.

Allen joined Madison Carter (2016), Kristin O’Neill (2021), and Sydney Manning (2024), as one of four Nittany Lions to earn Freshman of the Year accolades. A six-time Big Ten Freshman of the Week, Allen is tied for the team lead with 45 goals, while her 67 total points rank third. The Lone Tree, Colo. native has recorded multiple goals in 13 of 18 contests, including a quartet of four-goal performances. 

Amonte Hiller notched her fourth consecutive Coach of the Year honor and sixth of her career. The Wildcats claimed both the Big Ten regular season and tournament championships, the fourth straight year the program has completed the double. Amonte Hiller also joined elite company this season, becoming just the sixth coach in Division I women’s lacrosse history to reach the 400-career win milestone.

The complete list of 2026 Big Ten women’s lacrosse individual awards is below.

2026 Big Ten Women’s Lacrosse Individual Awards
Attacker of the Year: Madison Taylor, Sr., Northwestern
Midfielder of the Year: Lacey Downey, Jr., Johns Hopkins
Defender of the Year: Reagan O’Brien, Sr., Johns Hopkins
Goaltender of the Year: JJ Suriano, Jr., Maryland
Freshman of the Year: Rocquette Allen, Penn State
Coach of the Year: Kelly Amonte Hiller, Northwestern