Lesley Graham was named the first women’s lacrosse coach at Saint Leo University in September of 2010 as she will begin building for the program’s first competitive season in 2011-12.

Coming to Saint Leo from her previous position at Chestnut Hill College in Philadelphia, Pa., Graham proved to be a great fit into Saint Leo, with prior experience in both Division II and at other Catholic universities, including Canisus College in New York.

Making the transition to Florida and tasked with building a program from the ground floor, Graham is no stranger to developing young teams as she took an inexperienced Griffin’s squad to six wins and two all-conference selections in her only year at the helm of Chestnut Hill.

Marking the first new program at Saint Leo since the addition of men’s lacrosse in 2006, women’s lacrosse becomes the 17th NCAA-sponsored sport at Saint Leo University and the ninth sport added to the Lions’ stable in the new millennium.  It also marks the ninth women’s program at the institution.

In an effort to build the program on the right foot, Reidy conducted an extensive nationwide search for a candidate he felt would fit within the Core Values the university holds, all while establishing a new, emerging sport into the Saint Leo stable.  In Graham, he felt as if she was the perfect fit.

In addition to her season at Chestnut Hill, Graham also served as a former Division I assistant coach at Canisius College from 2007-09. She also carries experience from high levels of competition as a student-athlete at Ithaca College and holds a master’s degree in sports administration from Canisius and a bachelor’s degree in journalism with a minor in history from Ithaca College.

As the 58th women’s lacrosse program at the NCAA Division II level, the Lions will join Rollins College as just the second D2 program in Florida to sponsor the sport.  Graham will begin the task of building the team immediately, with plans to have the program begin practice in the fall of 2011.