Bio

Samantha Pagliaccetti joined the University of Tampa women’s lacrosse staff as an assistant coach prior to the 2024 season.

In year two, Pagliaccetti and Tampa were crowned back-to-back NCAA National Champions after defeating Adelphi, 15-9. Tampa posted a program-best twenty-one-win season and were both the SSC regular season and tournament champions. Pagliaccetti helped mentor six players to IWLCA All-Region and All-SSC honors. The Spartans also had four players selected as All-Americans and had two IWLCA Players of the Year. The Tampa coaching staff was named the IWLCA South Region and National Coaching Staff of the Year for the second consecutive season. Pagliaccetti helped guide the Spartans to the sixth-best scoring offense in the nation while also mentoring the IWLCA Attacker and Player of the Year, Peyton Howell.

In her first season as an assistant coach at the University of Tampa, Pagliaccetti was a part of several program firsts. Tampa won its first-ever NCAA title after defeating Adelphi, 13-8, in Winter Park, Fla. Pagliaccetti was influential in helping the team finish the season with an overall record of 19-3, which is the most wins in the history of the program. She also helped guide the Spartans to their second consecutive SSC Tournament Championship and mentored several Tampa players to All-SSC and All-South Region honors. Additionally, UT had four players who garnered All-American status. 

She comes to Tampa after serving as the assistant varsity coach/defensive coordinator at Lenape High School. Prior to Lenape, Pagliaccetti was a head coach for South Jersey Select Lacrosse, where she instructed clinics for girls K-12 to help improve their skills and awareness.

A standout scholar-athlete for the Rutgers University women’s lacrosse team, Pagliaccetti was a two-time Academic All-Big Ten selection and was named the 2018 Big Ten Sportsmanship Award winner. She also served as the team's SAAC representative (2016-2020) and was named captain her senior season.

Pagliaccetti obtained her bachelor's degree in communication, with a minor in labor studies and education, from Rutgers in 2020. She is currently working on obtaining a master's degree in education, with a concentration in elementary education, from Wilmington University.