UMBC

UMBC announced the hiring of Courtney Martinez Connor as Head Women's Lacrosse Coach on Tuesday.

Baltimore, Md. – Director of Athletics Dr. Charles Brown announced today the hiring of Courtney Martinez Connor as the head women’s lacrosse coach at UMBC, making her the third coach in the program’s 32-year history to lead the Retrievers.  Martinez Connor brings an impressive résumé to UMBC with back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances the last two years as a coach and five National Championships as a player at Maryland. 

“I am very enthusiastic about the opportunity to coach at UMBC,” Martinez Connor said.  “I see tremendous potential for the UMBC program.  Being located in Baltimore, which is enticing to potential student-athletes because the city is known for hosting some of the best college lacrosse every year, I feel that we can build a program that will advance to the next level.” 

“We are very excited about Courtney Martinez Connor coming to UMBC,” said Dr. Brown.  “She brings us years of high level performance as a student-athlete and head coach.  I’m certain she will make a big impact with our women’s lacrosse team.”

Martinez Connor joined the coaching ranks right out college, taking over the Mount St. Mary’s program in the fall of 2001.  Her inaugural season she graced the cover of the national monthly published Lacrosse Magazine featuring young up-and-coming head coaches. 

After finishing three games under .500 her first season, Martinez Connor held true to notion of being one of the nation’s top young coaches, skyrocketing the Mountaineers to the top of the Northeast Conference.  Martinez Connor led Mount St. Mary’s to the NEC Tournament title game the next three years (2003-05), including winning back-to-back conference championships the last two seasons and earning spots in the 16-team NCAA Tournament. 

Over her final two years at Mount St. Mary’s, Martinez Connor produced an impressive 29-11 mark.  She was named NEC Coach of the Year in 2004 and was selected to coach for the South squad in the Division-I Senior All-Star North-South game in 2005.  

During her four-year tenure, Martinez Connor became the all-time winningest coach in Mountaineer women’s lacrosse history with a 43-31 mark.  She produced nine athletes recognized by InsideLacrosse.com and Women’sLacrosse.com, 22 NEC All-Conference players, nine NEC Players of the Week, five NEC Rookies of the Week, one NEC Player of the Year, one NEC Rookie of the Year and two Division-I Senior All-Star players.

In addition to her success on the field, her teams have become highly decorated in the classroom as well.  She has coached three Academic All-America District-II honorees, two Academic All-America at-large first team members, three International Women’s Lacrosse Coaches Association (IWLCA) Division-I Academic Honor Roll students and the NEC Student-Athlete of the Year and the NEC Women’s Lacrosse Scholar Athlete of the Year. 

A 2001 graduate from the University of Maryland, Martinez Connor produced an honor-laden career.  The anchor of the Maryland defense, Martinez Connor earned the National Defender of the Year by 360.Lacrosse her senior year and the MVP of the NCAA Championship Tournament.  During her five years of lettering, she became a member of four ACC Championship teams and five NCAA Championship teams. 

In addition to coaching, Martinez Connor continues to showcase her playing ability, competing for the U.S. Team and making the final round of tryouts (34 players) for the World Cup team in 2005.    Martinez Connor also plays on the Mid-Atlantic women's lacrosse team that went undefeated at the U.S. Lacrosse Women's Division National Tournament in 2005, winning the Division-I President's Cup.

Martinez Connor is married to former Maryland men’s lacrosse player Casey Connor.  Casey is a three-time All-American and currently plays professionally for the Baltimore Bayhawks while holding a job with Under Armor.  They are proud parents of a baby girl, Acacia, and reside in Baltimore, Md.