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Tufts University

Tufts University Athletics Department
 Tisch Sports & Fitness Ctr - 161 College Ave Medford, MA 02155
Division 3 Massachusetts Northeast
Private Medium Developing team
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Courtney Shute

After leading Tufts Women’s Lacrosse to two straight NESCAC titles and back-to-back NCAA Championship Game appearances in 2021 and 2022, Courtney Shute is now in her 10th season leading the Jumbos.


Last year, Coach Shute's Jumbos advanced to the NCAA Championship Game for the second year in a row. Tufts finished 19-4 overall including a 9-8 NESCAC Championship Game victory over Middlebury College.


in 2021, Shute was selected as IWLCA Pilgrim Region and NESCAC Coach of the Year. Guiding Tufts to great success in a year of uncertainty caused by the pandemic, she led the Jumbos to the program's first-ever NESCAC title and into their first-ever NCAA Championship Game.


Coach Shute's 2021 and 2022 Tufts rosters included players who earned nine IWLCA All-American honors, three IWLCA National Positional Player of the Year awards and three NESCAC Player of the Year recognitions.


Prior to the 2020 season getting canceled after just three games, Coach Shute's team had an historic 2019 season in which they finished with a 19-3 record, three more victories than any Jumbo team has had previously. Tufts was one of four NCAA Regional hosts in the nation and advanced to the Final Four. The 2019 team featured four All-Americans recruited to Tufts by Coach Shute and her staff, including IWLCA National Player of the Year Dakota Adamec. Tufts swept the major NESCAC Awards that year, with Shute receiving Coach of the Year, Adamec winning Player of the Year for the second straight season and Hedy Veith named Defensive Player of the Year.


Coach Shute, who has guided the Jumbos to a .729 winning percentage with a 105-39 record since the 2014 season, has led five Tufts teams to NCAA berths overall. The 2018 team finished 13-5, which at the time was the most wins the program had seen since 2009. They also made it to the second round of the NCAA Championship for the first time since 2015 that year. The Jumbos advanced to the NCAA Round of 16 in 2015 when they won a second-round game aweret Messiah 14-7.


Tufts is also consistently one of the top academic teams in the nation under Coach Shute's guidance. In 2021, Jumbo Catherine Lawliss was voted to the Academic All-America® Women's At-Large Team, announced by CoSIDA. For the 2022 season, 21 team members were on the NESCAC All-Academic Team for carrying grade point averages of 3.50 or better. They are also committed to community service. The team took part in the Headstrong Foundation’s “Last Shift Virtual 5K Challenge” to support cancer patients who were among those at highest risk of suffering from COVID-19. The team is also involved with Team IMPACT, the non-profit organization which works to improve the quality of life for children facing life-threatening and chronic illnesses by pairing them with collegiate athletic teams.


Shute had previously been part of the SUNY Cortland coaching staff from 2010-13, and was promoted to Associate Head Coach in fall 2012. During her tenure, the Red Dragons played in three consecutive NCAA "Final Fours" from 2011-2013. They compiled an outstanding 62-6 overall record during Shute's three seasons for a .912 winning percentage. She also earned a Master's of Science degree in sports management while at Cortland.


The all-time leading scorer in Cornell University history, Coach Shute was inducted into the Cornell University Athletics Hall of Fame in 2018. She played for the Big Red from 2005-08 and led the team in scoring for each of her four seasons to finish with 213 career points on 122 goals and 91 assists. She was an IWLCA All-American, a four-time All-Ivy pick, and three times an All-Region honoree.


Shute is a 2008 graduate of Cornell, where she earned a bachelor's degree in applied economics and management. She immediately went into coaching, serving as an assistant at Division I American University for the 2009 season. She was then an assistant for the 2010 Ivy League runners-up at Dartmouth College.


A member of the United States Development Team from 2006-08, Shute founded and directs teamthirteen, a women's lacrosse specialty company which focuses on the development of fundamental skills and teamwork in girls and young women. She also spends summers working the top college recruiting showcases and instructional camps.


Shute became the sixth head coach of Jumbo Women's Lacrosse since the program was founded in 1975. Originally from Fayetteville, New York, she is a 2004 graduate of Fayetteville-Manlius High School. Courtney is married to Sarah Shute, who is Head Field Hockey Coach at MIT. They have a son Bodhi and reside in Waltham.

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Jake Versprille

Jake Versprille is entering his first season as an assistant coach at Tufts, coming to Medford after serving as an assistant at Bryant University since 2022.


Prior to Bryant, Versprille spend the previous five years as an assistant at MIT. During his time in Cambridge, he coached a USILA First Team All-American, three Academic All-Americans, and numerous All-NEWMAC selections. In 2022, he helped lead them to an 8-0 conference record, 17-1 overall record, and an appearance in the third round of the NCAA Tournament. He's also coached six years at Franklin High School, where he helped lead the team to three Division I section championships and a Massachusetts Division I state runner-up finish.


Versprille was a four-year player at Springfield College, helping lead the Pride to four straight NCAA Tournament appearances. He graduated in 2016 with a degree in sport management.

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