STANFORD, Calif. — Having led Stanford to its first Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) championship game, Paul A. Violich Women’s Lacrosse Head Coach Danielle Spencer has been named the ACC Coach of the Year, the conference announced Wednesday. The honor is her first in the ACC and her second Coach of the Year honor in the last three seasons.
Spencer, who led the Cardinal to a second-place finish in the ACC with an 8-2 record this season, earns her fourth conference Coach of the Year honor in her 10th season as a head coach. She was a two-time Ivy League Coach of the Year in 2018 and 2019 after bringing Dartmouth to two-consecutive 11-win seasons. Spencer was also tabbed the 2024 Pac-12 Coach of the Year having led the Cardinal to a Pac-12 regular season and postseason championship.
The Brighton, New York native has now led the Cardinal to consecutive 15-win seasons and has earned 10 or more wins in each of her last five seasons following the COVID-19 Pandemic. Spencer’s 79 wins ranks third in the program’s history as she owns a career coaching record of 108-54 having earned her 100th career win in Stanford’s win over Virginia Tech earlier this season.
Spencer has now led the Cardinal to three conference regular season championships and four conference tournament title games, having won three of those games in the Pac-12 conference. She has also led Stanford to its highest ever ranking in the polls as the Cardinal reached No. 2 in all three polls earlier this season - the highest ever placement for a team on the West Coast.
Stanford awaits its postseason fate following its first appearance in the ACC Championship game, looking forward to the NCAA Tournament selection show on Sunday, May 3 at 9 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. PT.