Furman Reappoints Rachel Shuck Whitten as Women's Lacrosse Coach

Furman Vice President for Intercollegiate Athletics Jason Donnelly announced today that Rachel Shuck Whitten is returning to Furman as the new head coach of the women's lacrosse program.

A native of Annapolis, Md., Whitten has led the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers to an ASUN Tournament title and NCAA Tournament appearance in the last five years as the head coach. In 12 seasons, Whitten's career record is 118-91 as head coach.

"We are excited to welcome Rachel and her family back to Furman," Donnelly said. "Rachel is an outstanding leader who understands what makes Furman special. As the founding head coach of our women's lacrosse program, she built a strong foundation rooted in excellence, character, and meaningful relationships. Her proven success as a head coach, commitment to developing exceptional student-athletes, and passion for the Furman community makes her the ideal person to lead our program. We are confident she will continue to build a culture that prepares our student-athletes for success on the field, in the classroom, and in life."

Whitten amassed a 50-42 record through her time at Coastal Carolina and was named the 2024 ASUN Coach of the Year following a school-record 14-win campaign and guided the program to its first NCAA Tournament appearance. The Chanticleers had 23 Academic All-ASUN Honorees academically.

Key Highlights:

• Rachel Shuck Whitten returns as Furman's women's lacrosse head coach
• Career record: 118-91, with the 2024 ASUN title and Coach of the Year award
• Previous Furman stint: 68-49 record and two SoCon regular-season titles

She earned 16 All-ASUN selections, including nine in first team and seven as an ASUN All-Freshman Team selection. Whitten has coached two ASUN Players of the Year (Kayla Downey ‘23' and Sydney McClure ‘25') and two-time ASUN Midfielder of the Year (Avery McIlwaine ‘23', ‘24'), along with ASUN Goalkeeper of the Year '25' Charlotte Sadler.

The Chanticleers went 12-7 overall and tied for third in the ASUN standings, posting single season record-highs in points (441), assists (151) and goals (290) in all of their contests.

"I am excited to return to Furman University and continue building a program that I had the privilege of starting from the ground up," added Whitten. "It has been an honor to work at Coastal Carolina, a pleasure to be part of its athletic department, and, most importantly, a privilege to coach every student-athlete during my time as a Chant. When Jason Donnelly called with the opportunity to return to Furman, it felt like the right time for my family to return home to Greenville. We are excited to rejoin the Furman community and continue elevating Furman Lacrosse to new heights."

Former Director of Athletics Dr. Gary Clark hired Whitten as the first ever head coach in program history on May 30, 2012. After seven seasons with the Paladins from 2015-21, she led the team to a 68-49 record and won two Southern Conference regular season titles in her first two seasons with the team (2019, 2021). Furman made six appearances in the conference tournament semifinals and three championship game appearances with the last coming in 2021. Whitten leads the Paladins to a 12-5 overall record and 4-0 conference mark to claim SoCon Coach of the Year honors in 2021.

During her first stint in Greenville she coached 35 all-conference players, including eight all-freshman team members. Britt Douglass earned her 2015 ASUN Freshman of the Year honors and in 2021, the Paladins won the team's top honors with Offensive Player of the Year Hannah Demis, Defensive Player of the Year Avery Whitehead and Freshman of the Year Meagan Beal.

Before Furman hired him, Whitten spent six seasons at the University of Denver, where he was an assistant coach from 2007-11 before he was promoted to associate head coach before the 2012 season. The Pioneers went 71-36 (.664) at Denver, securing three regular season MWIAC Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) championships and three top 20 finishes in the country.

One of three-time NCAA Tournament teams from 2002-04 with the Loyola Greyhounds, Whitten made his appearance in the 2003 Final Four. Loyola was a top five team in the country each of her first three seasons, and the top-ranked team in the nation in 2003.

Whitten is in the top five in school history with assists and was named a junior and senior to the Tewaaraton Award, which goes annually to the NCAA women's lacrosse player of the year.

Whitten is a 2004 graduate of Loyola with a business administration bachelor's degree, and has two children, Aleni Lou and James Cole, with husband Marty.