A veteran of the Division III head coaching ranks, Bragg takes the reins of the Transylvania women’s lacrosse team after spending the last four seasons as head coach of the Bridgewater (Va.) College women’s lacrosse team of the Old Dominion Athletic Conference.

“We are very excited to welcome Rachael into our Pioneer family as our women’s lacrosse head coach,” stated Associate Athletic Director Jeff Chaney. “She will bring great energy and enthusiasm with a passion to bring the best out of our student-athletes.”

Bragg inherits a championship program at Transylvania which has won the last three Heartland Collegiate Lacrosse Conference regular season and tournament championships, and appeared in the 2018, 2019, and 2021 NCAA Division III Women’s Lacrosse Tournament.

Over the past four years, Bragg rebuilt a Bridgewater program competing in the premier ODAC conference in her role as head coach of the Eagles, crafting a formidable team on the field and in the classroom. In her most recent season at Bridgewater, Bragg developed 11 student-athletes onto the Dean’s List and an All-ODAC Second Team selection.

During her tenure as Bridgewater’s head coach, Bragg steered the program to its first national top 25 ranking in team history and an ODAC Tournament berth in her first season with the Eagles. Bragg piloted the Eagles to a collection of on the field and academic milestones, including landmark wins against Roanoke College for the first time in 34 years, the program’s first win over nationally-ranked Christopher Newport, and fielded 10 All-ODAC awardees over a three-year period.

Prior to her arrival at Bridgewater, Bragg was instrumental in the progression of two Division III championship programs, serving as an assistant coach at Division III Muhlenberg (Pa.) College and Catholic University of America (Washington, D.C.). During her stint at Muhlenberg from 2015 through 2017, the Mules reached the IWLCA top 20 and defeated No. 1 nationally-ranked Gettysburg College. While at Catholic in the 2015 season, Bragg helped the Cardinals win the Landmark Conference Championship and eventually reach the NCAA Elite 8 and a final national ranking of No. 6.

Beyond her coaching duties, Bragg has been a member of the IWLCA Senior All-Star Committee since 2019 and served this year with the Clinic Planning Committee. She attended the NCAA Emerging Leaders Conference in 2017.

Bragg obtained her Master of Sports Leadership from Northeastern University in Boston in 2017.