Syracuse Women's Lacrosse Names Regy Thorpe Next Head Coach

Regy Thorpe, a Syracuse alum and former Syracuse women's lacrosse assistant coach under Gary Gait, can once again call the Dome home.

Thorpe was named the head coach of the women's lacrosse program on Friday, ending a two-week search for Kayla Treanor's replacement. A key figure on the Florida sideline for the last four seasons as an assistant coach, Thorpe helped lead the Gators to consecutive 20-win seasons and final four appearances.

Prior to leaving for Florida, Thorpe was a staple on the Syracuse sideline with Gait. He spent 10 years as an assistant with the women's team, helping the Orange to six championship weekend appearances.

Thorpe played at Herkimer Junior College for two years, where he was named the Defenseman of the Year in 1991. He then joined Syracuse and helped the Orange to the national championship game in 1992. A year later, Thorpe was a team captain and led Syracuse to its fifth national title.

Thorpe has been a coach in the U.S. national team system on multiple occasions. He was an assistant coach for the 2022 U.S. women's sixes team that placed second at The World Games. He was the head coach for the 2019 and 2024 U.S. men's box teams, leading the 2024 team to a runner-up finish, its best showing ever at a World Lacrosse box championship.

SYRACUSE PRESS RELEASE

SYRACUSE, New York — Regy Thorpe '01, who has helped guide teams to Championship Weekend eight times, will return to his alma mater to become the fourth head coach in Syracuse Women's Lacrosse program history.

Thorpe brings a wealth of coaching experience at the college, professional and international levels to the Orange, including 10 years on the Syracuse women's lacrosse staff. He served as associate head coach for five of those years.

"I'm excited to come back home to Syracuse University. This is my dream job," Thorpe said. "I'd like to thank John Wildhack, Herman Frazier and the entire selection committee for giving me this opportunity. I'd also like to thank Amanda O'Leary and the University of Florida for the past four years. Now it's time to get to work to ensure the continued success of Syracuse Women's Lacrosse."

"Regy is the right person to lead our program, with a vision for Syracuse women's lacrosse that aligns with and supports our ambitious goals," said Director of Athletics John Wildhack '80. "He's a championship-caliber coach with tremendous experience coaching both offense and defense, an elite recruiter and passionate mentor, and has deep ties to the Syracuse University and Central New York communities. I welcome Regy, his wife Amy and their children Gale and Ella back to Syracuse."

Thorpe spent the past four seasons at the University of Florida where he helped lead the Gators to back-to-back 20-win seasons and an appearance in the national semifinals in 2024 and 2025 as the associate head coach. Since Thorpe arrived in Gainesville, Florida has won four consecutive conference titles, produced four Tewaaraton Award nominees, received 10 Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association (IWLCA) All-America selections, garnered 10 conference Player of the Year awards and had 33 all-conference honorees. This past season, Florida ranked 12th nationally in scoring defense, allowing 9.43 goals per game, sixth in points per game (16.00) and had the fewest turnovers per game nationally (10.35). Thorpe mentored IWLCA first-team All-America defender Theresa Bragg. She was one of four Gators to earn IWLCA All-America accolades in 2025.

Prior to his time at Florida, Thorpe coached on Gary Gait's staff for 10 seasons. During that time, the Orange advanced to Championship Weekend six times, including five consecutive trips from 2012-16, and a pair of National Championship Game appearances. Syracuse won four conference regular-season titles and two conference tournament crowns—the 2013 BIG EAST title and the 2015 Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) Championship as well under Thorpe. During his tenure, he mentored six Tewaaraton Award finalists, 22 IWLCA All-America selections and six IWLCA Player of the Year winners.

In addition, Thorpe has coached at the professional level in both the women's and men's game. He spent a year as the head coach of the Long Island Sound of the United Women's Lacrosse League and led them to an undefeated season and championship in 2017. Thorpe also coached and served as general manager for the National Lacrosse League's New York Riptide and as an assistant coach for the Rochester Rattlers of Major League Lacrosse. He was the head coach of the U.S. Lacrosse Indoor Box Lacrosse World Team (2019, 2024) and an assistant coach for the Iroquois men's national team at the 1998 Outdoor World Championship.

Thorpe played at Herkimer Junior College for two years, where he earned All-America honors and was named the Defenseman of the Year in 1991. He enrolled at Syracuse and helped the Orange to the national finals in 1992. A year later, Thorpe, who served as a team captain, earned All-America honors after leading Syracuse to its fifth national title.

Following graduation, Thorpe embarked on a successful professional playing career. He played 15 seasons for the Rochester Knighthawks of the National Lacrosse League, helping the team to the league crown in 1997 and again in 2007 when he served as team captain. In his final season, Thorpe also was the franchise's general manager.

Thorpe is an inductee of numerous Halls of Fame, including National Lacrosse League, Jordan Elbridge Hall of Fame, U.S. Lacrosse Rochester Chapter Hall of Fame, NJCAA Lacrosse Hall of Fame and the Rochester Knighthawks NLL Hall of Fame.

Thorpe, a native of Elbridge, New York, and his wife, Amy, have a daughter, Ella '15, and son, Gale. Ella played for the Orange from 2013-16, while Gale was a member of the Orange men's lacrosse team in 2016.