Thirty years ago, an impulse buy changed the life of Amanda Daniels. In hindsight, the purchase worked out pretty well for the Denison women’s lacrosse program, too.
Daniels ranks among the top Division III coaches in America, having led the Big Red to seven NCAA Sweet Sixteen berths and a Final Four appearance in 12 seasons.
She may never have played the sport, had she not had birthday money in her pocket and a curiosity about lacrosse sticks. Daniels already played high school soccer, basketball, and softball, and had run track in junior high. But something about the lacrosse stick in the sporting goods store was irresistible.
“I bought it on a whim,” she says. “We didn’t even have girls’ lacrosse at my school at the time. It was just this piece of sporting equipment that I didn’t have.”
A year later, her high school added lacrosse as a girls’ varsity sport. A year after that, Daniels tried out for the team as a senior. Her speed, stamina, and hand-eye coordination made her a standout midfielder who helped Le Moyne College earn two trips to the Division I NCAA tournament.
“If I could have invented a sport for myself, it would have been lacrosse,” Daniels says. “Taking a chance and playing it has certainly led me down a path I couldn’t have anticipated and love so much.”
It’s an unconventional journey that has enhanced the careers of many Big Red athletes.
A proud mentor
Legendary Hamilton College lacrosse coach Patty Kloidt has a confession. After retiring in 2024, she wanted Daniels – who played lacrosse and soccer under Kloidt at Le Moyne and served as her assistant coach on Hamilton’s 2008 NCAA title team – to replace her.
“I recruited her to come back to Hamilton,” Kloidt says. “But she’s too loyal to Denison.”
Daniels’ answer came as no surprise to her mentor. After all, it was Kloidt who encouraged her to apply for the Denison opening in 2013 after five seasons at Morrisville State College.
Daniels saw a Big Red program with a tradition of success, and a university whose rising academic standing afforded it the chance to recruit better student-athletes. That combination, coupled with Daniels’ coaching ability, has seen the program transform into a perennial power.
Denison has qualified for the NCAA tournament in every season under Daniels, with the exception of 2020, when the pandemic ended it prematurely. The Big Red have won seven conference regular-season titles and 10 conference tournament titles in that time.
She’s already the program’s all-time winningest coach with a 153-63 record.
“Amanda understands how to connect with student-athletes,” Kloidt says. “I knew she would be a good fit at Denison. I have followed her coaching career, and I’m super proud of the job she’s done there.”
Sum of her experiences
Daniels has loved lacrosse from almost the moment she picked up the stick in the sporting goods store. But there was a two-year stretch, after earning her master’s degree in new media from Syracuse University in 2004, when another sport occupied her attention — bull riding.
Talk about bucking the trends. The coach worked as an accounts executive for a Colorado advertising agency, where she created content for the Professional Bull Riders circuit. Daniels wrote scripts for radio and television ads and learned how to edit commercials.
“They survived without me, but it was a cool experience,” she says.
Daniels is the sum of her experiences, and she’s borrowed from her background in new media to the delight of her Denison athletes. Each year, she produces a video for the team’s Senior Day/Family Banquet. It includes senior highlights from their four years in the program as well as funny moments from the season.
She also made a hype video for the Big Red’s first trip to the NCAA tournament with her as coach in 2014, and Daniels has hinted she might do it again, “when the time is right.”
The 2008 Hamilton national championship team still remembers the hype video Daniels created ahead of its NCAA semifinal game.
“Our kids were so amped up after watching it,” Kloidt says. “It’s a perfect example of how Amanda makes the game fun for her players.”
Players’ perspective
Before becoming a two-time All-American and before helping lead the Big Red to a 2021 NCAA Final Four berth, Casey McTague ’22 was a coveted recruit looking for the right college.
The midfielder had plenty of options, but one meeting with Daniels ended her search.
“Coach Daniels has this great energy about her,” says McTague, a junior accounts executive at Vince, a leading global luxury apparel and accessories brand. “She has a very calm and welcoming presence, and I sensed the same vibe when I met the team. I felt like I was home.”
No single coaching style guarantees success, but athletes are often quick to sniff out insincerity. McTague and other former players laud Daniels’ authenticity and her even-handed approach that fosters a fun yet competitive environment.
McTague says players can talk to her about any topic and expect an honest answer.
“She’s open to feedback, and I always felt supported by her,” McTague says. “That’s not something you always find with coaches. I couldn’t have achieved what I did at Denison without Coach Daniels’ guidance.”
Anna DeVuono ’25 is more succinct.
“I just felt comfortable in her space,” she says.
DeVuono did not become a starter until her senior season, but all through her career at Denison, she appreciated the fact that Daniels made time to meet with her individually. The coach explained to DeVuono what she needed to improve and how she remained a valuable team member.
As a senior, DeVuono blossomed into an All-American, leading the Big Red with 80 goals and helping them reach the NCAA Elite Eight in 2025.
“Ultimately, it comes down to honest and respectful communication,” Daniels says. “It’s about finding the right balance between how we are communicating our emotions, especially around any disappointment in an outcome or overall level of play. I think it’s more about learning your team each year and finding the right balance that works for them.”
The Big Red have made seven consecutive trips to the NCAA Sweet Sixteen heading into the 2026 season. Last year, they defeated their first top-10 opponent in Daniels’ tenure, No. 5 Franklin & Marshall College, during their NCAA tournament run.
Despite nearly 20 years of head-coaching experience, Daniels isn’t one who thinks she has it figured out. She understands the importance of evolving in a profession where “I get older and the players stay the same age.”
Former Denison athletic director Nan Carney-DeBord ’80 sees a coach who, in the era of social media, has adapted to the shifting culture in athletics.
“Amanda has a great understanding of the generational differences of student-athletes and what they respond to nowadays,” Carney-DeBord says. “That team is thriving under her leadership.”
What hasn’t changed is how Daniels builds relationships.
“I think it becomes obvious quickly when you aren’t being true to your values and who you are to the core,” Daniels says. “Trust is so important and being genuine, in my opinion, is at the core of building that trust.”
