Update: The NCAA sent us the following statement on the bracket leak.
“Due to an unfortunate technical glitch, some preliminary games and times for the NCAA Divisions I, II and III Men’s and Women’s Lacrosse Championships were revealed on NCAA.com prior to the selection shows Sunday night.All six championship committees for each tournament look forward to providing a positive experience for the student-athletes, coaches and fans participating in the NCAA lacrosse postseason.”
The selection shows for the 2026 NCAA men’s and women’s lacrosse tournaments aired Sunday night on ESPNU, but the brackets were already leaked earlier in the evening.
By the NCAA.
Lacrosse fans noticed that the brackets were released on the NCAA official website before the two selection shows on Sunday evening. It appears that the brackets were posted on the NCAA website’s lacrosse scoreboard around 8:15 p.m. ET.
The women’s lacrosse selection show aired at 9 p.m on ESPNU, followed by the men’s selection show at 9:30.
And when the men’s selection show arrived, ESPNU host Anish Shroff even acknowledged the early bracket reveal to open the program alongside Paul Carcaterra and Quint Kessenich.
“We know you have the internet,” Shroff began, alluding to the bracket leak. “But listen, the watch parties, they’re still fun. You gather, you hear your name called. It’s part of what makes May May.”
“Yeah, I know. I know,” Shroff said. “It’s out there. Hard to hide from it. It’s out there. We get it. But for those of you who don’t have Wi-Fi, or, you know, maybe just like to indulge in full suspense, we’ll get to it. Listen, if you want to see the bracket, you can.”
Later, Shroff dropped a hilarious line about the NCAA leaking the bracket.
“That was one of the big surprises when the intern posted the bracket early,” Shroff quipped about the Duke Blue Devils making the field of 18.
If this sort of thing happened with selection shows in college basketball or with the College Football Playoff, it would be a major story that would get a lot of attention. And it would make those television networks (CBS, ESPN, etc) quite angry.
For lacrosse fans, the selection shows being buried on ESPNU — and while sporting events like the NBA and NHL playoffs were taking place on a Sunday night — can already feel like a lack of spotlight for the sport.
And to then have the NCAA release the brackets before the shows even take place, ruining the suspense? That’s really not a good look for the NCAA, and it’s frustrating to lacrosse fans, teams (and with their watch parties), and ESPN.
About Matt Clapp
Matt is an editor/writer at The Comeback and Awful Announcing.
He can be reached by email at mclapp@thecomeback.com.