Coastal Carolina University Men's Lacrosse

Selvage was introduced as the second head coach of the Coastal Carolina lacrosse program on Aug. 18, 2015.  Selvage spent the previous 15 years as the head coach at Lock Haven where she led the program to three NCAA Division II championship appearances since 2009. Selvage was the 2015 Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches' Association (IWLCA) Division II Coach of the Year after leading the Bald Eagles to the Division II title game -- falling in overtime -- while going 20-1 overall and 12-0 in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC). Lock Haven additionally played for the 2009 and 2014 NCAA Division II championships, while reaching the NCAA Division II semifinals in 2005, 2007 and 2010. Overall, Selvage led LHU to a total of eight NCAA postseason berths, including three straight and six over the past seven years. During her time at Lock Haven, Selvage built the Bald Eagles into a NCAA Division II power. Lock Haven produced 21 All-Americans that earned a total of 39 All-American honors, had seven National Player of the Year honors, finished among the top six in IWLCA NCAA Division II polls in nine of the last 10 seasons and lost just 32 games over the span. The Eagles lost just six conference games over the last seven years and won five PSAC championships. Overall, Selvage posted a 200-62 record with the Eagles and was 126-25 in 12 years in the PSAC. Along with her 2015 National Coach of the Year honors, Selvage was named the 2015 South Region Coach of the Year for the second consecutive season. She led Lock Haven to a No. 2 national ranking in both 2014 and 2015. Under Selvage's guidance in 2015, Jessica Pandolf was named the IWLCA Division II Midfielder of the Year for the third consecutive season and teammate Chrissy Baffuto was tabbed the DII Goalkeeper of the Year. The duo additionally picked up first team All-American honors while teammates Jenna Dingler (first team), Kelly Hamilton (second team) and Shannon Bissnette (second team) were named to the All-American team as well. Pandolf led all Division II players with 82 goals on the season while her 98 points on the season were the third-most in DII. Baffuto recorded 133 saves in nearly 1,300 minutes of action and her 4.98 goals against average was second-best in DII while her .518 save percentage ranked fourth. In 2014, Lock Haven, thanks to a 17-game win streak, made its second appearance in an NCAA Division II title game as the squad posted a 19-3 record overall and 11-1 mark in the PSAC. Pandolf won her second National Midfielder of the Year award and was joined on the All-America first team by Chelsea Borrino while Lindsay Walbrant and Kelly Hamilton earned third team honors. While LHU posted an 11-0 mark during the 2013 PSAC regular season, the Bald Eagles lost in the league's tournament final. However, the squad earned a berth to the NCAA postseason and Pandolf won the first of her three IWLCA Division II Midfielder of the Year honors. Pandolf was additionally tabbed first team All-American and Borrino earned third team All-American honors. Selvage directed LHU to the 2011 PSAC title, a berth in the NCAA postseason and a No. 4 final national rank. Four-time All-American Katie Zichello was selected as the IWLCA Division II National Defender of the Year as she led the nation in caused turnovers (67) and ground balls (87). The 2010 squad posted a 16-1 record, were PSAC champions and reached the NCAA semifinal while ending the season fourth in the national poll. For her effort, Selvage was selected as the PSAC West Division Coach of the Year and five Eagles were named All-American. Selvage led Lock Haven to the 2009 NCAA Division II title game -- the program's first appearance in the final since winning the 1979 championship. She was selected PSAC West Division Coach of the Year, going 18-4 overall and 7-1 in the league. The team featured four All-Americans and finished third in the final national poll. In 2008, Lock Haven was 15-4 overall and 12-2 in the PSAC but missed out on the postseason. However, the Bald Eagles finished sixth in the final national poll and had three players earn All-American honors. The 2007 squad reached the NCAA Division II semifinal, featured four All-Americans and was fifth in the final poll. In 2006, Lock Haven only lost two matches (17-2) and went 11-1 in the league to finish sixth in the final poll while three Eagles were named All-American. Lock Haven had a breakout year in 2005 as Selvage put the Bald Eagles in the conversation as one of the nation's elite programs. The team posted a 14-5 record, had three All-Americans and finished the season as an NCAA Division II semifinalist. In 2004, Selvage was named PSAC Coach of the Year, posting an 8-9 record, and led LHU to its first PSAC tournament appearance since 1991. Despite a 7-9 record in her first year with Lock Haven (2002), Selvage was still tabbed the PSAC Coach of the Year as the Bald Eagles had won just a total of two games in the previous three seasons (one in 2001, zero in 2000 and one in 1999). Megan Dwyer was named second team All-American in both 2002 and 2003. Selvage has served on the IWLCA Board of Directors on two separate occasions and was the president of the association. Following her graduation from Lock Haven in 1998 (B.A. in psychology), Selvage served stints as head field hockey coach at SUNY New Paltz and Elmira College. While at Elmira, she also took on head lacrosse duties, and prepared both squads for the move from club to varsity level. In 2000, Selvage moved on to SUNY Geneseo, where she led the Lady Knights field hockey squad to a runner-up finish in the SUNYAC and a berth to the NYSWCAA playoffs. She guided three players to all-conference honors and two to All-NYSWCAA accolades. Under Selvage, the 2001 Lady Knight lacrosse team also advanced to the SUNYAC Championship playoffs with three athletes earning all-state status and two meriting All-SUNYAC honors. Selvage was a member of Lock Haven's lacrosse team and garnered second team All-American honors as an attacker in 1998. She was also a standout goalkeeper for the Lock Haven field hockey team from 1994-97 and played on Lock Haven's 1994 and 1995 NCAA Division II National Championship squads. LHU also won three PSAC field hockey tournament championships during her playing days. Selvage earned All-American and All-PSAC honors in her junior and senior seasons. In 46 games, she posted 255 saves and 20 shutouts. Selvage has etched her place in the LHU record book as her career goals-against-average of 0.90 ranks seventh, her 23 career shutouts ties her for fourth and her 255 career saves is listed at eighth. In 2016, Selvage's inaugural season at Coastal, she led the Chants to an 11-7 overall record, including a 5-3 mark in Big South play to earn the No. 4 seed in the conference playoffs. In the tournament opener, Selvage rallied her troops back from an 8-4 halftime deficit to notch a 9-8 victory over Liberty in double overtime.

