In the summer of 2023, Devyne Doran ’17 was appointed as the seventh permanent head coach in the 29-year history of the Eastern Connecticut State University women’s lacrosse program, becoming the first alumnus to assume that role.
A native of South Kingstown, RI, Doran returned to Eastern after playing four seasons (2014-17) and serving as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator for two years (2018-19) under former head coach Christine Hutchison. In 2025, she enters her sixth season as a head women's college lacrosse coach.
In her first season in 2024, Doran became the program's first Little East Conference Coach-of-the-Year selection in seven years (seventh overall) after leading the Warriors to their first winning LEC season (5-2) in six years -- the five wins equalling the second-most LEC wins in a season in program history.
In 2024, Eastern shared second place in the final Little East standings and was awarded the No. 3 seed in the LEC playoffs, and, playing its first LEC playoff game at Rick McCarthy Field since topping Keene State College by a score of 17-15 in the 2018 semifinals, routed No. 6 Massachusetts Dartmouth, 18-6, in the opening round.
In all in 2024, Eastern won nine of 13 games against New England opponents, including its first five that was capped by a 14-10 home win over defending champion Plymouth State University.
Returning 17 letterwinners in 2025 -- among them first-team LEC selections Alexa Vizzini and Grace Saldaña and second-teamer Kaylee Drobish -- Eastern received two first-place votes and was picked for second place in the 2025 LEC pre-season coaches' poll behind only 2024 playoff champion Plymouth State and one point ahead of 2024 LEC regular-season champion Western Connecticut.
Doran was a four-year starter on defense under Hutchison and remained as an assistant coach under Hutchison before being named to her first collegiate head coaching position at Mitchell College prior to the 2020 season.
After two seasons at Mitchell, Doran was named head women’s lacrosse coach at Framingham State University prior to the 2022 season, compiling a two-year record of 23-16, 11-3 in the Massachusetts State College Athletic Conference (MASCAC) regular season. In her first year, she led the second-seeded Rams to their first MASCAC tournament title and first appearance in the NCAA Division III tournament, the team finishing 11-8 overall and 6-1 in the MASCAC.
Under Doran In the spring of 2023, Framingham finished 12-8 overall and as the third seed, reached the championship game of the MASCAC tournament with wins over No. 6 Fitchburg State University and No. 2 Bridgewater State University, avenging a loss to Bridgewater in the regular season. Four Framingham players were named to the MASCAC All-Star team, three of them voted to the first team.
Doran was hired as the fourth head coach in the history of the Mitchell women’s lacrosse program prior to the COVID pandemic which limited the team to two matches in 2020 and a total of 14 matches in two years (2020-21).
In addition to college coaching experience, Doran has served as head high school coach and youth club lacrosse coach for Massachusetts-based Central Lacrosse -- a developmental club -- and as a master clinic coach and head girls' lacrosse coach for 3d Lacrosse New England South.
As a senior in 2017 at Eastern, Doran repeated as Little East Conference Defensive Player-of-the-Year, and was additionally named All-Little East for the fourth straight year (third time to the first team), second-team IWLCA All-Berkshire Region, and became the first Eastern defender named to the IWLCA Senior All-Star Game. In her final playing season that year, Doran led Eastern to its second straight LEC regular-season title with a perfect 6-0 record (14-5 overall) and into the conference championship game. That year, she shared the conference lead in draw controls (63), tied for second in ground balls (54) and was third in caused turnovers (39), setting personal season-highs in all three of those categories. Her caused turnover total equaled the third-most in a season in program history. Offensively, she also chipped in nine goals and an assist in 2017.
In her career, Doran started all 66 matches in which she appeared, missing only one. She led the team in ground balls and caused turnovers every year and in draw controls twice. All-time through 2024, she ranks in a tie for third all-time in draws (193), is eighth in ground balls (181) and 15th in starts.
Doran holds a B.A. Degree in Sociology from Eastern.
