Notre Dame is back in championship weekend for the third time in the last four years, and Josh Yago says his next stop is there with it. The graduate student attacker, a second lieutenant in the U.S. Space Force, said after the Fighting Irish’s 15-9 win over Johns Hopkins that he has enough remaining military leave to play Saturday and, if Notre Dame keeps advancing, Monday too.
“I can confirm. I have enough. I’ll be playing championship weekend and then hopefully, on Monday (in the national championship game),” Yago said after the quarterfinal. Notre Dame was set to face No. 6 seed Syracuse at 2:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, with a trip to the title game on the line.
Yago has become one of the central figures in another deep postseason run. He led Notre Dame with 47 points and ranked second on the team with 29 goals this season, production that helped the Irish stay on the path they have built under the weight of recent success. Notre Dame won national championships in 2023 and 2024, and now has a chance to reach the final again after beating Johns Hopkins 15-9.
The run also carries another layer because of where Yago came from. He transferred to Notre Dame from the United States Air Force Academy during the offseason after helping Air Force reach its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2017 last season. At Air Force, Yago graduated as an All-ASUN First Team selection, and his move to South Bend came with military conditions that shape his athletic life as much as his schoolwork.
His graduate school at Notre Dame is described as his first Air Force assignment and duty. He must maintain GPA requirements tied to his service, and he is not allowed to receive athletic money or NIL compensation at Notre Dame. His request to play outside a military service academy was eventually granted, allowing him to join a roster already accustomed to pressure and postseason expectation.
That arrangement makes his postseason availability unusual, and this one matters because the next game is already scheduled. Notre Dame has Syracuse in front of it on Saturday, and Yago said he expects to be there before returning to Colorado Springs after the season to resume training. He was also taken in the 2026 Premier Lacrosse League Draft by the Philadelphia Waterdogs, adding another professional layer to a spring already defined by college lacrosse and military obligations.
For Notre Dame, the immediate question is simpler: can it keep moving toward another title game with one of its top scorers fully available? For Yago, the answer so far is clear. He is still balancing service, school and sport, but at championship weekend, he says, he will be on the field.
