Kansas City, MO – After closing out the regular season strong, the Cumberlands men's lacrosse team earned the eighth-seed in the 2026 NAIA National Tournament, announced by the national office Monday.  It marks the eighth straight year that the Patriots have qualified for the national tournament.
 
UC will face top-seed Madonna, who earned an automatic berth as the regular season and tournament champions of the WHAC on Tuesday, May 12^th at 11 a.m.  It marks the second straight year that these two teams will square off in the NAIA Championship.  Earlier this season Madonna defeated the Patriots 21-6.
 
Cumberlands enters the NAIA Tournament with an 9-7 record, including a 5-4 mark in conference play.  The Patriots five wins over teams that were ranked or receiving votes.  UC defeated fifth-seed Life 17-7 in the quarterfinals of the AAC Tournament.  The Patriots are ranked second in the NAIA with an 87.3% clear percentage, while there 14.06 goals per game ranks ninth in the country.
 
UC is led by a balanced attack with four different Patriot players recording at least 40 points on the year.  Dom Lulow leads the way for UC with 39 goals, 30 assists, and 69 points, while Will Rogers has 67 points.  Nathan Cook has netted 41 goals, while Caden Abbott has notched 47 points on the year.  Dakota White has won 55.9% of his faceoffs, while scooping a team-best 94 ground balls.  Kuwese Walker has tallied 27 caused turnovers to go along with 33 ground balls.  JD Cook has made 101 saves and posted a 60.1% save percentage. 
 
Madonna earned the top-seed after a 19-1 season, including a 12-0 mark to be the WHAC regular season and tournament champions. The Crusaders leads the NAIA with 451 goals, 23.74 gpg, to go along with 313 assists.  Madonna has also notched a NAIA-best 332 caused turnovers and 841 ground balls. Madonna has eight players with at least 45 points on the year led by Rico Hart, who has 71 goals and 89 points on the season. 
 
The winner of this game will face the winner of #4 Reinhardt taking on #5 William Penn.  The Eagles earned an at-large berth, while the Statesmen earned an auto bid into the championship field.
 
For the latest and most up-to-date information on University of the Cumberlands Athletics. Please visit www.cumberlandspatriots.com. Follow us on X - @UC_Patriots and @UCPatsGameday, Instagram- @UCPatriots, TikTok- @ucpatriots, YouTube- Cumberlands Patriots, and Facebook by searching University of the Cumberlands Athletics.4