The Premier Lacrosse League (PLL) announced last Wednesday, the launch of the Women’s Lacrosse League (WLL). A new professional women’s lacrosse league set to debut at the PLL Championship Series in 2025, dates to be announced soon.
The WLL will feature four teams, playing in Olympic Sixes format, competing for the inaugural WLL Championship Series trophy. The four teams’ home cities and players will be announced soon.
ESPN’s Mike Greenberg broke the news on “Get Up” alongside WLL co-founder Paul Rabil, and players including Charlotte North, Izzy Scane, Lizzie Colson, Alex Aust and Ally Mastroianni who have already committed to starring in the new league. The PLL said the full rosters and the four teams’ home cities will be announced at a later date. North played three seasons at Boston College, winning a national championship and two Tewaaraton Awards, given to the best player in NCAA lacrosse.
“We’re proud to announce the launch of the Women’s Larosse League, a groundbreaking step forward for the sport, giving elite women athletes a premier stage to compete, inspire, and make their mark as we move toward lacrosse’s reemergence at the Olympics in 2028”, said Paul Rabil in a statement.
North and Colson have played in the Athletes Unlimites professional lacrosse league, which features 56 of the best women’s players around the world. Each week of the season, team captains draft new teams to compete for points.
Beyond the four-week Athletes Unlimited season, professional women’s lacrosse players have always had few opportunities to compete. Some players like North and Colson, play internationally, but those opportunities are very limited, and only arise every four years.
“It’s historic for our sport”, North said. “We want to push the professional game to be the pinnacle of our sport. We’re so excited and beyond grateful for this opportunity, and history starts today.”
Men’s and women’s lacrosse will also be an Olympic sport at the 2028 Los Angeles games, marking the sports Olympic competition since 1908. The US won nine of the eleven women’s lacrosse world championships since the event’s inception in 1982.
The WLL is the PLL’s largest investment in women’s lacrosse to date. In 2020, the PLL created Athletes Unleashes, a women’s lacrosse contact and training platform designed to support the growth and visibility of girls’ and women’s lacrosse.
“It’s something we’ve looked forward to”, said Colson who played five years at Maryland, and was a finalist for the 2021 Tewaaraton Award. “We’ve been patient long enough. I think we’ve all been itching to get it out there, and we’ve got a lot of talent to show, so we are so excited”
