Vanderbilt spent six weeks conducting a national search after letting 21-year head coach Cathy Swezey go on June 20.

The Commodores found her replacement right under their nose.

Beth Hewitt, who spent the previous four years and had been promoted to associate head coach after her first season on the Commodores staff, was announced as the third head coach in Vanderbilt program history on Aug. 7.

“It was interesting,” Hewitt said. “Being in the spot I was in, I felt like I had head coaching experience, and I was successful as a head coach, and I felt like I had the inside track to know what needs to be done to make the small changes that need to be made to put us back on top. My administration told me, ‘We want the best person for the job, we think you’re a great candidate and now you need to go out and prove it to us through an interview process. We’re going to hire the best person for Vanderbilt lacrosse.”

Hewitt is focused on making Vanderbilt back into a top program. Last year, Vanderbilt went 8-9 overall and 3-6 in their final season in the Big East before moving to the new American Athletic Conference. The Commodores haven’t had a winning season since 2010, when they finished a run of four straight NCAA tournament appearances. Getting back to that point is a goal.

“It would mean everything,” Hewitt said. “The NCAAs and playing in May is why you go play in college. That’s what you strive for, and that’s all these girls talk about, and that’s the goal. We want to get back into the spotlight where Vanderbilt’s the place that you want to be the best lacrosse player and student-athlete that you can be. I really feel like we have the tools here between our staff and our players that we’re going to get there.”

Hewitt wasted no time in putting together her staff that included an assistant with decades of experience and one eager to contribute. Rob Bray was previously the head coach at St. Mary’s College of Maryland and then the associate head coach at the University of Oregon, where Hewitt had gotten her coaching start right out of North Carolina. Jill Doherty played at Vanderbilt and was a volunteer assistant at her alma mater last year when she impressed Hewitt.

“Those two phone calls were pretty much my first two calls,” Hewitt said. “Your staff is the most important part of the change. The dynamic that we have is where we all feel like we can contribute on both ends of the field. I don’t want to pigeon-hole myself to one side of the ball and that’s important that the girls feel the head coach can go to both ends and have involvement on both sides.”

It’s great to play Division I lacrosse, but it’s better to play lacrosse in May for a Division I title.

As defensive coordinator the last four seasons at Vanderbilt, Hewitt helped the Commodores rank fifth in the country with 23.59 ground balls per game and 12th in caused turnovers per game at 11.0 last year. Coming to Vanderbilt had brought her back to Division I.

Prior to joining the Commodores, she had built up Le Moyne, where, in five years under her guidance, they reached the Division II final four twice in three NCAA trips.

“We were lucky enough to get to a point where we were consistently a top contender for a national championship,” Hewitt said. “I see that same sort of thing here. I was here, but it’s very different as an assistant than as a head coach when you’re making all the calls. Right now, I do have experience going to the playoffs and I know how hard it is to get there and how hard you have to work as an individual and group to get there. I think I’m the one that can do it. I’m confident in my coaches. We’re working really hard with these guys to teach them what it takes to get to that next level. It’s great to play Division I lacrosse, but it’s better to play lacrosse in May for a Division I title.”

The Commodores will see some of the same competition in the American Athletic Conference that they saw in the Big East. Florida, UConn and Temple also moved into the AAC along with newcomer East Carolina.

“I like the smaller conference because it opened up some of our schedule,” Hewitt said. “I also love some of our opponents that we already have some great rivalries with, and I’m excited to start that with ECU too.”

Hewitt’s connection to Vanderbilt’s recent struggles could have hurt her chances to be their head coach, but now with the job in place, her relationship with the players is a big advantage.

“I have the ability to love them, I have the ability to yell at them, and we have a mutual respect for one another,” Hewitt said. “What was great about going from having that assistant relationship to being head coach is I feel like they know me well enough that I can push even further and know that I have their respect. It’s what I think will help us somewhat this year is I don’t have to spend two or three months or all of fall to get to know them to find out what buttons I might push or when I have to pull back. I know these guys inside and out and they trust me. They know everything I do, and every time I push them, it’s only to get them to the next level. That is one of the hardest things to do when you’re starting at a new program or taking something over that you haven’t been a part of. This job all comes down to relationships, and if you don’t have that with your players, and it’s not mutual, you’re not going to go that far in the season. You’re definitely not going to win consistently.”

I’m a stickler for stick work. Fundamentals are everything to me. It’s having discipline in the details. Almost isn’t good enough.

Hewitt is emphasizing the importance of little things that she says will make the difference between being a better team and another .500 season. She wants to see a versatile Vanderbilt team, both in who is contributing in key moments, and also in the team’s ability to run a variety of offenses and defenses.

“I’m a stickler for stick work,” Hewitt said. “Fundamentals are everything to me. It’s having discipline in the details. Almost isn’t good enough and making sure you hit the line is the most important thing. It’s a small example of where we’ve come up a little short. Last year, we were almost there and then you lose a goalie and we struggled a little bit after that. We were so close, we just have to make a few simple adjustments in terms of being more disciplined, being more engaged and a little more devoted outside of practice, not because of the coaches, but you want to do it because you want your game to get better.”

