Tommy Kelly enters his third season at the helm of the Newberry women's lacrosse program after joining the team for the 2022 season.
The 2023 season would be a historic one for Kelly and his Wolves as they would break a program record for most wins in a season with 13 wins and a first time appearance in the SAC Tournament title game. The Wolves would break multiple team records as they would have the highest goals per game average with 13.68 along with the lowest scoring average allowed with 9.89 goals allowed per game. Kelly would have six players named all-conference which marks the most in program history.Â
In his first season with the Wolves, Kelly led the team to the best record in program history (11-8), and he coached three all-conference performers and a South Atlantic Conference Freshman of the Year. The program witnessed several firsts in Kelly's first season at the helm, including 26 program records, the team's first ever victories over Limestone and Lenoir-Rhyne, and the program's first ever postseason win in the SAC Tournament.
Prior to Newberry College, Kelly inherited a winless program at Davis & Elkins College (W.Va.), and he led the Senators to their first winning season in school history in 2019 and a playoff appearance in 2021. While at Davis & Elkins, Kelly coached 11 All-Conference players as well as a Mountain East Conference Freshman of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year.
The Washington, Pa., native also served as an assistant coach at his alma mater, Slippery Rock University (Pa.), where he developed a defense that allowed 6.8 goals per game while also making the playoffs for the first time in school history in 2017.
