Denison University

Amanda Daniels returns for her 12th season as Head Women's Lacrosse Coach at Denison University in 2025. She was also promoted to Associate Professor of Physical Education in the summer of 2023.

Daniels was inducted into the Ohio Lacrosse Hall of Fame in August of 2024.

Few coaches have had a better start to their careers than Daniels. In 11 years and 10 full seasons (2020 season was shortened due to COVID-19) as the Big Red head coach, she has guided Denison to 10 straight NCAA Division III Tournament appearances, a Final Four appearance in 2021, six North Coast Athletic Conference championships and nine NCAC Tournament titles. From April 11, 2015, to April 2, 2022, the Big Red won 45 consecutive regular-season conference games.

At Denison, Daniels has compiled an impressive record of 137-58 (.702 pct.) while going 66-6 (.916 pct.) in NCAC contests. She has been named the NCAC Coach of the Year three times - 2014, 2016 and 2023. Daniels is a four-time IWLCA Great Lakes Region Coach of the Year in 2016, 2019, 2021 and 2024.

On February 27, 2022, Denison defeated Dickinson College 17-11 as Coach Daniels earned her 100th career win as head coach of the Big Red.

The 2024 season was once again a memorable one of the Big Red. Denison finished with a 15-5 overall record after falling to Tufts in the third round of the NCAA tournament. The Big Red advanced to the round of 16 in the NCAA Tournament for the sixth straight year after defeating No. 22 Scranton by a 13-6 score in the NCAA Second Round. Under the guidance of the coaching staff, five players garnered All-Great Lakes Region honors and two were named IWLCA All-Americans. Recent graduate Josie Lucchesi and rising senior Mary Daniel earned All-American honors from the IWLCA. Kate Coward, Bridget Sheehy and Maddie Morrell joined Lucchesi and Daniel on the IWLCA All-Great Lakes Region Teams. Denison ranked among the top 25 in NCAA Division III in shots per game (9th), shots on goal (16th), scoring offense (20th) and caused turnovers per game (21st). Additionally, Denison's 15-5 record was the 20th best in Division III, in terms of both wins and win percentage.

In 2023, Denison finished its 10th season under Coach Daniels with an 11-11 overall record but advanced to the NCAA Sweet 16 for the eighth time in school history and for the fifth season in a row. The Big Red earned the NCAC's automatic qualifier to the national tournament after defeating No. 21 nationally-ranked Kenyon College by a score of 14-8 in the NCAC Tournament Championship. In addition to ending Kenyon's undefeated season, the win gave Denison its league-leading 16th NCAC Tournament Championship in women's lacrosse and was its eighth in 10 years under the leadership of Coach Daniels. Denison then made its 24th overall and ninth straight appearance in the NCAA Tournament. From there, senior Jane Bailey recorded seven points as Denison scored five goals in three different quarters to earn an 18-10 victory over Hope College during the first round of the NCAA Tournament before junior Merrill Rollhaus scored twice in the fourth quarter and netted the game-winning goal with just eight seconds left in triple overtime to propel Denison to a 10-9 victory over the No. 17 nationally-ranked University of Chicago during the second round.

The Denison women's lacrosse team received an at-large bid to the 2022 NCAA Division III Tournament, and thanks to the game-winning goal just over one minute into overtime by junior attacker Jane Bailey, earned a big 13-12 comeback victory at home over Catholic University during the second round of the tournament. In the end, the Big Red ended their ninth year under Coach Daniels with a 12-7 overall record and a runner-up finish in the NCAC both during the regular season and during the conference tournament while advancing to the NCAA Sweet 16 for the fourth season in a row and for the seventh time in school history. Additionally, for the second year in a row, senior Casey McTague was named a Second-Team All-American, a CoSIDA Third-Team Academic All-American® and was the NCAC Midfielder of the Year while joining McTague on the All-NCAC first-team was Bailey and sophomore defender Kate Coward.

In 2021, the Big Red had an historic run into the NCAA Tournament that saw them fall to eventual National Champion Salisbury in the Final Four. The Big Red finished the season 12-2 overall, went undefeated in the NCAC (5-0) for the fifth full season in a row, won their fifth straight NCAC Championship and captured their seventh straight NCAC tournament title. Daniels coached three All-Americans in Casey McTague, Charlotte Godfrey, and Liza Farnham. Farnham was named NCAC Offensive Player of the Year and McTague was named NCAC Midfielder of the Year.

In 2019, Daniels and the Big Red rolled through the NCAC with another percent 8-0 record. The team finished the year with a 16-5 record while facing one of the most difficult schedules in school history. Four of Denison's five losses came against nationally-ranked opponents and on March 22, the Big Red defeated No. 23 Rowan, 16-15 in overtime. In the postseason awards, Jane Goodspeed was named to the IWLCA All-American team for the second time while repeating at the NCAC's Defensive Player of the Year. First-year Casey McTague was named the NCAC's Newcomer of the Year. Denison qualified for the NCAA Tournament for the 21st time and advanced to the NCAA Sweet 16 for the fifth time.

In five years at Morrisville State (N.Y.), Daniels posted a 41-41 record while leading the Mustangs to the program’s first North Eastern Athletic Conference regular season and tournament championship in 2012. That season, she was named the NEAC Coach of the Year after her squad posted a program-best 13-6 record and went 9-0 in conference play. Daniels has a career head coaching record of 152-83 (.647 pct.) in 14 seasons between Denison and Morrisville State,

Prior to her head coaching stint at Morrisville State, Daniels spent one year as the assistant women’s lacrosse coach and assistant women’s soccer coach at Hamilton College (N.Y.).  While at Hamilton, Daniels helped guide the women’s lacrosse team to a 21-1 record and the program’s first NCAA Division III Championship in 2008. As a member of the women’s soccer coaching staff at Hamilton in 2007, that team would go on to post a 16-2-2 record while advancing to the NCAA Division III Tournament quarterfinals.

A 2003 graduate of Le Moyne College in Syracuse, New York, Daniels was a four-time first-team All-Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference selection in women’s lacrosse. She was a part of two MAAC Tournament championship teams and two NCAA Division I Tournament teams in 2002 and 2003. She served as a team captain in 2003 and left Le Moyne with 190 career points. Daniels was also a four-year member of the women’s soccer team at Le Moyne where she led the Dolphins in scoring as a senior.

After graduating Cum Laude with a bachelor of arts in English and communication, Daniels would go on to receive a masters’ degree in New Media from Syracuse University’s esteemed SI Newhouse School of Communications in 2004. While attending graduate school, Daniels spent one season as a part-time assistant coach at Le Moyne.

Following graduate school, Daniels would spend one year as the head lacrosse coach at Uppingham School in Rutland, England. After returning to the United States in the Fall of 2005, Daniels accepted a position with Windstar Studios as an account executive, video editor, and scriptwriter. In 2007 Daniels made her return to coaching at Hamilton.