Kirkland Lewis Named New Head Coach at La Salle

La Salle has named Kirkland Lewis its new women's lacrosse coach, replacing Katie Rhodes Abbott after she stepped down at the beginning of May. Rhodes Abbott spent seven seasons leading the Explorers.

Lewis was the associate head coach under Meg Decker at Xavier in 2024 and the head coach at Furman from 2021-23. She joined Furman after spending one year as an assistant at Bucknell, which followed a successful three-year tenure as the head coach at Division III Whitman College.

As a Division I head coach (all at Furman), Lewis owns a conference record of 18-4.

La Salle struggled to a 1-15 record in 2025 and has not posted a winning season since 2014 (11-6).

LA SALLE RELEASE

PHILADELPHIA — La Salle University Vice President of Athletics and Recreation and Director of Athletics Ashwin Puri has announced the hiring of Kirkland Lewis as the Explorers' head women's lacrosse coach.

"We are excited to welcome Kirkland to La Salle," Puri commented. "She brings a diverse coaching background and philosophy to us here at 20th and Olney and we are confident that she can help us recruit and develop successful student-athletes both on the lacrosse field and in the classroom."

The Lansdale, PA, native brings over 10 years of coaching experience to La Salle, most recently serving as associate head coach at Big East member Xavier during the 2024 season.

"I want to thank Ash Puri and Krystle Higgins for choosing me to lead this program to a bright future," Lewis added. "I am excited to return to my home state and compete in one of the premier conferences in Division I lacrosse. This program has a rich history of success, and I look forward to building relationships while re-establishing a winning culture for the women's lacrosse program here at La Salle."

From 2021-2023, Lewis was the head women's lacrosse coach at Furman. Throughout her tenure, the Paladins finished with an 18-4 mark in conference play.

Lewis guided Furman to a 10-8 overall record in the 2023 season, while posting a second straight 7-2 record against Big South opponents. The Paladins made their second consecutive appearance in the Big South Women's Lacrosse Championship semifinals. Furman set a new program record with 269 draws, surpassing the old mark of 257 in 2017. Four Paladins earned postseason honors from the Big South, including three on the First Team.

In her first season at Furman in 2022, Lewis led the Paladins to an 8-8 overall record and a tie for third place in the league standings with a 7-2 mark in Furman's first season as a Big South member. Lewis led Furman to a semifinal appearance in the Big South Women's Lacrosse Championship. She coached two first team All-Big South performers and two second team selections.

Furman also excelled in the classroom under Lewis' leadership, earning back-to-back IWLCA Academic Honor Squad citations in 2022 and 2023. The Paladins also had 10 selections to the IWLCA Academic Honor Roll. Three student-athletes made the 2023 College Sports Communicators (CSC) Academic All-District Team.

Lewis came to Greenville after serving as an assistant coach at Bucknell during the 2021 season, where she was the Bison's defensive and recruiting coordinator. Prior to joining Bucknell, Lewis was the head coach at Division III Whitman College for three seasons. Only the second head coach in program history, she coached two IWLCA All-Region selections, and her players earned 11 All-Northwest Conference recognitions.

Lewis played collegiately at Old Dominion, graduating with a bachelor's degree in criminal justice. In 2013, she used her fifth year of eligibility while pursuing her master's degree at Delaware State University. It was the program's inaugural season as a NCAA Division I member.

Lewis graduated from North Penn High School where she was a two-sport athlete in lacrosse and swimming. She played three years on defense and in goal for lacrosse, while winning two consecutive district titles in swimming.

Lewis also has experience coaching at the club level. Over the course of her career, she has worked for local Ultimate Lacrosse Club, Storm Lacrosse Club, Elevate Lacrosse Club, and the Tenacity Project.