Eastern Michigan Athletics
Lacrosse Names Mikela McCauley Assistant Coach
7/15/2024 4:04:00 PM | Lacrosse
Former Vanderbilt standout joins Eastern staff for the 2025 season
YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) -- The Eastern Michigan University lacrosse program has added Mikela McCauley to the coaching staff as an assistant coach, Head Coach Sara Tisdale announced today, July 15. A former standout and recent graduate of Vanderbilt University, McCauley has served as an undergraduate coach with the Commodores as well as working with a pair of club teams prior to her arrival in Ypsilanti.
"We are thrilled to welcome Mikela to the Eagle Lacrosse Family," Tisdale said. "Her experience at Vanderbilt, both as a player and coach, will help our program and players grow on and off the field. During Mikela's career at Vandy, she regularly competed against top 25 programs, allowing her to gain valuable game IQ and elite preparation experience. In just two seasons, EMU has become a leader in the MAC and we look forward to learning from and working with Mikela as we begin our 2025 MAC Championship campaign."
McCauley's collegiate experience with the Commodores saw the program reach the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 11 years, a tournament Eastern strives to reach in the future.
"I am beyond excited to join an amazing staff at Eastern," McCauley said. "This is a great opportunity not only to work with a veteran staff, but to also strive every day to build a winning program that will be a powerhouse in the MAC in years to come. I would like to thank Sara Tisdale and everyone at Eastern for the opportunity! I'm excited to get to work and to see what the future brings here at Eastern Michigan!"
McCauley, who joined the VU program in time for the 2020 season, appeared in 25 games where she tallied 25 goals and collected five assists before being forced to medically retire from the sport during the 2022 season. Despite the setback, she remained with the program and served as an undergraduate volunteer coach through her graduation in 2024 as she worked with the draw control players while serving as the scouting coordinator and assisting with the team's attack.
As a player, she opened her career with a hat trick against Wagner College before scoring the winning goal in overtime against Lehigh University before the season was shut down just nine games into the campaign because of the COVID pandemic. As a sophomore, she competed in 12 games where she tallied nine goals before an injury shortened her season. Finally, in the 2022 season, she played in the first four games before a season-ending injury forced her to retire.
Additionally, McCauley, the American Athletic Conference Freshman of the Week (Feb. 24, 2020), was a standout in the classroom as she collected eight academic honors. Among those, she was named twice to the IWLCA Academic Honor Roll, three times to the AAC All-Academic team, twice to the Southeastern Conference Academic Honor Roll, and was placed on the 2019-20 First-Year SEC Academic Honor Roll. She graduated from VU with a Bachelor of Science in Human and Organizational Development and a minor in Business in May 2024.
A native of Katy, Texas, McCauley attended The Kinkaid School where she was a member of the lacrosse, cross country, and track & field programs until graduating in 2019. During her playing career, she played varsity lacrosse four years and was a three-time all-state selection and an All-American. A two-time Houston city champion, she also helped her team to a state title while setting the record for goals and points accumulated in program history. Additionally, she was a state champion on the track and was a three-year varsity member of the cross country and track & field programs.
The Mikela McCauley File
Name: Mikela Ellen McCauley
Hometown: Katy, Texas
High School: The Kinkaid School (2019)
College: Vanderbilt University – Bachelor of Science in Human and Organizational Development (2024)
Coaching Experience
Year School/Company Position
2024-pre. Eastern Michigan University Assistant Coach
2022-24 Vanderbilt University Undergraduate Volunteer Assistant
2022 South Coast Lacrosse Club (Houston) Assistant Coach
2021 Tenacity Project (Houston) Head Coach
Follow Us
For updates on EMU Lacrosse, continue to check EMUEagles.com or follow the team on Instagram, @EMU_Lacrosse, and Twitter, @EMU_Lacrosse.
"We are thrilled to welcome Mikela to the Eagle Lacrosse Family," Tisdale said. "Her experience at Vanderbilt, both as a player and coach, will help our program and players grow on and off the field. During Mikela's career at Vandy, she regularly competed against top 25 programs, allowing her to gain valuable game IQ and elite preparation experience. In just two seasons, EMU has become a leader in the MAC and we look forward to learning from and working with Mikela as we begin our 2025 MAC Championship campaign."
McCauley's collegiate experience with the Commodores saw the program reach the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 11 years, a tournament Eastern strives to reach in the future.
"I am beyond excited to join an amazing staff at Eastern," McCauley said. "This is a great opportunity not only to work with a veteran staff, but to also strive every day to build a winning program that will be a powerhouse in the MAC in years to come. I would like to thank Sara Tisdale and everyone at Eastern for the opportunity! I'm excited to get to work and to see what the future brings here at Eastern Michigan!"
McCauley, who joined the VU program in time for the 2020 season, appeared in 25 games where she tallied 25 goals and collected five assists before being forced to medically retire from the sport during the 2022 season. Despite the setback, she remained with the program and served as an undergraduate volunteer coach through her graduation in 2024 as she worked with the draw control players while serving as the scouting coordinator and assisting with the team's attack.
As a player, she opened her career with a hat trick against Wagner College before scoring the winning goal in overtime against Lehigh University before the season was shut down just nine games into the campaign because of the COVID pandemic. As a sophomore, she competed in 12 games where she tallied nine goals before an injury shortened her season. Finally, in the 2022 season, she played in the first four games before a season-ending injury forced her to retire.
Additionally, McCauley, the American Athletic Conference Freshman of the Week (Feb. 24, 2020), was a standout in the classroom as she collected eight academic honors. Among those, she was named twice to the IWLCA Academic Honor Roll, three times to the AAC All-Academic team, twice to the Southeastern Conference Academic Honor Roll, and was placed on the 2019-20 First-Year SEC Academic Honor Roll. She graduated from VU with a Bachelor of Science in Human and Organizational Development and a minor in Business in May 2024.
A native of Katy, Texas, McCauley attended The Kinkaid School where she was a member of the lacrosse, cross country, and track & field programs until graduating in 2019. During her playing career, she played varsity lacrosse four years and was a three-time all-state selection and an All-American. A two-time Houston city champion, she also helped her team to a state title while setting the record for goals and points accumulated in program history. Additionally, she was a state champion on the track and was a three-year varsity member of the cross country and track & field programs.
The Mikela McCauley File
Name: Mikela Ellen McCauley
Hometown: Katy, Texas
High School: The Kinkaid School (2019)
College: Vanderbilt University – Bachelor of Science in Human and Organizational Development (2024)
Coaching Experience
Year School/Company Position
2024-pre. Eastern Michigan University Assistant Coach
2022-24 Vanderbilt University Undergraduate Volunteer Assistant
2022 South Coast Lacrosse Club (Houston) Assistant Coach
2021 Tenacity Project (Houston) Head Coach
Follow Us
For updates on EMU Lacrosse, continue to check EMUEagles.com or follow the team on Instagram, @EMU_Lacrosse, and Twitter, @EMU_Lacrosse.
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