D1 vs. D2 vs. D3 Lacrosse - Part 3.

Good morning,

I’m Jake and this is Recruit Report presented by Apex Girls Lacrosse Events.

I’m your friend who tells you everything you need to know about women’s lacrosse.

Spots for Apex Summer Showcases are Filling Up Quickly:

Apex 60 - July 17-18: You can fill out an interest form here. The event will have 75+ college coaches on staff, including: Syracuse, Hopkins, Army, Princeton, Navy, Clemson, Oregon, Michigan, Loyola, Ohio State, Penn State, Louisville, High Point, Towson, UMass, Cal Berkeley, Cornell, Central Michigan, and Colorado!

The Roster - June 27th: You can fill out an interest form here. The event will have 15+ college coaches on staff.

BY THE WAY, if you want a chance to featured on the Recruit Report, email me [email protected] with your highlight reel and a writeup with stats/accolades!

Now, let’s get into it!

D1 vs. D2 vs. D3 Lacrosse - Part 3

Last week we talked about all the details of D2 lacrosse. This week we’re breaking down D3!

Division 3 Lacrosse

Division 3 lacrosse has 236 teams, making it more than triple the size of D1 (73 teams) or D2 (61 teams). 

Because of the sheer number of Division 3 teams, the level of play, academic reputation, and overall experience varies widely depending on each school. 

The top D3 schools - RIT, Salisbury, Tufts, etc. can compete with almost any D2 team and even a few D1 teams. 

Every year, there’s always a few exhibition games where a D3 school beats a D1 school, and it shows you just how strong D3 lacrosse is. 

Let’s break it down: 

Scholarships: Unlike D1 or D2, D3 lacrosse has no scholarships. 

But there’s a catch - they can still offer you academic scholarships, which can be a way to get around no scholarships. 

But it’s important to keep in mind that your overall scholarship money will probably be less than the other levels. 

Time Commitment: D3 lacrosse is a big time commitment, but it’s not quite the same as D1 or D2. 

In the fall, most D3 teams can only have “captains practices” - which are practices where lacrosse coaches aren’t present, and it’s purely run by the players. 

The winter is also a bit lighter in time commitment than D1, but when Spring hits, you can expect some sort of practice, film session, or game every day. 

Playing for a top 20 D3 school can look wildy different than a bottom 20 D3 school. 

The division is so large that’s hard to generalize what your experience would be. 

Academic Reputation: D3 lacrosse has some of the most prestigious liberal arts schools in the world. 

This is especially true with the NESCAC schools - Tufts, Williams, Wesleyan, etc. 

There’s also plenty of other great schools, like Washington & Lee, Haverford, etc. 

But like all divisions, there’s also a lot of lower-ranked schools in the division. 

Final Notes: D3 lacrosse is a great option for a ton of lacrosse players. 

Many D3 lacrosse players I know had a once-in-a-lifetime experience at their school. 

Because of the smaller nature of most D3 schools, you become very close with your teammates and feel a sense of connection that you don’t get in other divisions. 

Featured Recruit: Lily Svirsky (Attack, Class of 2026)

Svirsky can score the ball in so many different ways. In one clip, she’s cashing in from an 8-meter shot, and in the next clip, she’s throwing an absolute dime to one of her teammates.

The 5’8 attacker continues to put Florida lacrosse on the map, and now she has one final summer before her recruiting window opens. I’m excited to see where her lacrosse career takes her!

Please email me [email protected] with your highlight reel and a writeup with stats/accolades for a chance to be featured! We can’t guarantee a response to the email, but please know that we try to read all of them.

See you next time!

Jake