NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Vanderbilt lacrosse head coach Beth Hewitt announced Friday the promotion of Jill Doherty to associate head coach.
The 2024 season will mark Doherty’s sixth season on the coaching staff. Doherty has been an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at her alma mater for the last five years.
“Jill has been an integral part of the program that we are building at Vanderbilt,” said Hewitt. “We pride ourselves on doing things the ‘Vanderbilt Way’ and Jill lives and breathes that as a former student-athlete every single day. She has worked on both the offensive and defensive sides of the ball and led our recruiting department. Jill has done an outstanding job getting talented student-athletes to West End while competing with some of the top programs in the country.”
In her first full season on the sidelines in 2019, Doherty took ownership in coordinating Vanderbilt’s defensive front. The Commodores finished fourth in the nation in caused turnovers and sixth in the NCAA in ground balls. Under Doherty’s coaching, Melissa Hawkins finished second in school history in caused turnovers and fifth in ground balls. The 2023 season marked Doherty’s first full season focusing on the midfielders.
“Elevating Jill to associate head coach is proof that Vanderbilt continues to invest in its people,” said Hewitt. “Jill is a rare talent in the sport of lacrosse and specifically as a teacher of the game. It is imperative that we keep our rising stars at Vanderbilt and athletic director Dr. Candice Storey Lee helped us do just that.”
One of Vanderbilt’s most decorated student-athletes, Doherty played in the black and gold from 2014-17 and finished her career ranked among the program’s all-time leaders in the school record books in assists (second, 84), points (seventh, 175) and draw controls (third, 163).
Doherty began her time at Vanderbilt in 2013 as a member of a top-10 recruiting class. The Reading, Massachusetts, native majored in human and organizational development and graduated in 2017 as a four-year starter and senior captain for the Commodores.
