A former Big Ten standout, Allyson Heavens enters her sixth season as an assistant coach with Rutgers women's lacrosse in 2023-24. In her first five seasons "On the Banks", Heavens has helped the program to two NCAA Tournament appearances after RU qualified for just one in its previous 43 years. With Heavens' help, 14 Scarlet Knights have earned All-Big Ten recognition, 12 have secure All-Region status and 10 have landed on All-America lists.
As the program's defensive coordinator, Heavens has mentored three All-Big Ten defensive standouts - Meghan Ball, Jessica Beneducci and Dana Pena. Ball established herself as one of the best defenders in the country this past season, earning All-America laurels for the third consecutive year. The 2023 Big Ten and ECAC Defender of the Year, a unanimous First Team All-Big Ten selection and a First Team IWLCA All-Region pick, Ball led the conference in caused turnovers per game (3.53) and ground balls per game (3.00), finishing second and 12th, respectively, in both categories nationally.
Rutgers advanced to its fourth consecutive Big Ten semifinal this past season after the Scarlet Knights defeated No. 7 Maryland in the conference quarterfinals in College Park. RU tallied eight wins on the season and faced eight teams who advanced to this year's NCAA Tournament, including national runner-up Northwestern. RU appeared as high as No. 22 in the rankings during the regular season.
Playing one of the toughest schedules in the country in 2023, Rutgers finished with eight victories and its third consecutive Big Ten Tournament Semifinal appearance during the 2023 campaign. The Scarlet Knights picked up wins against three ranked opponents – No. 6 Stony Brook, No. 16 Johns Hopkins, and No. 19 Jacksonville – and closed the season receiving votes in the final IWLCA Coaches Poll - its third consecutive season appearing in the final IWLCA rankings.
Rutgers enjoyed its best season in program history in 2022 with Heavens on staff, as the Scarlet Knights finished with a program-record 16 victories and a final No. 10 ranking in the IWLCA Coaches poll - their highest final ranking ever. RU knocked off six ranked opponents for the second consecutive season and defeated No. 4 Northwestern to advance to its first Big Ten Tournament final. Rutgers finished 16th in thr country in scoring defense (10.19) and 19th in caused turnovers per game (9.29). Ball and Beneducci were pegged All-Big Ten, making it back-to-back season the Scarlet Knights finished with multiple defenders on the all-conference team.
Rutgers closed out the 2021 season with a final No. 14 ranking in the IWLCA Coaches Poll – its highest ranking since 2010. The Scarlet Knights picked up their first ever wins over Big Ten Conference foes Johns Hopkins, Maryland and Penn State and advanced to the Big Ten Tournament semifinals for just the second time since it began league play in 2015. RU advanced to the NCAA Tournament for just the second time since 1999 and earned a win in the first round over No. 10 Drexel for the program's first win in school history.
Heavens previously served as an assistant at La Salle from 2017-19, where she worked as the defensive coordinator for the Explorers during the past three seasons. Three defenders were All-Atlantic 10 selections under Heavens’ mentorship, including 2019 all-rookie defender Amanda Farnsworth. Heavens also worked as the program’s social media and recruiting coordinator.
A native of Garnet Valley, Pa., Heavens played collegiately at Penn State from 2013-16, where she helped the Nittany Lions to an NCAA Final Four appearance as a senior captain in 2016. Penn State muscled 14 victories during her senior campaign en route to the program’s first trip to an NCAA semifinal since 1999. That season, Heavens started all 21 games on defense, collected 25 ground balls and caused 26 turnovers. Heavens also earned a Big Ten Championship in 2015 as a junior.
Heavens graduated from Penn State in 2016 with a degree in kinesiology.
