UNC’s electrifying first-year ended up taking home the crown, but NU’s superstar arguably had a very good case as well.
For the first time, a first-year player took home women’s lacrosse’s most prestigious individual award.
North Carolina’s Chloe Humphrey secured the 2025 Tewaaraton Award on Thursday, given to the top lacrosse player in the country each year. The electrifying attacker beat four other finalists to become the first Tewaaraton winner in UNC history.
One of those finalists was Northwestern’s own Madison Taylor, who was in the running for her second straight season. Both Humphrey and Taylor had record-setting years, and there’s certainly an argument to be made that either player deserved the honor. So, how do their respective cases stack up against each other? Let’s take a look.
The case for Humphrey
To many observers, Humphrey was the obvious choice for the Tewaaraton Award. UNC’s phenom put together a record-shattering season, setting the NCAA record for most goals by a first-year with 90. That goal tally also set a program record, and with 28 assists, Humphrey accumulated 118 total points, ranking second in UNC history.
On a team level, no one could match the Tar Heels’ success in 2025, and Humphrey was a big reason why. UNC went a perfect 22-0, winning 21 of those games by multiple goals and a whopping 16 by nine goals or more. The team did so while facing as tough a schedule as one could imagine, with two games apiece against Northwestern, Boston College and Florida, the other three teams in the Final Four.
Unbelievably, UNC blew out Florida 20-4 in their second meeting, outscoring Florida 18-0 after the first quarter. Such a margin is practically unheard of against any opponent, let alone a Final Four team. The mere fact that the Tar Heels sustained perfection with such a difficult schedule only exemplifies Humphrey’s season-long dominance.
Another point in Humphrey’s favor is that she showed up big-time when it mattered most. The redshirt first-year scored 11 goals in the Final Four alone, with seven against Florida and four in the 12-8 national championship win over the ‘Cats. Notably, Taylor was held scoreless for the first time since her freshman year in that game. While she did have four assists, it’s very possible the loss and lack of championship-game goals hurt her chances.
Given her elite competition, Humphrey was highly efficient as well, scoring 11 goals on just 20 shots on Final Four weekend (compared to four goals on 13 shots for Taylor). Additionally, she never scored fewer than two goals in a game and dropped an eight-point (four goals, four assists) performance against NU earlier in the regular season.
Finally, if you remove free-position tallies from the equation, Humphrey actually led Taylor in goals by one (70 to 69). To be fair to Taylor, one can’t simply wipe those goals away because they came from the free position, but it is notable that UNC’s first-year had more in standard offensive setups. Against elite competition or otherwise, Humphrey was always a contributor, and it’s hard to imagine UNC having anywhere close to the same level of dominance without her.
The case for Taylor
While Humphrey’s Tar Heels had more team-wide success than Northwestern, Taylor holds the edge in a number of statistical categories. The junior shattered the all-time NCAA single-season goals record with 109, also adding on 49 assists to lead the nation in points by 30. Taylor finished well ahead of Humphrey in goals (109 to 90), assists (49 to 28) and shooting percentage (55.1% to 48.6%).
All of this came as Taylor dealt with the losses of Izzy Scane and Erin Coykendall, facing an incredible amount of face-guarding, double-teams and general defensive attention in 2025. That’s not to say Humphrey didn’t get her fair share of tough defense, but she was helped by the fact that her sister (senior Ashley Humphrey) was also a Tewaaraton finalist who totaled a nation-leading 90 assists, many of them going to her.
Taylor certainly got help from players like Niki Miles and Riley Campbell, but no secondary Northwestern attacker came close to the production of Ashley Humphrey. Because of this, it can be argued that Taylor was the more valuable player to her team, and it’s undoubtedly true that NU would’ve had a tough time without their star.
Finally, while Taylor’s Final Four was exceeded by Humphrey’s on a statistical level, Taylor’s first and second round performances were unmatched. She tallied 10 goals (on just 11 shots) against Michigan to set a new NCAA Tournament single-game record, and followed that up with six goals on nine shots against Penn.
Notably, in NU’s four toughest matchups against Boston College and UNC, Taylor racked up 22 points (10 goals, 12 assists, 26 shots). In four contests against Boston College and Northwestern, meanwhile, Humphrey had 21 points (13 goals, eight assists, 34 shots). These numbers are remarkably similar, with Taylor holding an edge in assists and a tiny advantage in shot percentage.
So is the narrative that Humphrey contributed more in big games true, or merely a case of recency bias? An argument can certainly be made both ways. On the one hand, the national championship should absolutely be weighted heavily, and Humphrey’s performance (four goals, one assist) outshone Taylor’s (no goals, four assists). On the other hand, Taylor was just as impactful (if not even more so) in big games overall this year, and she holds several advantages in season-long statistical pedigree.
The verdict
Ultimately, the Tewaaraton Award winner in women’s lacrosse was a particularly tough choice this season. Debates can go on forever about Humphrey vs. Taylor, and the other three finalists (Ashley Humphrey, Rachel Clark and Shea Dolce) all achieved incredible things this year that also warranted consideration. But at the end of the day, the choice came down to Humphrey or Taylor in most minds.
Ultimately, if I had a vote, I would’ve gone with Taylor. On a team level, Humphrey and UNC clearly take the cake, but NU’s junior both set the goals record and elevated the play of her teammates to an incredible degree. For an individual award, I believe Taylor was the best choice.
Still, Taylor’s season should not take away from the fact that Humphrey is shaping up to become one of the best women’s lacrosse players the sport has ever seen. As mentioned, no first-year had ever won the Tewaaraton previously, and Humphrey had no shortage of flashy plays in 2025 while also playing far beyond her years in terms of consistency.
At the end of the day, fans of UNC and NU alike should rejoice at the fact that Humphrey and Taylor will both return next season. In all likelihood, viewers will be treated to a pair of electric seasons from each player, and it’s definitely possible we see a national championship rematch between them. And who knows? Maybe we’ll be having these same Tewaaraton debates again in 2026.