Sara Tisdale has earned a reputation as a program builder in collegiate women’s lacrosse.
Tasked with building Florida State lacrosse’s inaugural team, one major milestone has been achieved in the creation of the Seminoles’ newest team.
Shovels are in the dirt and ground has been broken on the team’s lacrosse-only facility, which neighbors FSU’s golf facility and engineering facility on Pottsdamer Street. The $12 million complex that will hold the team clubhouse and an over a thousand-seat stadium will be only the second women’s lacrosse-only facility in the country, joining Clemson.
“A lot of months of work and a lot of great people that have put a lot of their heart and soul into this project already,” Tisdale said. “We are grateful to have the commitment from the University and from the board, and understanding what this truly means not only for our sport, but to add to the great culture that already exists here at Florida State.”
“This facility will play home to wonderful games, but most importantly, help us build the culture of the program we want to build here at Florida State.”
Tisdale was announced as the program’s first head coach last July. She’s had success at Eastern Michigan, Central Michigan and Augustana College, posting a 114-86 record and coaching 34 all-conference selections.
FSU Athletic Director Michael Alford said the stadium will be the “finest facility.” He said it’s important to give Tisdale the right resources to attract talent and find quick success, and the new facility is one part of that.
“She has a vision, and she is so personable and the culture within her team that she develops is truly special, its a family,” Alford said. “For her to go out and sell this vision, we’ve got to provide her the resources to go out and get the very best talent across the country. That’s what Florida State does.”
“We have such a rich tradition in supporting our women’s sports… we are going to build things the right way and immediately give her the resources to have success.”
FSU women’s lacrosse constructs roster for inaugural season
Selling the vision of the program to her first recruiting class, the Seminoles landed the program’s first five transfers in Gabby Cleveland, Summer Harrell, Loghan McNamara, Lexi Smalline and Olivia Sprinkle, who have all enrolled and been on campus.
The group has been dubbed the “Fab Five,” and Tisdale said the five players believed in the vision that she and FSU had for women’s lacrosse.
Cleveland has emerged as a leader and face of the roster. She was an All-conference attacker with Oregon before transferring to Ohio State.
She said the family environment that Tisdale and Alford fostered with the creation of the program helped make her decision to commit to the Seminoles easy. This is her final year of eligibility.
“It’s super cool because you get to see everything bleed together. Obviously, you can come here for the bells and whistles when it comes to any program, but I committed and I came to FSU for the family portion and the culture FSU brings,” Cleveland said.
“There is not a day I wake up when I’m not smiling and happy to be here on campus.”
In total, FSU has welcomed 19 players to its roster ahead of its inaugural season in the spring of 2026. Cleveland said the way Tisdale recruits has been a big part of getting talented players in the door, and she stayed in Tallahassee for the summer to help her coach recruit.
Cleveland said she’s connected with most of the recruits coming to campus, and she said the time she spent this spring on campus helped the team sharpen skills ahead of the inaugural game at the new lacrosse facility.
“It’s been something special, I think those bonds are going to carry all the way to when one of us gets married. We are going to be best friends for life,” Cleveland said. “Having that individual time to work on our fundamentals and sculpt those little aspects of our game has been huge. And it will definitely translate to when we play in the spring.”
Liam Rooney covers Florida State athletics for the Tallahassee Democrat. Contact him via email at LRooney@gannett.com or on Twitter @__liamrooney
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: FSU women’s lacrosse breaks ground on new facility as Seminoles construct inaugural roster
Reporting by Liam Rooney, Tallahassee Democrat / Tallahassee Democrat
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
