SAN DIEGO – San Diego State lacrosse assistant coach Brandi Padilla has been promoted to associate head coach, as announced Thursday by head coach Kylee White.
"Brandi has absolutely earned this promotion," White said. "She has been a significant part of the program from almost the beginning, and I am very fortunate to have had her by my side sharing the same passion for the program and love for our athletes. Brandi works extremely hard making sure our team is prepared and that our players are enjoying their college experience. She also plays an essential role in the future success of this program by serving as our recruiting coordinator. Brandi is everything that Aztec lacrosse stands for."
Since Padilla's arrival on the SDSU staff in August 2012, the Aztecs have earned 29 all-Mountain Pacific Sports Federation honors to go with 47 academic all-conference selections.
Thanks in part to Padilla's efforts, San Diego State captured its second straight MPSF championship during the 2019 campaign after matching a program-record with 11 victories. Over the past two years, she has overseen an Aztec attack that has produced the two highest scoring outputs in school history, with the Scarlet and Black posting a collective 256 goals in 2018, followed by another 250 tallies this past spring.
Individually, Padilla was instrumental in the emergence of Harlowe Steele (52), Taylor Sullivan (35) and Kirstie Greenlaw (32), who merited all-MPSF distinction after becoming the first Aztec trio to score 30 goals apiece in a single season last year. In addition, SDSU landed four other players on the all-conference team and garnered a league-high 14 MPSF Player of the Week accolades.
As a team, the Aztecs ranked among the nation's best last spring, finishing ninth in shots on goal (25.89/gm) and 16th in ground balls (21.22/gm).
A native of nearby Poway, Calif., Padilla won four letters during a stellar collegiate career at the University of Maryland, where she helped the Terrapins capture the 2010 national championship, as well as three consecutive Atlantic Coast Conference titles from 2009-11. She also earned a spot on the IWLCA All-America team in 2009 to go with all-ACC distinction.
Padilla was a key contributor to Maryland's championship run in 2010, tallying 22 goals and 13 assists as one of the top scoring threats for the Terps. In the national championship game, she scored two goals and handed out an assist in a 13-11 victory over Northwestern.
Prior to Maryland, the former Brandi Jones starred at Poway High School, earning all-CIF honors on three occasions and was twice named CIF Player of the Year. She was also a two-time US Lacrosse All-American and was tabbed an Under Armour All-American in 2007.