Finding the Right Culture at Division II Champion Tampa

Everybody likes getting a second chance, and for women’s lacrosse players in need of a fresh start, Tampa appears to be the popular choice these days. Just ask Peyton Howell.

Following the 2023 season, Howell entered the transfer portal after one year at Louisville. She didn’t have Division II Tampa initially on her radar, but a visit to the campus and some time spent with coach Kelly Gallagher and team members convinced Howell that it was the right spot for her.

That decision was more than confirmed a few months later when Howell and her teammates celebrated Tampa’s first NCAA championship.

“If you had told me while I was in the portal that I would win a national championship, I’d have told you that you were lying,” Howell said. “But coming to Tampa was just a gut feeling. I knew it was the school for me, and obviously, I made the right decision.”

Howell certainly did her part to make the championship dream a reality for the Spartans. The attacker finished second on the team with 73 points and saved some of her best work for Tampa’s stretch drive. She tallied 14 goals and 27 points in the team’s six postseason games, including four goals in the national semifinal win over Regis and five assists in the championship game victory over Adelphi.

“We just clicked as an offensive unit in the NCAA playoffs and got to a point where we didn’t even have to talk on the field,” Howell said. “We just knew what our teammates were going to do. We didn’t even have to call plays anymore. All the pieces fell right into place, and it just all meshed together.”

A Maryland native now in her junior season, Howell said that being a transfer player provided her with a new and improved perspective. She got the reset that she wanted.

“When I was recruited in high school, I wanted to go to a big school, an ACC school, somewhere with big football, and I was probably looking at the wrong things,” she said. “The second time around, I shifted my mindset and I was really focused on good team chemistry and coaching style. I was more concerned about culture. That was my biggest thing.”

She certainly landed in the right place. In recent years, Gallagher has enthusiastically embraced the growing trend of transfer athletes, happily providing a new beginning for those seeking a fresh start.

Tampa’s 2024 championship roster featured seven transfers, and the 2025 roster includes at least 11 players who began their collegiate careers elsewhere. In addition to Howell, Tampa’s other notable Division I transfers include defender Lexi Waters (Florida), midfielder Sophi Wrisk (Maryland) and midfielder Sarah Engle (Loyola).

“Everyone wants that D-I offer, but it doesn’t always work out,” Gallagher said. “Some kids just need a second chance. They’re looking for an opportunity to contribute. They want to play, and they want to win.”  

Gallagher noted that one of her priorities at Tampa is to help players strike the right balance between lacrosse and the other aspects of college life.

“We want to give them the opportunity to do other things,” said Gallagher, the only head coach in the program’s 12-year history. “We talk a lot about keeping it fun. Lacrosse is what we do, but it’s not who we are.”

As Howell and her teammates embark on the 2025 campaign, which begins Saturday at Rollins, they realize that this season will be different from last year’s title chase. As defending champion, Tampa will wear a bullseye on its back. The Spartans won’t sneak up on anybody, as they might have done at times last year.

“We know that we’re now on everybody’s radar, but our coaches really prepare us well to face any challenge,” Howell said. “I think we can do it again this year. With some of the new transfers that we brought in, we’ll be a force to be reckoned with again this season. We’re ready.”