Janine Tucker, a five-time IWLCA Regional Coach of the Year, is the all-time winningest coach at Johns Hopkins with a 303-171 record in 28 seasons. 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 Greyhound Athletic Hall of Fame, Tucker has led the Blue Jays to double-digit win totals in 22 of her 28 seasons, nine NCAA Division I Tournament appearances, three ECAC Division I championship games and four NCAA Division III Tournament appearances. Tucker reached yet another milestone in 2021earning her 300th career win!
The last eight years rank as one of the most successful eras in Johns Hopkins women's lacrosse history as the Blue Jays have won 83 games and made six NCAA Tournament appearances dating back to the 2013 season. Hopkins made its debut in the Big Ten in 2017 after playing two seasons as an independent and made the Big Ten semifinals in 2017, 2018 and 2021. The Blue Jays had posted seven straight double-digit win seasons prior to the shortened 2020 campaign, including back-to-back 10-win seasons in 2018 and 2019. Hopkins went 10-8 in 2019 and earned its second straight NCAA Tournament berth. The 2019 season also produced a trio of All-Big Ten selections in Jeanne Kachris, Ellie McNulty and Maggie Schneidereith.
The 2004 to 2007 seasons can contend with 2012-2016 as the most successful in program history, as the Blue Jays posted a 47-23 record against a lineup of nationally ranked teams and made three appearances in the NCAA Tournament. In 2007, Hopkins tied the then school Division I record with 12 wins, finishing with a 12-8 record, and advanced to the first ever ALC title game. Hopkins then made its third trip in four seasons to the NCAAs, advancing to the Elite 8 for the first time in school Division I history.
In 2006, Tucker guided Johns Hopkins to an 8-0 record to start the season as the Blue Jays climbed to #2 in the national polls. The team finished the season at 12-4 to tie the then school Division I record for wins. In 2005, Hopkins earned a 14-10 win at sixth-ranked Georgetown in its final regular-season game to finish the season at 11-6. The win helped the Blue Jays earn their second straight berth in the NCAA Tournament, where they met the defending national champion, Virginia, in the first round. Hopkins led Virginia until the final minutes, but the Cavaliers pulled out a 10-8 win and eventually finished as the NCAA runners-up.
A year earlier, the Blue Jays won a school Division I record 10 straight games to open the season and defeated four ranked teams, including sixth-ranked Notre Dame, the highest-ranked team ever defeated by Hopkins at the time. Indicative of the steady improvement of the Hopkins women's lacrosse program, the 2004 season was a step up from 2003, when Tucker guided the Blue Jays to an 11-5 record that included a 12-2 win over 14th-ranked North Carolina in the final home game of the season. The Blue Jays finished the year ranked 17th in the Brine/IWLCA Poll. Tuckerís 2002 squad finished 10-8 and advanced to the ECAC championship game for the third consecutive year.
At the Division III level, Tucker guided the Blue Jays to the brink of the NCAA championship game four times. In Tucker's debut season, Johns Hopkins finished with its best record to date, posting a 16-1 mark and advancing to the 1994 NCAA Division III semifinals. Tucker led the Blue Jays back to the semifinals in 1995 and 1997 and to the quarterfinals in 1998. In five years of play in the Centennial Conference, Hopkins posted a striking 49-1 record, won four conference titles and finished undefeated in conference play in each of its four championship seasons.
Tucker has coached 30 IWLCA All-Americans, one IWLCA Defensive Player of the Year and one Attacker of the Year, two CoSIDA Academic All-Americans, four Centennial Conference Players of the Year, two ALC Rookies of the Year, 71 IWLCA All-Region selections and 90 all-conference selections. In addition, 12 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. She is the director of Tucker Lacrosse, which helps her promote womenís lacrosse through camps, clinics and speaking engagements across the country. Tucker co-wrote her first book with Maryalice Yakuchik entitled ´The Baffled Parents' Guide To Coaching Girlís Lacrosse" which was published in 2003. She has since published five more books: "Women's Lacrosse: A Guide for Advanced Players and Coaches" (2008, 2014), "Go to Drills: Developing the Complete Lacrosse Player" (2009), ´Building the Modern Midfielder" (2012), ´Building the Modern Attacker" (2013) and "Building the Modern Defender" (2015). Tucker is also a member of the Positive Coaching Alliance National Board of Advisors as well as the Collegiate Officials Association (COA) and the US Lacrosse Long-term Lacrosse Athlete Development Model Committee.
Tucker resides in Towson and has two sons, Ryan and Devin. Ryan was a four-year standout on the Virginia men's lacrosse team and played for the Championship Chesapeake Bayhawks of Major League Lacrosse. In addition, he teaches at Norfolk Academy and is the head coach of the varsity boys lacrosse team. Devin earned both his bachelor's and master's degrees from Johns Hopkins University and is a sourcing manager at ABinBev in St. Louis, MO