Email coach
Kelly Gallagher
Kelly Gallagher is in her 11th season as the head women's lacrosse coach at the University of Tampa. She was chosen as the program's first coach, being named to the position on Oct. 9, 2012.
Gallagher brings a total of 20 years of lacrosse experience, including coaching stints with Limestone College (2011-12) and NCAA Division I Detroit-Mercy (2008-11).
In her 10th season at Tampa, Gallagher led the Spartans to their highest ranking in the IWLCA Polls at No.2 and finished out the regular season undefeated in the Sunshine State Conference. As the back-to-back conference champions, the Spartans went on to win the SSC Tournament, it’s first since 2019, and won their first-ever NCAA Tournament game before falling in the Quarterfinals. Several Tampa players earned All-South Region and All-SSC selections while Dani Waters, Sarah Hinkle, and Erin Sistek received IWLCA All-American honors. After winning her third SSC Coach of the Year award, Gallagher remains as the lone Tampa coach to earn this title for the program.
2021 saw another shortened season due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Gallagher led her team to a winning record of 7-3, finishing in a three-way tie for first in the SSC. Cece Colombo earned IWLCA All-American honors.
In her sixth season as head coach at the University of Tampa, Kelly Gallagher led her team to a season of several firsts. Her team won a program-best 14 games as it finished 14-4 on the 2019 season. She also led her team to the top 5 national rankings for the first time ever, climbing as high as No. 3 (5/3/19). With a 5-1 Sunshine State Conference record, she led her Spartans to capture their first-ever SSC tournament championship, taking down No. 3 Rollins and No. 5 Florida Southern along the way. She was honored as the 2019 SSC Coach of the Year, her second consecutive season receiving this honor. Additionally, for the first time in program history, two of her Spartans, Claire Swanson '20 and Carly Vaccaro ’20 received IWLCA All-America honors, while Swanson was also named conference player of the year. The Spartans 2019 campaign came to an end when they were defeated in the NCAA tournament, the program's first appearance, by the No. 10 Queens Royals. The Spartans finished the season ranked No. 7 in the IWLCA Coaches Poll.
Under her advisory, in 2018, the Spartans finished the season ranked No. 19 with an overall record of 12-6. In the historical season, UT opened competition defeating the No. 11 ranked Rollins College Tars by a final score of 10-6. This marked the first time in program history that the Spartans beat a ranked opponent. The firsts continued as the season progressed and Tampa battled into the national rankings, climbing as high as No. 15 (3/19/18). When conference accolades were announced, Gallagher was named the 2018 Sunshine State Conference Coach of the Year, while one of her players, Bridget Sutter, snagged Sunshine State Conference Freshman of the Year. The Spartans ended their historic season advancing to the Sunshine State Conference Women's Lacrosse Tournament for the third time in program history after finishing third in regular-season play.
Her Spartans ranked among NCAA leaders in draw controls in each of her first two seasons, leading the nation in the category in the first year of existence.
She guided Tampa to a successful inaugural season in 2014, matching up against five nationally-ranked opponents. After guiding the program to its first victory in an 11-9 win over Newberry on March 4, Gallagher led her Spartans to four consecutive victories to conclude the month of March as the Spartans also won five of their final eight games of the 2014 campaign.
As a player, Gallagher competed for Washington College in Chestertown, Md. from 2003-06. While there, she helped lead the Shorewomen to a runner-up finish in the 2003 ECAC Regional Lacrosse Championship. She started at attack for two seasons and was voted team captain as a senior by her teammates.
A 2006 graduate of Washington College, Gallagher holds a Bachelor’s Degree in history and a minor in political science.
show more