Comeback Season: Why Madison Taylor Went from Finalist to Champion

Madison Taylor, Northwestern University, left, and Chloe Humphrey, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, right, have remained fierce Tewaaraton competitors for several years now. Copyright USA Lacrosse.

The Tewaaraton Award is presented annually to both one male and one female college lacrosse athlete for being the most outstanding player that season. Often referred to as the ‘Heisman Trophy of Lacrosse’, the Tewaaraton recognizes not only impressive play, but extraordinary character. 

In the past few years, several finalists’ names have appeared on more than one occasion. In both the 2025 and 2026 seasons, Chloe Humphrey and Madison Taylor were nominated and eventually finalists for this prestigious award.

In 2025, their stats entering the Tewaarton ceremony alone were absolutely lethal. Humphrey totaled 90 goals from 136 shots on goal, 28 assists, 118 total points, and a starting position in all 22 games that season. Humphrey also won various in season and post season awards, including First Team All-ACC, ACC Tournament MVP, IWLCA All-South Region First Team, First Team All-American, NCAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player, IWLCA Attacker of the Year, and IWLCA Player of the Year. 

None of this is to disregard Taylor’s stats. Madison Taylor, another do-it-all attacker with exceptional body strength, had far from a quiet season and actually ended with stats higher than Humphrey’s. Taylor tallied 109 goals from 162 shots on goal, 49 assists, and 158 overall points. She broke the record for NCAA most goals in a single season (109), tallied the most points in NCAA history (158), won IWLCA All-West/Midwest First Team, NCAA All-Tournament Team, First Team All-Big 10, USA Lacrosse First Team All-American, IWLCA All-America First Team, and was the NCAA Record Holder for Most Goals in a Single Season-- remaining unbroken to this day.

Looking strictly at the stat sheet, the choice may seem obvious. Taylor outscored Humphrey in goals, assists, and total points while rewriting the NCAA record book. Yet when the winner was announced, it was Humphrey who walked away with lacrosse's most prestigious individual honor.

Chloe Humphrey, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, posing with the Tewaaraton Trophy alongside emcees during the 2025 Ceremony. Humphrey was the first freshman in history to receive this award. Copyright Chapelboro.com

The Tewaaraton is not designed to recognize statistics alone; it honors the player who has had the most complete impact on the sport. Humphrey was the driving force behind North Carolina's national championship run, consistently delivering in the season's biggest moments while serving as a leader both on and off the field. Her influence extended beyond the scoresheet, making her a player whose value could not be measured solely by goals and assists. Specifically, UNC won the national championship in 2025, and Humphrey was not only named championship game MVP but the MVP of the entire NCAA Tournament. She went about the season with extreme humility, even posting TikToks on her account, @chloehumphreyy, one being titled: "Has to Look Ugly Before it Looks Pretty 😅". These highlight her wall ball fails and show that even under statistical dominance, everyone, including her, makes mistakes; these videos help to strip away the stigma around perfection one hundred percent of the time.

Carrying herself in this type of way is exactly what set Humphrey apart in terms of leadership and character from Taylor during the 2025 race. However, Taylor returned as a finalist in 2026 and filled the gaps she missed the year prior. It wasn't just about posting an embarrassing TikTok video, but so much more.

Madison Taylor of Northwestern University posing with the 2026 Tewaaraton Trophy. Taylor beat out North Carolina's Chloe Humphrey, alongside Alyssa Chung of the United States Naval Academy, Brigid Duffy of Army West Point, and Reagan O'Brien of John Hopkins University while being nominated as a finalist for the second year in a row.

While Humphrey delivered another phenomenal season on the field, Taylor distinguished herself in ways that extended beyond that. Throughout Northwestern's championship run, Taylor consistently demonstrated selfless leadership, unwavering humility, and a team-first mentality that elevated everyone around her. She embraced every challenge with poise, celebrated her teammates' success as much as her own, and carried herself with the character expected of the sport's highest honor. Those qualities, combined with her exceptional play, eventually made her a deserving recipient of the 2026 Tewaaraton Award, and an ever so fitting representative of what it means to be the best player in collegiate lacrosse.