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Syracuse head coach Kayla Treanor has accepted the women’s lacrosse head coach position at Penn State, Inside Lacrosse’s Matt Kinnear reported and SU confirmed in a press release Wednesday.
SU said assistant coach Caitlin Defliese Watkins will serve as the interim head coach, but Syracuse will conduct a national search for her replacement.
“I appreciate Kayla’s efforts leading our women’s lacrosse program for the past four seasons and wish her the best in her next endeavor,” Syracuse Director of Athletics John Wildhack said. “Our women’s lacrosse program has a great history as one of the nation’s premier programs with a tradition of excellence that will continue into the future under our program’s next leader.”
A former standout player for the Orange from 2013 to 2016, Treanor started her coaching career as an assistant at Harvard before joining Boston College’s staff in 2017. In her four years with the Eagles, they made the national championship game three times and captured the title in 2021.
Treanor was then hired by Syracuse in 2021 to take over for Gary Gait, who had become the coach of Syracuse’s men’s team. In her first three seasons, SU continued to establish itself as an elite program. The Orange lost in the NCAA Quarterfinals to Northwestern in her first season, then made back-to-back Final Fours in 2023 and 2024. In four seasons, Treanor finished with a 59-24 record.
However, SU took a major step back in 2025. Syracuse totaled its most losses (nine), lowest ranking (No. 19) and biggest margin of defeat (15) under Treanor. The regular season was marred with embarrassing defeats, starting with its first loss — a 16-8 bludgeoning to now-No. 1 North Carolina — and continuing with a defeat to unranked Virginia Tech and domination by No. 2 Boston College.
Despite the constant ups and downs, Syracuse qualified for the Atlantic Coast Conference and NCAA Tournaments. But SU flamed out by losing to Stanford in the first round of the ACC Tournament and collapsing versus Yale in the second round of the national tournament. The season-ending defeat marked the Orange’s earliest exit under Treanor.
Now, Treanor joins a Penn State squad that went 7-9 last season and missed the NCAA Tournament. Though the Nittany Lions haven’t made it past the first round since 2017, Treanor’s coaching and playing experience could end their drought.
Syracuse is now left with a vacancy at head coach after one of its worst seasons in recent memory. Treanor’s replacement will mark SU’s third head coach in the last six campaigns.
