Clemson University

Jervey Athletic Center
100 Perimeter Rd. Clemson, SC 29634

Division 1 South Carolina Southeast

Public Large National competitor

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Coaches

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Allison Kwolek

Allison Kwolek was named the first Head Coach of the Clemson Women’s Lacrosse Program on Aug. 2, 2021. Clemson Athletics announced the decision to add the sport in June 2021, and the program is expected to begin competition in Spring 2023.

Kwolek has served as head coach at the University of Richmond since 2013, which includes a 64-16 (.800) winning percentage, a 27-5 conference record and two conference tournament and two league regular-season championships in the past five seasons. Richmond was nationally ranked in the top-10 each of the last two seasons and has qualified for the NCAA postseason in two of the last three tournaments, which doesn’t include the 2020 season in which the Spiders started 7-0 and defeated No. 6 UVa before the season was cut short due to COVID-19.

The Spiders have enjoyed their most successful run in their program’s history under Kwolek’s leadership. When the William and Mary graduate took over the program in 2013, Richmond had accumulated just 10 winning seasons since their inaugural season in 1983. Kwolek racked up seven winning records in her nine seasons as the head coach.

Kwolek’s success was not limited to the regular season, although she did garner two A10 regular-season championships over the past five campaigns. The Spiders are 11-5 in postseason play under Kwolek, including a 3-0 run in the 2019 A10 Tournament, culminating in being crowned conference champions for a second-straight year. Kwolek has qualified for seven straight A10 Tournaments and has reached the championship game in six of those appearances.

She has coached five Atlantic 10 Players of the Year, along with numerous all-conference selections. Two of her players have been named to the watch list for the Tewaaraton Award, a recognition earned by the best player in NCAA men’s and women’s lacrosse.

Prior to her time at Richmond, she served as an assistant at the College of William and Mary, Columbia University, and Dartmouth College.

Formerly known as Allison Evans, Kwolek was an All-CAA midfielder at William & Mary and defender on the USA Team. She was inducted into the Lacrosse Hall of Fame, Potomac Chapter in February 2015 and named to the William & Mary Athletics Hall of Fame in 2020.

She and her husband Mark have a daughter, Olivia.

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Madison Carter

Former Penn State All-American Madison Carter, who led the Nittany Lions to two Final Fours as a player, became a member of the inaugural Clemson women’s lacrosse coaching staff in August of 2020.

A four-year starter at Penn State, Carter was one of the best players in the country during her standout career, leading the Nittany Lions to their first Final Four appearance in 17 years (1999). And then leading Penn State back to the Final Four as a sophomore, when she led the Big Ten and ranked 10th in the nation in goals (70). The 70 goals are the most goals scored in a season by a Penn State sophomore.

The two-time IWLCA All-American finished her career fifth on Penn State’s all-time goals list (197), and is seventh in points (218), despite only playing six games during her senior year due to injury. She started every game of her collegiate career before her injury.

“I am excited to have Madison join me at Clemson,” Clemson head coach Allison Kwolek said. “I have known Madison since her recruiting process in high school and the thing that has always stood out about her is how great a person she is. Her playing experience at the Power 5 level and her leading Penn State to two Final Fours makes her right at home here at Clemson.

“Madison’s elite level talent on attack and her experience on the draw will be a great asset to our players,” Kwolek said. “Her energy and passion for the game of lacrosse will serve Clemson well as we look to build our program.”

A native of Davidsonville, Md. native, Carter had just been hired on staff at the University of Richmond in July, before following Kwolek to Clemson one month later.

Carter began her coaching career at Mercer, helping the Bears to the 2021 Southern Conference Championship and the NCAA Tournament appearance. At Mercer, she worked with the defensive unit and draw specialists, along with assisting with recruiting and scouting of opponents.

The Big Ten Freshman of the Year in 2016, Carter earned All-Big Ten honors all three of her full seasons with Penn State. She was named to the Tewaarton Watch List four times and to the Tewaarton Top 25 in 2017.

Carter was a four-year letterwinner at South River High School, just outside Annapolis, Md., where she was an Under Armour All-America nominee as a senior and was named to the U.S. Lacrosse All-America Team. She graduated from Penn State in 2019 with a bachelor of science in rehabilitation and human services. She is currently working on her master of education in curriculum and instruction.

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Bill Olin

After one season with Clemson, Bill Olin has been promoted to the position of Associate Head Coach. Olin helped lead the team to great heights during the 2023 inaugural season, in which the Tigers went 12-6 overall and were ranked as high as No. 14 in the nation.

“Bill is an incredible coach and an even better person,” Kwolek said of Olin. “Our program has benefited immensely from his knowledge of the game and his leadership on the field. He’s a tireless worker whose ability to teach the game and inspire our players saw immediate results in our first season. Bill has established himself as one of the top coaches in our sport, and I’m looking forward to what we are continuing to build here at Clemson.”

The team ranked 6th in the nation in scoring offense and 8th nationally in assists per game. Additionally, the team achieved consistent national rankings, spending six weeks in the U.S. Lacrosse Poll and eight weeks in the IWLCA Coaches Poll. Clemson scored 10 or more goals 14 times and ten of Clemson’s 12 wins were by ten or more goals.

Olin joined the Tigers following five years as an associate head coach at Cornell.

During his time at Cornell, Olin and Big Red won an Ivy league Championship and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. His team qualified for the Ivy League Tournament in two of his four seasons on the sidelines, and he helped developed six All-Ivy League defensive players, including 2017 conference Defensive Player of the Year and two-time All-American Catie Smith.

Olin was a head coach at Capital University from 2014-16. His 2015 squad won the OAC regular season championship in just the second year of the program’s existence. The team finished with a regular season record of 14-3, including 6-0 in conference play, before finishing as league’s tournament runner-up. Capital had eight members named to the all-OAC teams, including Defensive Player of the Year, Tate Stover. Brennan O’Callaghan was the recipient of the OAC Freshman of the Year and OAC Co-Offensive Player of the Year awards. At year’s end, Olin was named the OAC Coach of the Year.

Prior to his tenure at Capital, he was an assistant coach at SUNY Potsdam men’s lacrosse immediately following his playing career.

As a player, he was a four-year starting goalkeeper for the Rutgers Scarlet Knights, where he was a three-time ECAC Defensive Player of the Week, two-time Big East Defensive Player of the Week, and three-time All-ECAC Academic team member.

“I want to first thank Jenny Graap and my Cornell Lacrosse family for the past six years and their immense support,” stated Olin. “My family and I are incredibly grateful to Coach Kwolek and the Clemson athletic community for this opportunity. The tradition of Clemson athletics, the ability to work with Allison and Madison [Carter], and to help establish Clemson Lacrosse as a national contender is a dream come true.”

Bill and his wife Katelynn have four kids: Findley, Brooks,Welles, and Dempsey.

The Clemson women’s lacrosse program is set to play its inaugural season in the spring of 2023. For all the most up-to-date information regarding Clemson women’s lacrosse, visit ClemsonTigers.com and follow @ClemsonWLax on Twitter and Instagram.