Coaches

Natalie Simpson

McKendree University Athletics and Director of Athletics Anthony Francis officially announced to hiring of Natalie Simpson as the next head coach of women's lacrosse this week. Simpson will begin her duties at McKendree on July 11.


Simpson will join the Bearcats athletics staff following a two-year stint with Lou Fusz Athletics as the girls lacrosse director where she oversaw 10 teams and over 200 athletes in the competitive program. Simpson played four years of lacrosse at the NCAA Division I and II levels, beginning at the University of Oregon from 2012-14 before transferring to Lindenwood University to finish out her collegiate career and complete her undergraduate degree in 2016.


Simpson, a native of Carlsbad, Calif., is set to take over the women's lacrosse program following her time with Lou Fusz Athletic (LFA) as Girls Lacrosse Director and Varsity Lacrosse Head Coach at Visitation Academy. Simpson has headed-up the girls' competitive lacrosse program since 2019 where she supervised over 200 athletes, 20 coaches/staff, and 10 teams while also assisting player recruitment, the development of practice and individual programming, and the maintenance of team budgets and travel needs. In the two years of the travel program's existence, the LFA lacrosse teams brought back a multitude of regional, national tournament victories while also obtaining 18 college commits in just two seasons. As the head varsity coach at Visitation Academy this past spring, Simpson pushed her team to its first winning season in program history, highest conference and playoff finish in program history, and made their first Sweet 16 appearance in 17 seasons.


Prior to joining Lou Fusz Athletic, Simpson worked as an account executive at the University of Oregon for Learfield where she managed ticketing for eight different sports, oversaw season/partial/group ticket sales, and developed theme nights for multiple sports and events. She also spent time with the St. Louis Cardinals as a direct sales representative, where she maintained and built relationships between the baseball club and clientele while generating over $750,000 in revenue through her sales efforts.


During her undergraduate years at Lindenwood, Simpson gained valuable experience in a number of internship roles with multiple companies and teams, including the St. Louis Sports Commission, San Diego Sockers, SportPort International, and Lindenwood Athletics.


The former Lindenwood Lion played two seasons on the west coast with the Oregon Ducks prior to coming to the St. Louis metro area. As a member of Lindenwood women's lacrosse team, she helped the Lions to two final four appearances, won two RMAC regular season and tournament titles, and was a two-time Academic All-RMAC team member. Simpson was also named an Under Armour underclassmen regional team member.


Simpson graduated in 2016 from Lindenwood and the Plaster School of Business & Entrepreneurship with a degree in sport management.