Janine Tucker

Former Head Women's Lacrosse Coach, Johns Hopkins University

National Advisory Board

Janine Tucker, a five-time IWLCA Regional Coach of the Year, is the all-time winningest coach at Johns Hopkins with a 249-129 record in 22 seasons, including a 191-113 mark at the Division I level. She took over the Blue Jay women's lacrosse program in August 1993 and successfully guided the program's transition from Division III to Division I without missing a beat.

A 1989 graduate of Loyola (MD) and a member of the Greyhounds Athletic Hall of Fame, Tucker led the Blue Jays to double-digit win totals in 18 of her 22 seasons, including four NCAA Division III Tournament appearances, three ECAC Division I championship games, and five NCAA Division I Tournament appearances. Tucker reached yet another milestone in 2011 as she became the 14th coach in NCAA Division I history to reach 200 wins.

Tucker led the Blue Jays to a 14-4 record and a return trip to the NCAA Tournament in 2015. Hopkins earned a pair of top-10 wins, defeating 9th-ranked Stony Brook (7-5) and fourth-ranked Duke (9-8) to help secure the bid to the tournament.

Tucker guided Hopkins to one of its finest seasons at the Division I level in 2014. The Blue Jays won a school-record 15 games and started the season on a school-record 10-game win streak. Hopkins matched program records for winning percentage (.750) and games played (20). The Blue Jays made their first NCAA Tournament appearance in seven seasons, produced the 2014 American Lacrosse Conference Offensive Player of the Year and a pair of IWLCA All-Americans. Hopkins also set program records for goals scored (247), free position goals (45) and goals against average (7.26). The JHU defense led the ALC and ranked sixth in the nation in scoring defense (7.40); while also ranking 12th in the NCAA in scoring margin (4.95) and 25th in scoring offense (12.35).

She has coached and mentored 27 IWLCA All-Americans, 62 IWLCA All-Region selections and 81 all-conference honorees. In addition, nine of her former players have been inducted into the Johns Hopkins Athletic Hall of Fame.

After a successful career as an All-American lacrosse player at Loyola, Tucker broke into the coaching ranks at her alma mater as an assistant. She helped coach the nationally-ranked Greyhounds for four seasons, and her success as an assistant for a prominent Division I power led her across town to Hopkins when the women's lacrosse position became available in 1993. A 1989 graduate of Loyola, Tucker was inducted into the Greyhounds' Athletic Hall of Fame in March 1998 and is involved with the promotion and growth of women's lacrosse through camps, clinics and speaking engagements across the country.

Tucker co-wrote two books with Maryalice Yakuchik - "The Baffled Parents' Guide To Coaching Girl's Lacrosse" which was published in February 2003 and "Women's Lacrosse: An Advanced Guide for Players and Coaches" which was published in February 2008.

She has co-written four books through the US Lacrosse Coaching Education Program:

  • Go To Drills: Developing the Complete Lacrosse Player and Building a Winning Lacrosse Team
  • Building the Modern Attacker
  • Building the Modern Midfielder
  • Building the Modern Defender

A member of the US Lacrosse Athlete Development Committee, Tucker is dedicated to growing the game through positive and constructive coaching and mentoring.

Tucker is married to John Tucker, the Director of Admissions for Concordia Preparatory School in Baltimore. John coaches the Boston Cannons of Major League Lacrosse and was named the 2015 Brine Coach of the Year after guiding the Cannons to the MLL playoffs. John is a former Hopkins and United States World Team lacrosse standout. Both Janine and John were inducted into the Greater Baltimore Chapter of the U.S. Lacrosse Hall of Fame in January 2003. The Tuckers have two sons, Devin, a senior at Johns Hopkins and Ryan, who played four years at the University of Virginia and who currently plays for his dad with the Boston Cannons.

The latest from Janine