Rachel Shuck Whitten was named the third head women's lacrosse coach in program history in August 2021. Whitten takes over the Coastal Carolina program after nine years and seven seasons at the helm of the Furman women’s lacrosse program, starting the program as the first head coach in May 2012. In seven years of NCAA Division I play at Furman, Whitten amassed a 68-49 record and guided the Paladins to six Southern Conference (SoCon) semifinal appearances, while playing in three SoCon championship games in 2018, 2019, and 2021. The Annapolis, Md. native coached 21 All-SoCon performers during her tenure at Furman, eight of which were named to the SoCon All-Freshman team.   Furman swept the SoCon awards in 2021 as Hannah Demis was named the SoCon Offensive Player of the Year, Avery Whitehead was tabbed the SoCon Defensive Player of the Year, and Meagan Beal picked up SoCon Freshman of the Year honors. Whitten was also honored as the SoCon Coach of the Year for the first time in her career.   In all, the Paladins placed nine on the All-SoCon teams in 2021, going 12-5 overall and 4-0 in league play to win the SoCon regular-season championship title. Furman advanced to the 2021 SoCon Tournament championship match before falling to Mercer in the title match 14-13.   In 2019, Whitten’s team won 11 games and went 4-1 in conference play before advancing to the SoCon Championship Tournament finals for the second-straight season.   Prior to a down year in 2018, in which the Paladins still reached the SoCon Championship Tournament championship match, Whitten’s squads posted back-to-back 12-7 win seasons in 2016 and 2017.   In 2015, the program’s first in competition, Britt Douglass earned ASUN Freshman of the Year honors, as Whitten guided the team to a 9-8 overall record, including a 4-3 mark in conference play.   Before starting the program at Furman, Whitten spent six seasons at the University of Denver, serving as an assistant coach from 2007-11 before being promoted to associate head coach prior to the 2012 season. During her tenure at Denver, the Pioneers amassed a 71-36 (.664) record, won three Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) regular-season championships, and ranked among the nation's top 20 teams three times. In 2012, Denver posted a 12-3 record and 6-1 mark against MPSF opponents, leading the nation with 12.6 caused turnovers per game and ranking 10th nationally in scoring offense (13.93 goals per game), while posting the nation's 11th-best scoring margin at 4.2. The team's 12-game winning streak was the longest in Denver women's lacrosse history. The Pioneers concluded the 2010 season with a 13-5 record and went a perfect 6-0 in league play. Denver advanced to the finals of the MPSF Tournament but was edged by Stanford, 11-10, in double overtime, to finish the season ranked 20th nationally. Pioneers Ali Flury, Natasha Davies, and Lexi Sanders were named to the IWLCA All-West Region second team, while Flury earned All-American accolades. The 2008 squad also went undefeated in MPSF play, earning a final ranking of 15th nationally.   In Whitten's first two seasons at Denver, the Pioneers posted a combined 29-9 record, including a perfect 10-0 slate in regular-season league play. A two-time All-American at Loyola University in Baltimore, Md., Whitten helped the Greyhounds advance to three straight NCAA Tournaments from 2002-04, including an appearance in the 2003 NCAA Final Four. Loyola ranked among the nation's top five teams in her first three seasons, finishing the 2003 campaign as the top-ranked team in the country.  Whitten, who is fourth all-time at Loyola with 120 career assists, was nominated as a junior and senior for the Tewaaraton Award, which is presented annually to the NCAA women's lacrosse player of the year. She currently ranks ninth in program history for assists in a season with 38 in 2003 and is tied for seventh for ground balls in a season with 63 in 2003. A 2004 graduate of Loyola with a bachelor's degree in business administration, she is married to Marty Whitten of Verailles, Mo., and the couple has two children, Aleni Lou and James Cole.  

