The 2026 San Diego Section high school lacrosse playoffs are set to face off next week in both gender fields.
The postseason field will consist of four divisions: Open Division (six teams), Division I (12 teams), Division II (12 teams) and Division III (12 teams). Each league champion is guaranteed a playoff berth. The remaining teams will be seeded on an at-large basis.
The playoff field will feature 54 teams in each gender field, plus any possible play-in contests.
If a league champion is not seeded into the playoffs, that league champion will host a play-in game against the lowest-seeded team in that division.
Seeding will take place Saturday, May 2. Pairings will be posted on the section website (www. cifsds.org) by 4 p.m.
Play-in contests are scheduled for Monday, May 4, followed by girls first-round matches on Tuesday, May 5 (Division II and Division III) and Wednesday, May 6 (Division I).
Girls quarterfinals are scheduled for Friday, May 8 (Division II and Division III) and Saturday, May 9 (Division I). Semifinals are slated May 12 (Division I and Division III) and May 13 (Division II). Tentative game times for first-round matches, quarterfinals and semifinals is 6 p.m.
The girls Open Division schedule includes quarterfinals on Thursday, May 7, semifinals on May 13 and championship finals on May 16.
Patrick Henry High School will serve as the boys championship venue while Canyon Crest Academy will serve as the girls championship venue.
Boys first-round elimination contests are scheduled for Tuesday, May 5 (Division II and Division III) and Wednesday, May 6 (Division I). Quarterfinal games follow on Friday, May 8 (Division II and Division III) and Saturday, May 9 (Division I).
Semifinal games are scheduled for May 12 (Division II) and May 13 (Division I and Division III).
The boys Open Division schedule includes quarterfinal games on Thursday, May 7, semifinals on May 12, and division finals on May 15.
The girls Division I championship game is scheduled Friday, May 15 at 7 p.m. The girls Division III championship is scheduled for Saturday, May 16, at 10 a.m., followed by the girls Division II final at 1 p.m. and the Open Division final at 4 p.m.
The boys Division III championship is scheduled for May 16 at 10 a.m., followed by the boys Division II final at 1 p.m. and the Division I final at 4 p.m.
The boys Open Division championship game is scheduled for May 15 at 7 p.m.
Interest in the sport remains high with 120 teams in the two gender fields: 63 girls teams and 57 boys teams.
Defending boys champions include Torrey Pines (Open Division), Granite Hills (Division I), San Dieguito Academy (Division II) and Mater Dei Catholic (Division III).
Granite Hills entered the week ranked seventh overall among boys teams, definitely within striking distance of qualifying for this year’s Open Division lineup or a very high Division I seed.
San Dieguito Academy moves up to Division I status this year, meaning a new Division II champion will be crowned next month.
Mater Dei Catholic moves up to the Division II tier this season, leaving the Division III title available for another team.
Defending girls champions include Coronado (Open Division), Carlsbad (Division I), Rancho Bernardo (Division II) and Olympian (Division III).
Coronado appears the team to beat again this year as the No. 1-ranked team in the section.
Rancho Bernardo both moves up to Division I, leaving this year’s Division II title up for grabs, while Olympian moves up to Division II to vacate its Division III crown for somebody else.
BY THE NUMBERS
On the boys side, Granite Hills and Santana are both in the Division I tier. While the Eagles (13-3) are ranked seventh in the section, the Sultans (7-11) are ranked 16th.
El Capitan (12-3, 21st overall), Grossmont (8-7, 26th overall), West Hills (8-7, 28th overall) and Helix (3-11, 42nd overall), are all vying for Division II playoff berths while Valhalla (11-5, 31st overall), Foothills Christian (5- 10, 46th) and Monte Vista (5-12, 52nd overall) are all hopeful of landing Division III postseason bids.
On the girls side, Granite Hills (5-8, 29th overall), El Capitan (8- 7, 37th overall) and Valhalla (3- 12, 41st overall) are Division II playoff hopefuls.
Division III teams battling for playoff positions include Grossmont (13-1, 38th overall), West Hills (7-11, 39th overall), Santana (8-8, 44th overall), Helix (4- 11, 52nd overall), Monte Vista (4-12, 58th overall) and El Cajon Valley (0-16, 62nd overall).