Introducing the NLT 25: The Most Prestigious Individual Honor in Youth Lacrosse
The National Lacrosse Tour establishes the definitive national ranking system for elite youth players across the United States and Canada.
April 2026 — National Lacrosse Tour
The National Lacrosse Tour (NLT) has announced the NLT 25, a season-long individual player ranking system that will identify the 25 best youth lacrosse players in the country per grad year class. The NLT 25 is the most significant advancement in elite youth lacrosse recognition in the history of the sport. It is a data-driven designation built entirely on individual performance across a full national season of competition.
A National Stage for Every Elite Player
The sport of lacrosse has grown dramatically over the past two decades. Elite players now come from every region of the country and from across Canada. The talent pool has never been wider, and the game has never been more competitive at the youth level.
The NLT was created to give those players a platform that matches their ambition. A national circuit where performance is tracked, rankings are updated throughout the season, and the best players in the country are identified by what they actually do on the field. The NLT 25 is the result of that vision.
What the NLT 25 Is
At the end of the Road to Champ Camp 2027, six lists will be released. One per grad year class. Twenty-five names each.
The NLT 25 identifies the 25 best players in the country per grad year class, ranked by individual performance data accumulated across every event on the circuit. This is not based on team results. It is not based on one tournament. It is a full season of competition, tracked and measured at every stop.
The six classes:
High School:2029 NLT 25 2030 NLT 25
Youth: 2012 NLT 25 2013 NLT 25 2014 NLT 25 2015 NLT 25
How Players Are Ranked
Every NLT event includes individual player evaluation across a comprehensive range of performance metrics. Stats and rankings accumulate throughout the season across all four events on the circuit. The best players rise on results.
The NLT ranking system is designed to capture the full picture of a player’s value. Not just goals, but every meaningful contribution on the field. The defensive midfielder who clears the ball coast to coast. The attackman who creates opportunities without the ball. The goalie who controls the pace of the game. Every position, every role, every contribution is measured and counted.
The data tells the story. The NLT 25 is built on that data.
What This Means for Players
For middle school players, the NLT provides a national platform to understand where they stand relative to the best competition in the country. Competing alongside and against players at your level or above accelerates development in ways that local competition alone cannot provide. The NLT gives those players the environment they need to keep growing.
For high school players, the NLT 25 provides something that carries direct value in the recruiting process. A clear, data-backed record of individual performance on a national stage. Understanding where your strengths are, where you can improve, and what your value looks like as a player gives you the ability to approach the recruiting process from a position of confidence and knowledge.
The NLT also recognizes that great players are great people and great students. Through seminars and mentorship built into the circuit, the NLT addresses player development beyond the field, because college coaches evaluate the full picture and the most prepared players understand that.
Built on Performance. Earned on the Field.
The NLT was built as an open, earned platform where every player has an equal opportunity to compete, be evaluated, and be recognized. Acceptance into the circuit is performance-based. Rankings are driven entirely by individual performance across a full season of national competition.
The best players in this sport deserve to compete against the best competition, learn from great coaches, and be measured against a national standard. The NLT exists to give them that opportunity.
Being named to the NLT 25 in your class means you are one of the 25 best players in the country at your position and grad year. It is a credential that carries real weight in the recruiting world. And it has to be earned on the field, across a full season, against the best players in the country.
What This Means for College Coaches
There are fewer than 80 Division I men’s lacrosse programs in the country. Each one has specific needs that change from year to year. Finding the right players efficiently is one of the most demanding parts of the job.
The NLT was designed with college coaches in mind. A data trail built across a full competitive season gives programs a reliable, consistent record of individual player performance on a national level. Rather than relying on a single showcase or a relationship with a club program, coaches can identify players earlier in the process with the confidence that comes from a full body of work.
For the player, having that record means arriving at the recruiting conversation already knowing your value. The NLT 25 designation gives programs and players alike a shared, trustworthy foundation to make better decisions.
The Foundation and the Road Ahead
Champ Camp 2026 at the University of Delaware is where it all begins. Taking place July 12 through 15 in Newark, Delaware, Champ Camp 2026 is the National Lacrosse Tour’s flagship event and the foundation on which the entire circuit is built. Four days of elite competition, individual player evaluation, top-level coaching, and championship lacrosse at one of the premier lacrosse facilities in the country.
Following Champ Camp 2026, the Road to Champ Camp 2027 begins at the Players Invitational in December. The circuit then runs through four events per division before returning to the University of Delaware for the Tour Championship at Champ Camp 2027, where the NLT 25 per grad year class will be revealed.
Every event is a chance to earn points, climb the rankings, and earn your place. Applications for Champ Camp 2026 are open now.
About the National Lacrosse Tour
The National Lacrosse Tour is the premier individual player circuit in youth lacrosse, built for the most talented young players across the United States and Canada. The NLT gives elite athletes a national platform to compete at the highest level, showcase their skills against the best in the country, and earn the most prestigious individual recognition in youth lacrosse, the NLT 25.
Media Contact: info@nationallacrossetour.com
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