Wheeling, W. Va. – With the 2026 season coming to an end on Tuesday, the Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC) announced their seedings and pairings for the 2026 G-MAC Men's Lacrosse Championships. For the third year in a row, the Wheeling University Men's Lacrosse team (7-6, 6-4) has qualified for the tournament, entering as the #5 seed in the tournament field. The Cardinals will start their tournament run on the road with a battle against Walsh in the G-MAC Quarterfinals, with opening face-off at 1 PM.
After having their season opener postponed due to snow, Wheeling would head to Lincoln Memorial University for their 2026 season opener. They would fall 15-8 to start the season and followed that up with a 17-7 loss to Davenport in their G-MAC opener. They would earn their first win of the season at the USA Lacrosse Facility and followed that with their first G-MAC win of the season to even their record at 2-2 overall and 1-1 in conference play. They would come back with a win over Thomas More to go over .500 for the first time this season, but evened it out once again with a loss to Seton Hill. March closed out with a loss to Northwood, and Wheeling would need to turn things around down the stretch to make the tournament. They would start that turnaround with a win over Point Park to start April, and start a three-game conference win streak to clinch their play-off spot. They would split their final two games, falling to Walsh and defeating Davis & Elkins to round out the year.
Despite losing four of their top five scorers, leading the Cardinal offense was senior Jack Rowe. He led the Cardinals with 31 goals during the regular season, while adding a team-high 43 points on the season. Both of those numbers are good for top 10 in the G-MAC, with Rowe sitting ninth in goals and 10th in points on the season. He carries momentum with him into postseason play, having scored 14 goals over his last three games, including a season-high seven goals against Davis & Elkins to round out the regular season. On the defensive side, sophomore Landen Martin took over and took control of the defensive side of the game. He made his season debut on March 7th against Holy Family, making 11 saves on 18 shots faced and took the reins from there. He finished the year with 156 saves on 262 shots faced, putting together a .595 save percentage, while finishing 6-3 in net.
The 2026 G-MAC Men's Lacrosse Tournament will begin on Saturday, April 25th, with a pair of Quarterfinal match-ups. Wheeling will take on Walsh at 1 PM in the first meeting of the day, followed by #3 Davenport hosting #6 Thomas More at 7 PM in the other Quarterfinal battle. The winner of Wheeling vs. Walsh will go on to face Seton Hill on Wednesday, April 29th, in the semifinal, while the winner of Davenport vs. Thomas More will take on Northwood. Last season, the Cardinals advanced to the G-MAC semifinals for the first time since the 2018 season, earning a 12-9 win over Davenport. They would go on to face the eventual G-MAC Champions Seton Hill, falling 29-4 to round out their season.
The Wheeling University Men's Lacrosse team will travel to Walsh to start G-MAC Tournament action on Saturday, April 25th, with an opening face-off scheduled for 1 PM.