Hamilton closed her playing career as a two-time Division II IWLCA All-American and All-Region selection, earning the four honors her junior and senior seasons. She was additionally a three-time All-Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) honoree, and was named MVP of the PSAC Championship in 2014 as LHU claimed the conference title. The Bald Eagles repeated as conference champions in the 2015 season, Hamilton's final year at LHU. In addition to her on-field performance, Hamilton was a dean's list and honor roll student at Lock Haven, and served as Secretary of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee. Prior to joining Coastal's staff, Hamilton gained coaching experience serving as a coach and counselor at Lock Haven lacrosse camps. She also coached for Ultimate Lacrosse, a club team based in Pennsylvania. In 2016, Hamilton's inaugural season at Coastal, she led the Chants to an 11-7 overall record, including a 5-3 mark in Big South play to earn the No. 4 seed in the conference playoffs. In the tournament opener, Hamilton helped Coastal overtime an 8-4 halftime deficit to notch a 9-8 victory over Liberty in double overtime. Hamilton graduated from Lock Haven in 2015 with a B.S. in sports administration and a minor in exercise psychology.

After being promoted from volunteer to full-time assistant back in August, former Chanticleer attacker Hannah Demis enters her first season as part of the Coastal Carolina women’s lacrosse coaching staff. Demis began her collegiate playing career at Furman University during the fall of 2017 until her graduation in December 2021. In her time with the Paladins, Demis served as the team’s Co-Captain for two seasons, she was named the SoCon Offensive Player of the Year and she was named to the SoCon All-Tournament Team in both 2019 and 2021. In the 2021 season, she finished fourth in the NCAA in total assists and assists per game. She also holds the program record for most assists in a single game and is the all-time leader in career assists in Furman’s school history. During her final semester in Greenville, Demis served as a volunteer assistant for the women’s lacrosse team in the fall of 2021. She also served as an intern with the health science program, helping to develop programming that provides mental and physical guidance for student-athletes developing identity outside of athletics and in their transition from collegiate competition. Demis graduated from Furman University in December of 2021 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Health Sciences. After four years with the Paladins, Demis transferred to Coastal Carolina University in January 2022. Prior to the start of the 2022 spring season, she was named to the ASUN Preseason All-Conference Team.  Demis graduated from Coastal Carolina University with a master’s degree in sports management in May 2023. Following her lone season with the Chants, and the fifth and final of her career, Demis was added by head coach Rachel Shuck Whitten to the Coastal Carolina women’s lacrosse coaching staff as a voluntary assistant coach.  During the 2022-23 year, her responsibilities included assisting with both the offensive and defensive sides of the field, goalkeeper training, community outreach and team-related community service activities and practice planning. She also assisted in hosting special skills individuals, as well as youth camps and clinics. Now, as a full-time assistant coach for the Chants, Demis will oversee the draw team and primarily work with the offense.  

Abby Thorne was named an assistant coach at Coastal Carolina in summer of 2025 following an outstanding career at the University of Pittsburgh.   Former lacrosse team captain, Thorne was a four-year letterwinner at Pitt and the 2025 recipient of the school's Script Writer Award, which is given annually to the student-athlete who best embraces the athletics program's seven bridges achieving comprehensive excellence on the field, in the classroom, within the university's community, and in the city of Pittsburgh.      A native of Australia, Thorne was named to the country's senior national team for the 2025 World Games. She also represented her country as a member of the national team at the 2022 World Championships and World Games.   Thorne concluded her collegiate career ranked first all-time at Pitt in caused turnovers (54), ground balls (92), and games started (68), as well as third in games played.   She was an All-ACC Academic Team selection and a member of the IWLCA Academic Honor squad, graduating with a bachelor's degree.