Hewitt is excited about the potential for returning players. Seven freshmen last year earned starting roles after a noticeable shift in recruiting focus began. While half of last year’s roster was from New Jersey, three of this year’s freshmen hail from California.

“I’m from Syracuse, went to [North] Carolina and was out west at Oregon, so I feel like I had a lot of stops,” Hewitt said. “I think you can find great lacrosse players everywhere. What I like about getting in some nontraditional areas is the players have a little chip on their shoulders to prove they can play with the East Coasters, that they can play with the New York and Maryland kids, and they can beat them out. What I found when I was at Oregon is some of our California kids were our best players because of that mentality. I really want a blue-collar, hardworking mentality on this team that you’re not given anything.

“Our California girls in this freshman class are incredible,” Hewitt continued. “Their work ethic is outstanding and they’re certainly talented. I think our freshman class – it’s only been a couple weeks in – but playing their first play day, they’re so respectful of the upperclassmen but they’re not intimidated. They get out there and compete, and it’s important to me when you cross the line onto the game field or practice field, you don’t worry about anybody’s age. You go out and compete. Our freshmen have that attitude in a really great way. They’re pushing everybody.”

Vanderbilt got right after it, competing against each other in a scrimmage on day #NCAAWLAX
(via @VanderbiltLax)pic.twitter.com/8IT9bwXV5x

— NCAA Lacrosse (@NCAALAX) September 25, 2018

Hewitt believes that attitude in combination with a solid core of seniors is a start to returning the Commodores to relevance. She doesn’t think they are that far away based on their recent growth.

“You look at last year and we really felt great going into the year and then we have a one-goal game against Florida that we had all the pieces on the field – our goalie, midfielders, defense and attack,” Hewitt said. “We play such a strong team to a one-goal game. Then we lose our goalie and obviously things were a little more challenging. Then this year, we are so excited about a freshman class coming in and their talent and ability, specifically around the draw.

“I think we’ve really improved with some of these youngsters coming in and giving us some good minutes on the draw, and honestly this senior class, I can’t say enough about. They have been waiting for this moment for four years to be the leaders and they have always led themselves and pushed their upperclassmen and now it’s their time. I think a lot of success comes from leadership. When you have people like that in your senior class, it’s going to be a special year.”

Vanderbilt felt good with their start last year before they were forced to start a field player in goal – freshman midfielder Grace Bell, a former squash player with good reflexes – for eight games after both of their goalies were injured.

“Making sure we have our players healthy and able to be on the field will be a major priority for us,” Hewitt said. “The sophomore class was my first recruiting class because of how early it had been. That was last year’s freshmen. I think our staff last year felt like that class was significantly different. They had an edge about them, a winning mentality about them. The senior class has really changed the culture in their own right. They’re so driven, they’re so self-motivated, they’re so coachable, and for them to be our leaders is really setting the tone that I want.”

Fall Focus
American Athletic Conference

The American Athletic Conference embarks on its inaugural season with Cincinnati, UConn, East Carolina and Temple, as well as Florida and Vanderbilt as affiliate members. With last year's old conference records aside, teams are listed in alphabetical order.  

Cincinnati
1-7 Big East, 7-8 Overall

The Bearcats led the country in ground balls per game last year, but to finish better than fifth in the conference standings, they need to take more advantage of their extra possessions and need more than just junior attacker Monica Borzillo to score.

UConn
4-5 Big East, 9-8 Overall

The Huskies must replace Big East attacker of the year and all-time leading scorer Grace Nolan, along with their top defender, Cassie Ekstrom, but Sydney Watson, who set the school draw control record as a freshman last year, should help them stay in the middle of the pack.

East Carolina
Independent in 2018, 2-15 Overall

The Pirates lost lopsided games to Temple and Cincinnati in their first year of existence. But with some experience now entering the AAC, ECU continues to focus on growing a program that has only freshmen and sophomores.

Florida
9-0 Big East, 17-4 Overall

The Gators are the favorites in their new conference after winning four straight Big East crowns. No one has more firepower in the AAC with Florida returning its top attacker (Lindsey Ronbeck), midfielder (Sydney Pirreca), defender (Cara Trombetta) and goalie (Haley Hicklen) to form a backbone for success in conference and nationally.

Temple
4-5 Big East, 9-8 Overall

The Owls have posted winning records in each of the last four seasons. They’ll be heavily dependent on the junior class to continue their streak this year, which is led by top returning scorer Maddie Gebert.

Vanderbilt
3-6 Big East, 8-9 Overall

Under new head coach Beth Hewitt, the Commodores expect to contend behind a strong senior class and a large sophomore group that played plenty last year. With a healthy goalie and more potential on the draw control, Vanderbilt could make significant strides.