Llaquelin Reyes-Mendez is a passionate leader, educator, and advocate for diversity in lacrosse. A first-generation college graduate and proud Salvadoran American, she has built her career around both athletic excellence and inclusive representation within the sport.

A native of Woodbridge, Virginia, Llaquelin began her lacrosse journey at Gar-Field High School, where she also launched her coaching career as the Head Coach for girls’ lacrosse and Assistant Coach for field hockey. She went on to play collegiate lacrosse as an attacker at the University of the District of Columbia (UDC), earning her degree in Urban Sustainability.

During her time at UDC, she joined the AIST travel team on an international tour through Dublin, Liverpool, and Edinburgh, gaining firsthand insight into the global growth of lacrosse. This experience deepened her love for the game and inspired her to help make lacrosse more accessible and diverse, particularly for underrepresented communities.

Llaquelin began her collegiate coaching career at Hartwick College in New York, where she worked alongside Nora Fallon-Oben and helped lead the program to a 4th-place finish in the Empire 8 Conference Championship. She continued to advance her coaching expertise as an Assistant Coach at West Virginia Wesleyan University, gaining valuable experience within a Division II program, before stepping into her current role as Head Coach at Chowan University.

Since joining Chowan in March, Llaquelin has been rebuilding the program’s foundation—improving key performance metrics such as clearing and shot percentages and instilling a championship mindset across the team. Her approach emphasizes discipline, accountability, and empowerment, helping athletes grow both on and off the field.

Beyond her coaching roles, Llaquelin is a proud member of the IWLCA Diversity Committee and a graduate of the IWLCA Student Leadership Academy, where she advocates for greater inclusion and visibility of players of color in lacrosse. She believes that coaching is not just about competition, but about mentorship, mental strength, and personal growth.

To better support her athletes holistically, Llaquelin earned a degree in Sport Psychology from Southwest University, equipping her with the tools to help student-athletes strengthen their mental resilience and perform at their best.

“As a coach, my mission is to inspire, mentor, and grow the sport to the best of my ability,” she says. “The impact you make on one person can inspire many others.”

Llaquelin looks forward to collaborating with the Global Lacrosse Foundation to help shape the next generation of players through unity, diversity, and the shared love of the game.