Heather Holt

Heather Holt completed her 11 season as the head coach of the ODU lacrosse program in 2022.

Holt led the Monarchs to a 5-12 record in 2022, the most wins for the program since a five-win season in 2018.

In their first season in the Big East in 2019, the Monarchs finished 3-13, 1-4 in league play. Glory Johnson and Alyssa Sebesto were named to the Big East Second Team All-Conference. They finished ahead of Butler in the final Big East standings. 

Holt sent the team to their fourth-straight ASUN Conference Tournament with their 5-13, 2-3 ASUN record. Holt had five student-athletes named to post-season teams. In her first year as a Monarch, Glory Johnson was named to the ASUN First Team All-Conference. Cydney Tutchton was named ASUN Scholar Athlete of the Year, Lindsay Baer and Claire Porter to the All-Freshman Team, and Kerri Caruso to the All-Academic Team and Second Team All-Conference.

She led the team to a 9-9, 5-5 season and a fifth place seed at the 2017 ASUN Conference Tournament. The defending conference champions fell in the first round to Mercer ending the season short and the hopes of back-to-back championships. Under her leadership, senior midfielder Connor Carson earned her third-consecutive 1st-team all-conference award and Mary Katherine Maloney was named to the ASUN All-Freshmen squad. Also, she coached senior keeper Maggi Buckley to a record-breaking season as Buckley finished with 468 career saves, passing Holt (386) and moving into fourth place in the ODU record books. In 2017 the Monarchs defeated long-time rival William & Mary for the first time since 2013, in a come-from-behind 13-10 victory.

Holt guided the Monarchs to one of the best seasons in program history in 2016. ODU won the Atlantic Sun Championship for its second conference tournament title in program history, the first since 1995. With the win, ODU earned its first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance, falling to No. 19 Towson in the opening round. The 2016 Monarchs also set a school record for single-season wins with 16 and defeated ACC school and in-state foe Virginia Tech for the first time since 1997. Overall, a total of seven Monarchs earned all-conference honors, including ASUN Player of the Year Ashmore Standing. For her efforts, she was named VaSID Coach of the Year.

The program completed its first season in the Atlantic-Sun Conference in 2015, a year in which Holt led ODU to a regular season runner-up title and its first conference tournament since 2009. The Monarchs went 13-5 overall, which marked the most wins in a season since ODU went 13-5 in 2002, and posted a 6-1 mark in league play. ODU advanced to the semifinals of the A-Sun Tournament as the No. 2 seed, but fell to No. 3 Detroit, 14-11. The Monarchs also tied the program record for goals in a game twice this season, scoring 24 against Gardner-Webb (24-1) and Howard (24-6).

She helped six student-athletes earn All-Conference honors, with Ashmore Standing, Morgan Gallagher and Connor Carson earning first-team accolades and Jessica Liberty garnering second team laurels. Freshmen Cydney Tutchton and Jessi DeLuca were also named to the All-Freshmen team. For her efforts on the sideline during the season, Holt was named the Atlantic-Sun Coach of the Year for the first time in her career

In her third season, ODU won games against future conference opponent Stetson, St. Joseph's and a thrilling comeback win against Liberty. During her second year as head coach, Holt helped the Monarchs beat Hampton Roads rival W&M for the second-consecutive year and also posted wins over A-10 rivals St. Joseph's and George Mason.

In her first full year as head coach, Holt guided ODU over rival W&M in comeback fashion for the second straight season along with wins over American, Saint Joseph's and George Mason. Three Monarchs earned All-CAA accolades in senior defender Alexandra Burns (Second Team All-CAA), sophomore midfielder Christina Rea (Second Team All-CAA) and freshman midfielder Rachel Shaw (All-CAA Rookie Team). The Monarchs ranked ninth nationally in ground balls per game while sophomore goalkeeper Karen Hayde ranked 16th in the country with 134 saves and 31st in the country in ground balls with 2.47 per game.

A standout goalkeeper for the Monarchs, Holt was an assistant coach for Stahl for 12 seasons before serving as interim head coach in the 2012 season where she coached a First Team All-CAA selection in senior midfielder Lisa Bernardini and a second team All-CAA selection in senior defender Hannah McBee. In addition, ODU defeated Louisville for the first time in school history last season and earned their first victory over rival W&M since 2007. The Monarchs ranked in the top-25 nationally in ground balls per game and caused turnovers and won the inaugural Monarch Cup Challenge at the Athletic Awards Banquet at the end of the school year which is awarded to the team that best exemplified service in the community and on campus.

Holt played a major part in ODU's success during the 2009 season, developing goalkeeper Sarah Geary, who earned CAA Rookie of the Year honors and finished her career in 2012 as ODU's all-time leader in saves. The Monarchs finished 2009 with an 11-5 overall record as Holt also helped coach CAA Player of the Year, Kelly Kimener. The team ranked as high as No. 17 nationally during the season and advanced to the CAA semifinals.

As a player, Holt was as a member of the 1995 Colonial Athletic Association championship team and a four-year letterwinner in goal for the Monarchs. Holt, whose career with the Monarchs spanned from 1992-1995, was named a Second Team All-CAA selection during her senior campaign in 1995. Holt played in 43 career games for Old Dominion, collecting 386 saves for a .599 save percentage. She ranks in the top-five all-time at ODU in both save percentage and goals against average.

Over her playing career, Holt earned spots on the Va. Women's Lacrosse Association's (VWLA), Va. II Regional Select Team and the United States Women's Lacrosse Association's (USWLA) South III National Team.

Holt was named head coach in June 2012 by Athletic Director Dr. Wood Selig. Holt served as the interim head coach for the Monarchs during the 2012 season after serving as an assistant coach for 12 seasons under Sue Stahl.

Prior to her current post, Holt served as assistant coach at W&M, and was a high school lacrosse coach at South Lakes High School in Fairfax, Va. and Foxcroft in Middleburg, Va. Additionally she has been a camp coach and clinician at several lacrosse camps around the region, including the Director of Lacrosse at Mersead Camp in Massachusetts.

A native of Bryn Mawr, Pa., Holt and her husband, David, reside in Norfolk with their three sons, Jackson, Parker and Reece.