The opportunities to play at the collegiate level grow every year, spurred by rapid expansion at the NCAA level. There are over 900 NCAA varsity lacrosse programs at the Division I, II and III levels, up from around 600 just a decade ago. There are also hundreds of collegiate club programs and many more opportunities at the NAIA and junior college levels.

College lacrosse is not the end of the road. There are post-collegiate leagues around the country and tournaments geared specifically for adults.

The sport now has three professional options as well. The oldest is the National Lacrosse League, a burgeoning men's indoor league that dates to 1987. The Premier Lacrosse League, launched in 2019, merged with Major League Lacrosse in 2021, bringing professional men's outdoor lacrosse under the PLL umbrella. The newest entity is the Women's Lacrosse League, which began play in 2025 with sixes and expanded to include full-field lacrosse in 2026.

The ultimate goal remains the U.S. national team program, which allows the sport's premier athletes to compete on the world stage. USA Lacrosse is a member of both the Pan American Lacrosse Association and World Lacrosse, which now has over 90 member nations around the globe.