Wesleyan University Women's Lacrosse

Kim Williams has brought the Wesleyan women’s lacrosse program into national prominence as she enters her 11th year at the helm in 2026. Williams is a two-time IWLCA Berkshire Region Coach/Coaching Staff of the Year recipient (2017, 2025), recorded her 100th career win with the Cardinals in the 2025 season, and has led the Cardinals to seven straight NCAA Tournament appearances heading into 2026. Williams took over a program that was coming off eight consecutive losing seasons and just four conference wins from 2010-15. In her first season, Wesleyan finished 5-9 overall and 2-8 in the NESCAC, the two conference wins were the most in seven years. One year later, Williams led the Cardinals to what was their best season in program history as Wesleyan set team records in overall wins (11) and NESCAC victories (7) as the Cardinals finished 11-6 and 7-3. Additionally, the Cardinals ranked in the Top 20 in the country for the majority of the season, qualified for the NESCAC Tournament for the first time in eight years, and earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in team history. Williams was named the 2017 NESCAC Coach of the Year and the 2017 IWLCA Berkshire Region Coach of the Year for her efforts in turning the program around. The following season, in 2018, Williams guided the Cardinals to their second consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance. Wesleyan defeated No. 12 Messiah in the First Round for its first postseason victory ever, and the next day, the Cardinals earned an 11-6 win over No. 18 St. John Fisher to reach the Sweet 16. Wesleyan concluded the 2018 campaign with a 12-7 mark, as the 12 wins set a new program record by surpassing the win total from the year before. In 2019, Williams’ program improved once again as she led the team to the Final Four of the NCAA Tournament for the first time ever. The Cardinals had arguably the most difficult road to the semifinals, defeating No. 9 Mary Washington (11-6), No. 2 Washington & Lee (13-7), and No. 1 Gettysburg (10-7), before falling short to the eventual national champions, No. 3 Middlebury. The historic campaign saw Wesleyan set another program record in wins (17) and NESCAC victories (7) as the Cardinals finished 17-4 overall and 8-2 in league play. Wesleyan entered the 2020 campaign ranked No. 5 in the IWLCA Division III Preseason Poll and were off to an incredible start, going 4-0 and outscoring its opponents 60-22 before the COVID-19 pandemic abruptly ended the season. Since COVID, the Cardinals have been consistently one of the top programs in the nation, achieving win totals of 14 (2022), 15 (2023), 16 (2024), and 15 (2025) the last four seasons. Those single-season win totals are four of the five winningest campaigns in team history. Wesleyan has advanced to the Third Round (Sweet 16) of the team's last six NCAA Tournament appearances (2018-19, 2022-25) and won the Little Three Championship four straight years (2021-24) and in five of the past 10 (2018, 2021-24). Prior to her tenure at Wesleyan, Williams served two seasons as head coach at Stockton University in New Jersey, three seasons as an assistant coach at Colby College in Waterville, Maine, and four seasons as a stellar competitor at C.W. Post University in Brookville, N.Y. Bringing the Ospreys at Stockton into their first varsity season in 2014, Williams met with immediate success behind a 16-4 victory over Notre Dame (Md.) in the team's varsity opener. Stockton posted a 10-5 record in 2014 and featured the New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) Rookie of the Year. The Ospreys followed up with a 10-6 mark in 2015 while boasting the NJAC Goaltender of the Year.  Williams began her collegiate coaching career with the Mules of Colby from 2011-13, in which the team qualified for the NCAA Tournament each year and amassed a brilliant 43-13 overall record, including a 22-7 mark against NESCAC rivals. The NESCAC is the top Division III women's lacrosse conference in the nation and had eight teams ranked among the top-20 nationally in the final 2015 Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Association (IWLCA) poll, led by NCAA Tournament runner-up Trinity College. No other conference had more than three teams in the top-20. After a tremendous high school playing career at West Morris (N.J.), where she earned Third Team All-State recognition, Williams played four seasons at C.W. Post, helping Post reach the NCAA Division II Tournament each year with one title and three other appearances in the Final Four. She was recognized as an IWLCA All-American three times along with IWLCA Division II Defender of the Year accolades as a sophomore and Womenslacrosse.com Division II Midfielder of the Year recognition as a senior. She also earned First Team All-Conference accolades three times. In addition to her on-the-field laurels, Williams was lauded by the IWLCA, the East Coast Conference, and the College Sports Information Directors Association (CoSIDA) with academic honors during her college playing days. She also earned a Woman of Achievement Award and Distinguished Graduating Student Leadership Award from C.W. Post before graduating magna cum laude in 2010 with a degree in childhood education.

