Short (Gaeng) returns to the Royals after spending two seasons as the head women’s lacrosse coach at Lenoir-Rhyne University.
Short spent a year as the assistant coach with the Royals in the 2014 helping coach Queens to its first South Atlantic Conference Regular Season and Championship titles. Since then, Short has spent two seasons with the Bears leading them to second place finishes in the SAC during the regular season and in the SAC Championship for two consecutive seasons.
In 2015, Lenoir-Rhyne finished the regular season with a 7-1 league record. That season Short coached the SAC’s Player of the Year, Lauren Donovan. Additionally, Donovan was the Bears’ all-time leading scorer and first ever IWLCA NCAA Division II All-American.
This year the Bears gave the Royals a run in the SAC Championship game once again before falling 16-8 to the Queens. Lenoir-Rhyne finished the year at 11-7, while going 7-1 in the SAC once again. Short also saw another one of her players, Ines Flueck recognized on the IWLCA NCAA Division II All-American team.
Prior to coaching at Queens, Short spent one season as an assistant coach at Randolph-Macon College in Ashland, Va., in 2013, helping lead the squad to an 8-0 start, which set a new program record. Additionally, the Yellow Jackets reached the semifinal round of the Old Dominion Athletic Conference Tournament.
A player herself, Short was a starter on the Lock Haven University Bald Eagles women’s lacrosse team from 2009-2012. The three-time all-conference team member helped lead her team to a berth in the 2009 NCAA Division II National Championship. In 2010 Lock Haven reached the semifinal round of the championships, and they advanced to the quarterfinals in 2011. Additionally, Short was named Team Captain and Defensive MVP during her senior season. The Eagles were also three-time Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Champions from 2010-12.
Short, a native of Frederick, Md., holds a bachelor’s degree from Lock Haven in sports administration.
Kelly Hamilton joined the Royals as an assistant women's lacrosse coach in the fall of 2018.
In her first year, she helped lead the Royals to their best season in program history. The Royals posted a record-setting 19 wins during the year going on a program-best 16-game winning streak. They finished the year with a 19-3 record after advancing to the NCAA DII Women’s Lacrosse Championship Semifinals for the first time in program history. The Royals also won their fifth South Atlantic Conference regular-season title and their sixth straight SAC Championship title before advancing to the NCAA Championships for the third time in four seasons.
Hamilton worked with the Chanticleers for one season helping them post an 11-7 record in 2016. Coastal Carolina also went 5-3 in Big South Conference play. In postseason play, they advanced to the semifinal round of the conference tournament where they were knocked out by Winthrop University. That year, five Chanticleers were honored on the all-conference team while two were named to the all-tournament team.
A collegiate women's lacrosse player, Hamilton competed at Lock Haven University serving as team captain for three years. She helped lead her team to the NCAA DII Championship game two seasons in a row where they finished just short of two titles. Additionally, Lock Haven won back-to-back Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Championships in 2014 and 2015 with Hamilton earning MVP honors in 2014. The four-year starter was also named to the All-PSAC team three times and was a two-time IWLCA DII All-American.
Hamilton earned her bachelor's degree in sports administration with a minor in sport and exercise psychology from Lock Haven in 2015.