The Premier Lacrosse League’s (PLL) commitment to professional lacrosse is extending beyond men’s lacrosse with the launch of the Women’s Lacrosse League (WLL), president of the PLL, Paul Rabil, announced via ESPN’s Get Up on Nov 13.
Slated to debut at the PLL’s 2025 championship series in February, the league will feature four inaugural teams made up of the world’s top women’s lacrosse players. Team names and locations have yet to be announced.
The format for the games won’t be a typical 11-on-11, but rather a six-on-six competition. This format, commonly known as sixes, will also be used in the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles where men’s and women’s lacrosse will make its first appearance in over 50 years.
“It’s historic,” former Boston College lacrosse national champion Charlotte North said on Get Up. “We want to push the professional game to be the pinnacle of the sport.”
North will be pioneering the league alongside some of the sports’ best, such as NCAA women’s lacrosse all-time leading scorer Izzy Scane, Lizzie Colson, Alex Aust Holman and Ally Mastroianni. Their team placements, as well as full official rosters, will be revealed later this year.
Fans were unknowingly given a sneak peek of WLL action when the PLL hosted its first women’s lacrosse game, the Unleashed All-Star Game, in February of 2024 where North, Scane, Colson and Mastroianni all made appearances.
“We are so excited and beyond honored and grateful for this opportunity,” North said. “History starts today.”
Professional women’s lacrosse leagues are nothing new, but their inability to keep float has often resulted in disappointment for women looking to continue their careers after college.
Prior to the launch of the WLL, there were just two women’s lacrosse leagues boasting a professional status in the last ten years.
The Women’s Professional Lacrosse League (WPLL) began its short lived tenure in 2018 before its disassembly in 2021 due to Covid-19. Athletes Unlimited women’s professional lacrosse currently still engage in play, but games only take place four weeks of the year, with teams being changed on a weekly basis. Officials at the WLL stated the two leagues’ schedules will not conflict.
The WLL will offer a more competitive format as well as give women across the world the opportunity to display their talent in front of more fans than ever. This addition also assists in the continued growth of women’s sports throughout the world and in creating equal opportunities across all sports.
The move also comes as part of the meteoric rise of lacrosse in the United States, with the sport continuing to gain popularity across the country and in the regions around Kentucky after the PLL held its 2024 All-Star Game in Louisville.
