Kayla Treanor named Syracuse women’s lacrosse head coach

After Gary Gait was named the Syracuse Orange men’s lacrosse head coach, there were quite a few rumors as to who would take over his spot. A little over two weeks later, SU’s search is over. Syracuse Athletics announced on Wednesday morning that program legend Kayla Trenor would become the Orange’s third-ever women’s lacrosse head coach.

Treanor is no stranger to success, being named a NCAA First-Team All American all four seasons at Syracuse from 2013 to 2016. She also was a Tewaaraton Award finalist, the IWCLA Attacker of the Year, and the ACC Offensive Player of the Year from 2014 to 2016. Treanor still holds the program record in career goals with 260 and in single-season goals with 79 goals.

After her SU career, Treanor moved into coaching with a season at Harvard before moving to Boston College for the 2018 season, where she has been the associate head coach of the Eagles. BC has made the championship game in every season with Treanor on the staff, including winning the title over Syracuse this past season. During her time at Boston College, two Eagles have won the Tewaaraton Award with Sam Apuzzo winning in 2018 and Charlotte North winning in 2021.

“We’re excited to bring one of the brightest coaches in the sport home to lead our women’s lacrosse program,” Syracuse Director of Athletics John Wildhack said. “Kayla has experienced success at a championship level both as a coach and a student-athlete. She mentored two of the last three Tewaaraton Award winners and as an assistant, has coached in three consecutive appearances in the national championship game, including winning the 2021 national title. Kayla is one of the most decorated players in women’s lacrosse history. She is the right person to guide our program as we take the next step to win a national championship.”

Treanor becomes the third head coach of the Syracuse women’s lacrosse team since the program started in 1998. She follows Lisa Miller and Gait, who took over in 2008. Treanor’s goal is to now lead the Orange to a national championship after the team has made it to the final game of the season three times under Gait.