Four days after winning a national championship in her final game at Northwestern, senior attacker Madison Taylor earned another piece of hardware to close out her collegiate career.
Taylor was honored with the 2026 Tewaaraton Award — given to the most outstanding player in college lacrosse — at Thursday night’s Tewaaraton Award Ceremony at the Andrew Mellon Auditorium in Washington, D.C.
After being named one of the five finalists for the third straight year on May 5, the Wantagh, New York, native has won the sport’s top individual award. Taylor is NU’s first winner since Izzy Scane — who won in both 2023 and 2024 — and the fifth Wildcat to receive the trophy since its inception in 2001.
She beat out reigning winner and North Carolina attacker Chloe Humphrey, as well as Army midfielder Brigid Duffy, Navy attacker Alyssa Chung and Johns Hopkins defender Reagan O’Brien, for the award.
Though Taylor broke the NCAA DI single-season goals record with 109 scores in 2025, the Tewaaraton went to Humphrey, a member of the title-winning Tar Heels. Humphrey tied Taylor’s record this season, but the committee of coaches maintained its consistency by selecting Taylor, the leader of the champion Wildcats.
Taylor posted a Big Ten-best 139 points, consisting of 97 goals and 42 assists, in 22 games this season, only trailing Humphrey, who tallied 159 points in 2026. Taylor also recorded 62 draw controls, 23 ground balls, 19 caused turnovers and five game-winning goals.
After NU lost three of its first eight games, Taylor led the team on a 14-game win streak, culminating in a national title win. In the championship game against North Carolina, she scored one goal while notching six assists — tying the record for a title game — to cap off her 28-point NCAA Tournament run.
Despite playing her final game at NU, Taylor is set to continue her career with the Women’s Lacrosse League’s California Palms, which selected her with the No. 1 overall pick in the league’s inaugural College Draft. Once she makes her debut, Taylor will be the fourth Tewaaraton winner playing in the WLL, joining Scane, Charlotte North and Sam Apuzzo.
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