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University of Massachusetts/Amherst

University of Mass - Amherst Athletics
 131 Commonwealth Ave - 248 Boyden Amherst, MA 01003
Division 1 Massachusetts Northeast
Public Very Large National competitor
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Jana Drummond

Jana Drummond enters her seventh year on the Massachusetts women’s lacrosse staff in 2023-24 and second as the head coach.


Drummond was named the Atlantic 10 Co-Coach of the Year after leading the Minutewomen to a 16-3 overall record and an at-large bid to the 2023 NCAA Women’s Lacrosse Championship in her first season at the helm. UMass posted a 9-0 mark in A-10 play to capture the program’s 15th regular season title. The Minutewomen rattled off 15 consecutive wins and climbed as high as no. 13 in the IWLCA/ILWomen Division I Top-25 Poll. UMass claimed four major A-10 awards with Fiona McGowan named the Co-Offensive Player of the Year, Amy Moreau earning Midfielder of the Year honors, with Audra Tosone named the Defender of the Year. The Minutewomen placed 10 players on the all-Atlantic 10 teams with five on the first-team all-conference squad.


Under Drummond, the UMass offense ranked second nationally in assists per game with 8.21, led by Fiona McGowan’s 2.53 assists per game that ranked seventh nationally. The Minutewomen averaged 19.58 ground balls per game to rank third nationally while ranking among the top-10 in points per game, scoring margin, scoring offense, shot percentage, and win percentage.


Over her five seasons under former head coach Angela McMahon-Serpone, she helped lead the squad to a record of 81-21, five Atlantic 10 Regular Season Championships, two Atlantic 10 Tournament titles and three NCAA Tournament berths.


In 2022 the Minutewomen earned the first at-large NCAA Tournament bid in program history and were ranked No. 19 in the final poll. UMass finished fifth in the nation in caused turnovers per game and sixth nationally in clearing percentage on Drummond’s watch. At the conclusion of the season, 18 individuals were named to the IWLCA Academic Honor Roll, while six individuals earned Atlantic 10 All-Conference honors and three were named Inside Lacrosse All-Americans.


Under Drummond’s guidance, Caitlyn Petro tied the NCAA record for individual draw wins in a game in 2021 and the Minutewomen finished second in the nation in draw controls per-game. That season Drummond led the No. 12 scoring defense in the nation and mentored Steph Croke to her third Atlantic 10 Midfielder of the Year accolade (2018, 2019, 2021) as well as six All-Northeast Region honorees, six Atlantic 10 honorees and an IWLCA All-American. Drummond helped two defenders, Amy Moreau and Jordan Dean, earn national team tryouts with USA and Canada, respectively, while Ally Murphy was selected to the USA U19 squad.


As an assistant coach in 2019 Drummond helped guide the Massachusetts draw unit to a nation-best 19.11 draw controls per-game mark while posting the sixth-best draw control percentage in the country at .616. She was promoted to associate head coach following that season.


The Minutewoman draw unit saw a steady improvement after ranking 16th in the country in draw controls per game in 2018 during Drummond's first year on staff as they claimed their first of two consecutive Atlantic 10 regular-season titles during her time in Amherst.


Prior to arriving at UMass, Drummond served as an assistant coach at Marist where she coordinated the defense and coached the draw specialists, helping the Red Foxes win their first-ever MAAC regular-season championship in 2014. Under her tutelage, Hailey Wagner became the single-season draw control record holder at Marist while several Red Foxes were nationally ranked.


During her playing career, Drummond was a three-year co-captain and three-time all-conference selection at Oregon, where she finished as the program's all-time leading scorer with 146 goals.


Drummond graduated with a master's degree in school psychology from Marist in 2016 after graduating from Oregon with a double major in psychology and sociology in 2013.

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Dani Ellis

Dani Ellis joined the Massachusetts women's lacrosse coaching staff as an assistant coach in June of 2023. Ellis joined the Minutewomen after spending the last two seasons as an assistant at Middlebury College, helping the Panthers to back-to-back Division III National Championships.


“We are thrilled to welcome Dani to our program,” said head coach Jana Drummond. “Her passion for lacrosse, incredible work ethic, NCAA tournament experience, and strength in relationship building will be an awesome addition to our staff, program, and athletic department. Dani comes with an outstanding reputation as a coach, most recently winning a National Championship and being a part of the IWLCA Staff of the Year. She will undoubtedly make a seamless transition to our program and be a great mentor to the women of UMass lacrosse.”


Ellis coached the 2022 and 2023 IWLCA National Player and Attacker of the Year at Middlebury and helped coach the 2023 IWLCA National Defensive Player of the Year. The Panthers had nine IWLCA All-Americans during Ellis' time and finished with a 45-1 record in two seasons. Ellis was part of a staff that was named both the IWLCA Regional and National Coaching Staff of the Year.


“I am incredibly grateful for the opportunity to work beside Jana and become a part of this incredibly successful UMass women’s lacrosse program,” said Ellis. “I want to thank Ryan Bamford, Jeff Smith, Kirsten Britton and the entire search committee for their time. It’s clear that the UMass Athletic Department is committed to the success and well-being of their student athletes. I am excited to get on campus, meet the team and get started!“


Prior to joining Middlebury, Ellis was an assistant coach at Washington and Lee University from 2018-21. Ellis served as the team’s offensive and recruiting coordinator, helping the team to two Old Dominion Athletic Conference Champions while earning a pair of conference staff of the year honors. Ellis also spent a season at VCU as a graduate assistant before moving into a director of player development role for the 2017-18 campaign.


Ellis played collegiately at Winthrop, where she was a 2016 Big South All-Tournament Team member after helping the Eagles to a Big South Championship in 2015 and 2016. Ellis received her degree in psychology with a minor in coaching from Winthrop in 2016 and earned her Master of Education in Sport Leadership from VCU in 2017.

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Lia LaPrise

Lia LaPrise joined the UMass women's lacrosse staff as an assistant coach in July of 2023. LaPrise was a standout attacker at UConn, where she finished her career as the program's all-time leader in points and assists.


“We are very excited to welcome Lia to our program,” said head coach Jana Drummond. “Lia brings with her a competitive knowledge of the game, an incredible work ethic, a strong passion for lacrosse, and mature leadership qualities that our student athletes can look up to and learn from. Lia was a fierce competitor as a player and currently holds the UConn program records for career points and assists. Her addition to our staff, program, and athletic department will be a tremendous benefit for us all.”


The Windsor, Conn. native was a two-time Big East First-Team All-Conference selection for the Huskies and led the conference in points in 2021. LaPrise was a team captain for her squad and earned a spot on the IWLCA All-Northeast Region Second Team as a senior in 2022. LaPrise has also worked with club team Nor’easter since 2018, coaching a range of age groups from middle school to high school.


"I am beyond excited and grateful for the opportunity to join the UMass women’s lacrosse program,” said LaPrise. “There is so much energy, competitiveness, and dedication that is innate in this group and I cannot wait to be a part of the journey. I am looking forward to getting on campus and meeting the team.”

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