D1 vs. D2 vs. D3 Lacrosse - The REAL Difference

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!

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!

This is the Most Important Thing You’ll Learn Today

I wish someone showed me this graphic earlier in my lacrosse career.

The journey to becoming a top lacrosse recruit is hard. It’s also not linear - it’s full of ups and downs.

Use this as motivation. If you’re not where you want to be, keep going. If you think you’ve “made it,” keep going.

D1, D2 & D3 Lacrosse - the REAL Difference

So you want to get recruited to play college lacrosse. That’s great!

But ‘college lacrosse’ can mean so many things. 

Do you want to play D1, D2, or D3 college lacrosse? Club lacrosse? Junior college? 

The first step in your lacrosse journey is understanding what level of lacrosse you want to play in.

But what are the differences between levels? Let’s break it down. 

Division One Lacrosse

D1 Lacrosse is the highest level of college lacrosse. The very best college lacrosse teams play at the D1 level. 

Because it’s the highest level, D1 players get the most TV exposure as well.

If you play on a top-tier D1 lacrosse team, there’s a good chance you’re playing on TV at some point during the season.

But let’s break this down even further: 

Scholarships: Every D1 lacrosse team has 12 full scholarships that they can allocate across the whole team. 

With a lacrosse team size of around 34 players, that equates to an average of a 35% scholarship per player. 

“Full rides” are extremely rare in lacrosse. Most players get a partial scholarship, and some don’t get any at all. 

Time Commitment: D1 lacrosse has the biggest time commitment of any level of lacrosse. During your spring season, you might have multiple practices, workouts, and film sessions nearly every day. 

This is on top of games where you’re playing the highest level competition. 

After the season is over, you’re expected to train during the summer on your own, with many schools having strict conditioning tests that you must pass to stay on the team. 

For someone who’s obsessed with lacrosse - D1 lacrosse will give you everything you want and more. 

But D1 lacrosse is also a huge grind. 

6am practices, freezing cold games with no one in the stands, little free time/social life outside of lacrosse. 

These are some of the many things that you’ll experience playing D1 lacrosse. 

So if you’re not ready to live and breathe lacrosse for your 4 years of college, I’d consider looking into other levels. 

Academic Reputation: Just like D1 is the highest level of lacrosse, it also has the highest academic reputation of any level. 

There’s plenty of incredible D2 and D3 schools - but the most common “top tier” academic schools are usually found in D1 lacrosse:

These include the Ivy Leagues - Harvard, Princeton, Penn, etc. 

Top private schools - Duke, Notre Dame, Johns Hopkins, etc. 

Top public schools - University of Virginia, University of North Carolina, etc. 

Military academies - Army West Point, Naval Academy, etc. 

Final Notes: Like every division, D1 lacrosse schools vary widely in time commitment, academic reputation, and competition. 

If you’re dead set at playing the highest level of lacrosse, D1 is where you’ll want to be. But I’d highly consider looking at other options as well. We’ll talk about those next week!

Featured Recruit: Paige Zadareky (Highlight Reel)

A good defender can make an impact on your entire team, and Paige has that type of impact.

The 5’4 sophomore middie/defender from Virginia has all the talent to be an elite college player, and one teammate said she’s “one of the most scrappy players I’ve ever played with.”

By the way, Paige was nominated via email! So 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