Regy Thorpe - Women's Lacrosse Coach - Syracuse University Athletics

Regy Thorpe

Title:
Head Coach
Email:
rjthorpe@syr.edu

Regy Thorpe '01, who has helped guide teams to Championship Weekend eight times, returned to his alma mater to become the fourth head coach in Syracuse Women's Lacrosse program history.

Thorpe brings a wealth of coaching experience at the college, professional and international levels to the Orange, including 10 years on the Syracuse women's lacrosse staff. He served as associate head coach for five of those years.

"I'm excited to come back home to Syracuse University. This is my dream job," Thorpe said. "I'd like to thank John Wildhack, Herman Frazier and the entire selection committee for giving me this opportunity. I'd also like to thank Amanda O'Leary and the University of Florida for the past four years. Now it's time to get to work to ensure the continued success of Syracuse Women's Lacrosse."

"Regy is the right person to lead our program, with a vision for Syracuse women's lacrosse that aligns with and supports our ambitious goals," said Director of Athletics John Wildhack '80. "He's a championship-caliber coach with tremendous experience coaching both offense and defense, an elite recruiter and passionate mentor, and has deep ties to the Syracuse University and Central New York communities. I welcome Regy, his wife Amy and their children Gale and Ella back to Syracuse."

Thorpe coached on Gary Gait's women's lacrosse staff for 10 seasons, starting in the 2010 campaign through 2019. During that time, the Orange advanced to Championship Weekend six times, including five consecutive trips from 2012-16, and a pair of National Championship Game appearances. Syracuse won four conference regular-season titles and two conference tournament crowns — the 2013 BIG EAST title and the 2015 Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) Championship — under Thorpe. During his first stint at Syracuse, he mentored six Tewaaraton Award finalists, 21 IWLCA All-America selections and six IWLCA Player of the Year winners.

Thorpe spent four seasons at the University of Florida as associate head coach, helping lead the Gators to back-to-back 20-win seasons and national semifinal appearances in 2024 and 2025. After arriving in Gainesville, Florida won four consecutive conference titles, produced four Tewaaraton Award nominees, received 10 IWLCA All-America selections, garnered 10 conference Player of the Year awards and had 33 all-conference honorees. He successfully recruited a top-five class to Gainesville in four consecutive seasons. In 2025, his final year with the program, Florida ranked 12th nationally in scoring defense and sixth in points per game while leading the nation in fewest turnovers per game. Thorpe and the rest of the staff were named the 2025 Big 12 Coaching Staff of the Year.

Prior to joining the Gators, Thorpe spent one year at the University of Pittsburgh as assistant coach and director of recruiting, helping build the foundation for a new program through formulating program strategy and spearheading the Panthers' recruiting efforts.

In addition to his college coaching career, Thorpe has extensive experience at the professional and international levels in both the women's and men's game. He served as head coach of the USA Box World Team from 2017-24, leading Team USA to a Silver Medal at the 2024 Indoor Championships — the best finish in team history. He also served as head coach and general manager of the National Lacrosse League's New York Riptide and as head coach of the Hamilton Nationals of Major League Lacrosse, guiding the Nationals to the 2011 Championship Game. He also led the Long Island Sound of the United Women's Lacrosse League to an undefeated season and championship in 2017. Earlier in his coaching career, he served as general manager of the NLL's Rochester Knighthawks and as an assistant with the Iroquois Nationals.

A standout player before beginning his coaching career, Thorpe attended Herkimer Junior College, where he earned All-America honors and was named Defenseman of the Year in 1991. He enrolled at Syracuse and helped the Orange reach the national finals in 1992. As a team captain the following year, he earned All-America honors again after leading Syracuse to its fifth national title in 1993.

Following graduation, Thorpe embarked on a 15-season professional playing career with the Rochester Knighthawks of the National Lacrosse League, helping the team win the league crown in 1997 and again in 2007 as team captain. He also played for the Rochester Rattlers of Major League Lacrosse and represented the United States as a member of the US National Indoor Lacrosse Team four times, serving as team captain in 2007 and 2010.
Thorpe is an inductee of numerous Halls of Fame, including the National Lacrosse League, Jordan Elbridge Hall of Fame, U.S. Lacrosse Rochester Chapter Hall of Fame, NJCAA Lacrosse Hall of Fame and the Rochester Knighthawks NLL Hall of Fame.

Thorpe, a native of Elbridge, New York, and his wife, Amy, have a daughter, Ella '15, and son-in-law Blaze Riorden, as well as a son, Gale. Ella played for the Orange from 2013-16, while Gale was a member of the Orange men's lacrosse team in 2016 before transferring to Ohio State, where he graduated in 2018.