Women's Lacrosse
- Title:
- Head Women's Lacrosse Coach
- Email:
- shurley1@radford.edu
Samantha (Hurley) Jones was named the second head coach in the history of the Radford Women’s Lacrosse program in July 2021. Since taking over the program, Jones has reimagined and made the program in her image, leading a player-first program that molds student-athletes into competitors in the Big South while also preparing them for the real world.
In her fifth season, Jones led the Highlanders to a fifth-place finish in the Big South regular season, earning a trip to the conference tournament for the first time under her tutelage. The three Big South victories in 2026 were also the most since the 2021 season. Jones led multiple Highlanders to be named Second Team All-Big South for the first time since 2023, with Mady Cheney and Sam Flippo receiving honors. 2026 also saw Cheney receive the Big South’s Christenberry Award, the second in program history and first in the Jones era.
Over her time at Radford, Jones has overseen eight All-Big South honorees, 16 conference weekly award winners, and the program leaders in shots, ground balls, saves, and saves per game.
"I would like to thank Director of Athletics Robert Lineburg and Associate Athletics Director Alix Guynn for having the confidence in me to lead the Radford lacrosse program," commented Jones after taking the role. "I am excited about this exceptional opportunity. The potential for this program and university is undeniable and I am eager to begin working with the student-athletes and compete for championships."
Jones is leaving behind a strong record of success from her previous stop at Young Harris College. In her four seasons as the head coach, she guided the Mountain Lions to a 33-25 overall record and a 19-8 conference record while competing in the Gulf South Conference which is at the Division II level of the NCAA.
In her first three seasons between 2017 and 2019, she led Young Harris to two straight regular-season conference titles in addition to a conference tournament title.
In 2018 Jones was named Gulf South Conference Coach of the Year while guiding the team to a program record eight players named to the All-Gulf South team. The program set a record in wins during the 2018 campaign as well with 14. Young Harris finished the season ranked fifth overall in the South Region NCAA Division II rankings, another program first.
Jones would be named Gulf South Conference Coach of the Year once again in 2019 when she led the program to an 11-7 overall record while going 7-1 in conference play. Young Harris saw six players named to the All-Gulf South team including one Player of the Year.
"We are excited to welcome Samantha Hurley to the Highlander family," commented Associate Athletics Director Guynn. "Samantha is no stranger to winning, as she was a part of several nationally ranked lacrosse teams during her time as a player at Lock Haven University. She has also excelled as an assistant and as a head coach at all levels of college lacrosse. We believe Samantha will do an outstanding job leading the program and believe the team will continue competing for championships under her direction."
Before her career at Young Harris, Jones spent four years total as an assistant coach. Her coaching career began nearby at Roanoke College where she was an assistant coach for three years. While coaching with Roanoke her duties included skill instruction, practice, game planning/implantation, film analysis, and recruiting.
Jones would spend one season as an assistant coach with Mercer after her coaching stint at Roanoke College. While with Mercer she helped guide the Bears to a 13-6 record in 2017 as they tied for third in the Atlantic Sun Conference. The 13 wins were the program's best in the short three-year history of the program.
In their playing days, Jones was a four-year women's lacrosse team member at Lock Haven University. She played both midfield and attack, helping Lock Haven win two conference championships and earn three bids to the NCAA Division II Tournament. She would end her career with nine goals and three assists for 12 points. She also tallied 15 ground balls, 11 draw controls, and eight caused turnovers in 30 games played. Hurley would go on to graduate from Lock Haven in 2013 with her bachelor's degree in recreation management and a minor in psychology.
