The Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association released postseason brackets last week for the 2026 state boys lacrosse championship.
Regional play begins in the third annual WIAA state tournament May 26 and continues with regional semifinals May 29 and regional finals June 2. Sectional play starts June 4 with semifinals, followed by sectional finals June 6 to determine the qualifiers for the state title game June 13 in Sun Prairie.
Here are three Milwaukee-area programs that look like the top contenders to emerge out of WIAA Sectional 2 and contend for state gold.
Marquette
Stat leaders: Chris Wilkinson (67 points, 43 goals, 24 assists); Zane Ballinger (49 PTS, 27 G, 22 AST); Whit Junker (48 PTS, 34 G, 14 AST); Cameron Schaefer (50 groundballs, 74.4 faceoff percentage); Gabe Smyczek (11-5, 156 saves, 58.2%).
Seed, first playoff matchup: No. 5 seed, facing winner of No. 21 Cedarburg and No. 12 Whitefish Bay/Dominican/Nicolet/Shorewood.
After a couple discouraging early-season showings against other top area teams, Marquette has come along late to win 9 of 11 down the stretch of the regular season. Double-digit scoring has been a pretty reliable metric for the Hilltoppers over the course of the season. When they score 10 or more goals, they have won all 11 of those games. In the other five contests aside from a forfeit win over Cedarburg, Marquette has been held to six goals or less in an 0-5 sample size. Gaining and maintaining possession, particularly to avoid early letdowns that plagued it in matchups with Mukwonago, Edgewood and Kettle Moraine over the course of the year, will be key to a deep run. Marquette reached the sectional semifinal a season ago before falling 10-6 to Mukwonago and is a few explosive starts away from making it further in 2026.
Mukwonago
Stat leaders: Jayden Schaefer (32 PTS, 19 G, 13 AST); Noah Huebner (26 PTS, 14 G, 12 AST); Colton Lynch (25 PTS, 21 G, 4 AST); Avery Carson (57 GB, 67.7 FO%); James Frutchey (8-3, 143 SV, 66.8%).
Seed, first playoff matchup: No. 1 seed, facing winner of No. 16 West Bend and No. 17 Brookfield.
The regular-season record of 9-8 may not seem like that of a playoff contender, but a deeper look shows a program that can run with some of the best teams in the state. Mukwonago forfeited its first four games of the season, but still held a top-five ranking in the May 19 Wisconsin Lacrosse Hub coaches poll.
Two other losses came out of state to Minnesota programs, and the remaining two losses came close to top 10-ranked programs in the state. Given that context, Mukwonago rightfully considers itself among the leading contenders for state gold. Late-season wins over Kettle Moraine (8-7) for the Classic 8 Conference title, as well as North Shore Conference champion Homestead (12-4), showed Mukwonago is poised for a competitive showing in the postseason.
Kettle Moraine
Stat leaders: Nick Garvey (66 PTS, 39 G, 27 AST); Connor Kiesgen (49 PTS, 32 G, 17 AST); Will Vieth (40 PTS, 20 G, 20 AST); Jack Danielski (33 GB, 56.6 FO%); Parker Sauer (8-2, 71 SV, 57.7%).
Seed, first playoff matchup: No. 2 seed, facing winner of No. 15 Wauwatosa West and No. 18 Westosha Central.
The reigning state runners-up came within a single goal of Waunakee for the boys title last year and return several key pieces from that team as the Lasers look for revenge in 2026. KM won its first 10 games of the season leading up to a title rematch with Waunakee, which the Lasers lost 12-10 despite being at home May 5. The loss did not seem to knock KM’s confidence as the Lasers won three of their final four games with the one-goal loss to Mukwonago being the only other blemish on a 13-2 record. KM has lost to the eventual state champion in each of the first two seasons of WIAA-sanctioned lacrosse, making this postseason an opportunity to finally make that jump to the top.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Marquette, Mukwonago, Kettle Moraine poised for boys lacrosse title runs
Reporting by Zac Bellman, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
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