Taylor Announces Wadley as First Women’s Lacrosse Head Coach
UPLAND, Ind. – History was made on Wednesday, as Taylor University and Athletics Director, Kyle Gould, announced that Addie Wadley had been hired as the first head coach of TU’s women’s lacrosse program.
“We are pleased to welcome Addie as our first-ever women’s lacrosse coach,” expressed Gould. “Her time as a student-athlete at Biola University and her experience starting the program from scratch at Lee University, coupled with her passion for the sport and the whole person development of our student-athletes makes her an ideal choice. We are excited for Addie as she joins us at Taylor to begin the process of building this program from the ground up.”
Wadley will come to Taylor after a very successful turn at NCAA Division II Lee University, where she started the program and took the Flames to the postseason in their second season.
“I am extremely excited to have the opportunity to start the women’s lacrosse team here at Taylor University and to be part of such a passionate and caring athletics department,” said Wadley. “It is great to see Taylor sponsor the continued growth of collegiate lacrosse and I am honored to be a part of that.”
During her time at Lee, Wadley built the program into a contender in one of the top Division II leagues in the nation, taking the Flames into the Gulf South Conference Tournament in 2018 with a 9-9 mark, after battling through an 0-14 record in Lee’s first season in 2017. Wadley’s team finished third in the GSC in 2018, scoring 253 goals after finding the net only 55 times in its opening campaign.
The improved on-field results led to postseason accolades, as Wadley’s student-athletes were awarded a pair of All-GSC honors during her second year at the helm, including the Gulf South Conference Freshman-of-the-Year award.
Prior to building the program at Lee, Wadley spent the 2016 season as the head coach of the club team at the University of Oregon, after also gaining additional coaching experience in 2015 with the University of California Santa Barbara summer clinics.
Wadley played lacrosse at Biola University, earning a degree in human biology from the NAIA institution in 2015, while minoring in Biblical studies. During her time on the field for BU, Wadley set the scoring records for the Eagles.
Wadley will begin her time with Taylor immediately, spending the 2018-2019 year working with the TU women’s lacrosse club team, while recruiting for the 2019-2020 varsity season.
“I am looking forward to recruiting and working with the club team over the next year, while preparing for our inaugural season,” said Wadley.
Taylor women’s lacrosse will play its first game as the 20th varsity collegiate sport at TU in the spring of 2020, following the men’s lacrosse team’s opening season in the spring of 2019. Both programs will compete as associate members of the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference.
