Cleveland, Ohio – The Lewis University Athletic Department placed 30^th nationally in the Learfield Directors' Cup final standings with 484.50 points.
 
"Finishing 30th in the nation in the Learfield Directors' Cup standings is a tremendous achievement and a reflection of the commitment, hard work, and success of our student-athletes, coaches, and staff" Assistant Vice President For Athletics John Ashaolu. "To be recognized among the top-30 NCAA Division II athletic departments in the country speaks to the strength of Lewis Athletics. We are proud of what our teams accomplished this year and are excited to build on that momentum moving forward."

Points are awarded based on each institutions finish in NCAA Championships. The final standings saw points added from baseball, men's/women's golf, men's/women's lacrosse, women's rowing, softball, men's/women's tennis, men's/women's outdoor track & field, men's volleyball and women's water polo. The Flyers 484.50 points were tied with Charleston (WV) of the Mountain East for 30^th in the final poll. This year, Grand Valley State of the GLIAC was crowned champions in the Division II standings with 1,089.75 points.

During the spring, the Flyers garnered points thanks to the women's golf program qualifying as a team for the NCAA East Regional, men's lacrosse advancing to the quarterfinal of the NCAA Tournament and both track programs sending multiple athletes to the NCAA Championships in Emporia, Kansas.

Starting on the course, head women's golf coach Greg Baresel produced one of the best season in Flyers history as the squad qualified for match play at the GLVC Championships for the first time in program history and advanced to the NCAA East Regional as a team for the first time since 2022. Ranked as high as 10^th in the region, the red and white finished eighth out of 18 teams while All-GLVC honoree Kendall Farm (Carol Stream, Ill./West Chicago) placed within the top-25 at the regional.

On the track, head coach Dana Schwarting saw eight athletes qualify for the 2026 NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships in Emporia, Kansas. At nationals, Denise Hernandez (Naperville, Ill./Naperville North HS) cemented her legacy as one of the best jumpers in program history as she earned outdoor All-American status for the second consecutive season with her third place finish in the long jump (6.23 meters) while Levi Graham (Plainfield, Ill./Minooka) earned All-American accolades as he placed fifth with a personal-best throw of 66.85 meters. At the high jump apron, Abraham Christian (Huntley, Ill./Huntley HS) picked-up NCAA Outdoor All-American status for the first time in his career as he placed eighth with a final height of 2.10 meters. On the track, Mary Edwards (Indianapolis, Ind./North Central) finished fourth in the 3000 meter steeplechase final with a final time of 10:20.86 to land All-American accolades. It marked the first All-American honor for the Indianapolis, Indiana, native in the steeplechase. Overall, Lewis scored 11 points on the women's side also with four athletes competing and 4.33 points on the men's side with four athletes in action. The Flyers also placed ninth on the women's side and 10^th on the men's side in the USTFCCCA Program of the Year Awards. In order to be eligible for the award, teams must qualify for each of the three NCAA Championships. Scoring is based on the team's finish at each Championship in cross country, indoor track & field and outdoor track & field with the lowest total score for all three championships combined determining the award winner. Out of the 31 total Division II men's and women's programs to appear at all three championships, Lewis is just one of seven schools to be ranked top-10 in both the men's and women's rankings and was the only GLVC school in either poll.

Finally, the men's lacrosse program produced one of the best seasons in program history under head coach Joe Perruzzi as they captured their second GLVC Championship by routing Maryville, 16-10, and advanced to the quarterfinal round of the NCAA Tournament. In the tournament, the Flyers took down #5 seed Newberry, 15-14, behind a trio of hat tricks and 16 saves from Caden Donahue (Hugo, Minnesota/Mahtomedi HS). A program record five members of the Lewis University men's lacrosse team earned United States Intercollegaite Lacrosse Association (USILA) All-American honors with Carter Korzenski (Orchard Park, N.Y./Limestone), Tyler Davis (Edina, Minnesota/Edina HS), Paul Ruskoski (Tulsa, Oklahoma/Bishop Kelley HS), Caden Donahue (Hugo, Minnesota/Mahtomedi HS) (Hugo, Minnesota/Mahtomedi HS) and Kohl Wesner (Lancaster, Pa./Hempfield) earning the accolade. The Flyers, who were the only team from the GLVC to qualify for the NCAA Tournament, tied their program record for wins (14) and set a new program record for least amount of losses in a season (4).

The Learfield Directors' Cup was developed as a joint effort between the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) and USA Today. The Learfield Sports Directors' Cup trophy, commonly known as the all-sports trophy, is presented to the top athletic department in the country each year. Complete standings and the scoring structure can be found on NACDA's website at www.directorscup.org. For the latest news and updates on Lewis athletics, visit LewisFlyers.com and follow the Flyers on social media at @golewisflyers on Instagram and @LewisFlyers on X.