The Women’s Lacrosse League is brand new, has four teams, and has already played exactly zero regular-season games — and yet here we are, ranking them. Why? Because somebody has to. Because “all four teams are interesting” is not a take, it’s a press release. Here’s where things actually stand heading into the 2025 WLL season.

1. Boston Guard

Charlotte North is the best women’s lacrosse player on the planet and she’s on this team. That’s really where the conversation starts and, for most opponents, where it ends. North won three national championships at Boston College, was the ACC’s all-time leading scorer, and plays with the kind of controlled aggression that makes defenders look like they signed up for the wrong sport. The Guard won the inaugural WLL Championship Series, beating the Charging 22-17 on February 17 to claim the first title in league history. That’s not a coincidence — that’s a roster built to win. Until someone proves otherwise, Boston is the team to beat.

2. New York Charging

Izzy Scane holds the all-time NCAA scoring record — men’s or women’s — set at Northwestern. Let that sink in for a second. The all-time NCAA scoring record, full stop. She is not a project. She is not “promising.” She is elite, she is dangerous in the open field, and the Sixes format was practically designed for players with her blend of speed and finishing ability. The Charging made the championship game in the league’s first weekend and lost by five. That’s not embarrassing. That’s a team that’s going to be a problem in year two and beyond. The gap between New York and Boston is real but narrow.

3. Maryland Charm

Alex Aust Holman is the kind of player who doesn’t need much explanation if you’ve watched women’s lacrosse for any length of time — decorated career at Syracuse, physical presence in the midfield, high lacrosse IQ. The Charm have the talent to be dangerous on any given day, but right now there’s a gap between the top two teams and the bottom two, and Maryland sits on the wrong side of it. The optimistic read: Aust Holman elevates this group and the Charm find an identity fast. The realistic read: they’re a team in development and the 2025 season will tell us whether the pieces fit together. Land at three for now with room to move in either direction.

4. California Palms

Ally Mastroianni is a legitimate star — no disrespect intended by putting the Palms fourth. But someone has to be fourth, and California sits there for one reason: the WLL is a league where the margin between good and great is razor thin, and the Palms have not yet done anything to establish themselves above Maryland in the pecking order. Geographic novelty and west-coast appeal will generate buzz, but buzz doesn’t win in a 6v6 format where execution is everything. The Palms need to show they’re built to compete with North and Scane when it counts, not just when the schedule is soft. The potential is absolutely there. The proof isn’t.

The Bottom Line

Boston is the defending champion with the best player in the sport. New York has the all-time scoring record holder and championship game experience. Maryland and California are legitimate contenders who need a full season to prove it. The WLL is young and the 2025 season — the first full season with playoffs — is where reputations get made. Check back at the end of the year and see how right (or wrong) this was.