Madison Taylor Named USA Lacrosse D-I Women's Preseason Player of the Year

Northwestern attacker and Tewaaraton Award finalist Madison Taylor was named the USA Lacrosse Division I Women's Preseason Player of the Year on Friday, USA Lacrosse Magazine announced.

Taylor led the NCAA runner-up Wildcats with 118 points (83 goals, 33 assists) in 2024 and will have even more responsibility in 2025 with the graduations of Izzy Scane and Erin Coykendall.

Already a national champion (2023) and gold medalist with the U.S. U20 National Team (2024), Taylor has big-game experience other candidates for this honor could not match.

The Northwestern offense will flow through Taylor, and that's bad news for the Big Ten and the country.

Preseason Attacker of the Year

Madison Taylor, Northwestern

With Izzy Scane and Erin Coykendall gone, the Wildcats will hand Madison Taylor the keys to the offense. You could argue that the 2024 Tewaaraton Award finalist has had her foot on the gas for quite some time. Taylor enters 2025 with a 23-game multi-point streak dating back to the national semifinals in 2023, the same year she nabbed Big Ten Rookie of the Year honors. For all the well-deserved accolades given to Scane, it was Taylor who led the Wildcats in points last year (118) on 83 goals and 33 assists, and she chipped in 74 draw controls. This summer, Taylor helped lead the U.S. U20 team to gold in Hong Kong, China.

Preseason Midfielder of the Year

Chase Boyle, Loyola

What doesn’t Chase Boyle do? The senior midfielder and 2024 Tewaaraton Award finalist was a factor all over the field for Patriot League champion Loyola. Her 9.9 draw controls per game (208 total) ranked fifth in Division I, and she ranked seventh with 4.05 goals per game. Boyle also added 16 assists, 19 caused turnovers and 21 ground balls — a true two-way middie in every sense of the word.

Preseason Defender of the Year

Sammy White, Northwestern

Northwestern’s offense gets plenty of flowers, but Sammy White has been a thorn in opposing attackers’ sides. White turned heads in the 2023 NCAA championship game when she set or tied career highs with seven draws and six ground balls. Despite missing five games midseason, White made an impact for the national runners-up with 19 caused turnovers, 24 ground balls and 38 draw controls. With high-profile defenders like Boston College’s Sydney Scales and Denver’s Sam Thacker gone, the door is open for White to cement herself as one of the game’s best in 2025.

Preseason Goalie of the Year

Erin O’Grady, Michigan

The starting netminder for the best defense (statistically) in 2024, Erin O’Grady anchored a unit that yielded a national-low 7.55 goals per game. O’Grady’s personal GAA was lower (7.34), and she was second nationally with a 54.9% save percentage.