Clara Bissell enters her fifth season with the Wesleyan women’s lacrosse team in 2026, earning a promotion to associate head coach in the 2023-24 season after serving as an assistant coach in her first two years at Wesleyan. Bissell arrived in Middletown following three seasons (2018-21) as an assistant coach for Transylvania University in Lexington, Kentucky.  The Cardinals continued a run of excellence in 2025, winning 15+ games for the third straight year while prolonging a streak of seven straight double-digit win seasons in non-COVID impacted campaigns. Wesleyan rattled off seven straight wins including a 13-10 triumph over Middlebury in the NESCAC Semifinal, as the Cardinals snapped the Panthers' 67-game win streak in the process. With that win over Middlebury, Wesleyan advanced to the NESCAC title game for the second straight year and later qualified for the NCAA Tournament for the seventh straight non-COVID impacted season. The Cardinals defeated Babson and Rowan in the NCAA Tournament, advancing to the Quarterfinal round (Elite 8) for the second time in team history. Bissell and the Wesleyan coaching staff were recognized by the IWLCA as the Berkshire Region 2025 Coaching Staff of the Year.  The 2024 season saw Wesleyan win the Little Three title for a fourth straight year while advancing to the NESCAC Championship with a win in the semifinal round for the first time in team history. Wesleyan won a team record 10 straight games and had four wins over Top 5 ranked teams, having beaten Tufts twice as well as Salisbury on the road and William Smith at home. Wesleyan hosted play in the second round of the NCAA Tournament for the first time while the team was ranked as high as No. 2 nationally, the highest-ever ranking in team history.  The 2023 Cardinal squad achieved 15 wins, won the Little Three Championship, and advanced to the Sweet 16 round of the NCAA Tournament. Wesleyan's 15 wins in 2023 are the second-most in team history while the Little Three title is the Cardinals' third consecutive and fourth in the last five seasons. Wesleyan defeated Roger Williams at home in the NCAA Second Round, advancing to the Third Round (Sweet 16) of the national tournament for the fourth straight time. During her debut season with the team in 2022, Bissell helped lead the Cardinals to a 14-win season, Little Three title and trip to the NCAA Tournament. The 14 wins are the third-highest single-season win total in program history. Wesleyan defeated York (Pa.) in the NCAA Tournament Second Round, 13-11, advancing to the Third Round (Sweet 16) for the third time in program history. In her time with the Pioneers, Bissell was part of two NCAA Tournament teams as Transylvania went 15-5 in 2019 and 11-5 in 2021, sporting a perfect 10-0 record in league play and winning the HCLC Championship both seasons. Bissell’s day-to-day duties included planning and executing player and team development across individual seasons, practices and games. Her administrative duties included managing compliance requests, coordinating team meals, managing film, organizing volunteer events, preparing scouting reports, developing social media content and producing recruiting communications. Outside of collegiate lacrosse, Bissell helped coach the Sizzle Select Lacrosse Club based in Lexington for two seasons (2019-21). She worked with youth players in Central Kentucky through private lessons and prepared the student-athletes for tournament play through planning and executing practices. Prior to Transylvania, Bissell’s first collegiate coaching experience came as a graduate assistant coach at the University of Charleston in West Virginia. This was her first glimpse at recruiting in college, planning practices, lifts and conditioning with the head coach. Bissell’s experience outside of lacrosse includes an interim assistant field hockey coach title while at Transylvania in the fall of 2019. She also was a team manager for the Berry College football team for three seasons (2014-16) while an undergrad. She was a three-year letterwinner in lacrosse at Berry College (graduated a semester early) as she totaled 38 goals and four assists for 42 points in 42 career games played. Bissell graduated from Berry College in Georgia with a bachelor’s degree in English (literature) in December 2016. She went on to earn a master’s degree in business administration from the Univ. of Charleston (W.V.) in May 2018.