Maggie Zentgraf is set to enter her fourth season at the helm of the Butler women's lacrosse program in 2026. The former Notre Dame standout is the second head coach in Butler program history.
Zentgraf's 2025 squad featured a brand new young core of 17 newcomers that included 12 freshmen. The newcomers quickly made an impact on the defensive end. The team finished with a conference-best average of 10.14 saves per game and their total of 142 saves ranked fourth on Butler’s all-time list. Zentgraf also helped guide junior Elise Latham to a 30 goal season, which included Butler’s first player to ever record at least one goal in every game played during a full season.
In her second season (2024), Zentgraf pushed the Bulldogs' offense which landed in the top three on several of Butler's all-time lists. The team broke a program record with 36 free position goals and ranked second all-time with 160 goals, 61 assists, 221 points, and 399 total shots. Each of these was an improvement over the 2023 season. The 2024 Bulldogs ranked third all-time collecting 239 ground balls and securing 214 draw controls.
In her initial season (2023), Zentgraf led the Bulldogs to its first BIG EAST Conference victory in program history (Xavier, 4/1/23). The team scored the second-most goals (156) and had the fourth-most assists (50) of any Butler team. The team set a school record with 26 draw controls in a single game (Youngstown State, 2/12/23). Zentgraf also helped guide junior Leah Rubino as she became the first Butler player to be selected to the All-BIG EAST First Team.
Prior to Butler, Zentgraf led Lake Forest to a conference title in the program’s inaugural season. She was hired at Lake Forest in Illinois in 2020 and built the NCAA Division III program from day one, recruiting the inaugural roster and then guiding the Foresters to an 11-4 overall record and a perfect 5-0 mark in Midwest Women’s Lacrosse Conference (MWLC) play during the program’s first season in 2022. She was named MWLC Coach of the Year for her efforts, while also mentoring the conference’s Attacker, Defender and Rookie of the Year Award winners among the seven all-conference honorees.
Zentgraf played at Notre Dame, serving as team captain in 2010. During her time with the Fighting Irish, the team captured a BIG EAST title and made three appearances in the NCAA Tournament. Zentgraf was named the athletic department’s recipient of the prestigious Christopher Zurich Service Award. Her playing career also included a tryout with the U.S. Lacrosse National Team. At Charlottesville (Va.) High School, Zentgraf was named first-team All-America prior to joining the Notre Dame program. Zentgraf’s uncle is Kevin Corrigan, the head men’s lacrosse coach at Notre Dame, and both are part of a Corrigan family that is heavily involved throughout college athletics.
Her additional collegiate coaching experience came at Beloit College during the 2014 and 2015 seasons where she served as an assistant coach and eventually the interim head coach. Over those two seasons, the team posted a record of 19-15 with six players earning all-conference honors and 13 being recognized as academic all-conference.
At the club level, Zentgraf coached with Lakeshore Lacrosse (2015-21), working with the Class of 2023 for three of those seasons. In 2019, U.S. Club Lacrosse ranked the team No. 1 in Illinois. Players she coached currently play for or are committed to programs such as Notre Dame and Butler’s BIG EAST rivals UConn and Marquette. As a member of the Hinsdale Central High School staff (2016-20), she helped the team to a 2018 state championship and four consecutive appearances in the state semifinals. Eight of her players were named first-team All-America. Zentgraf began her coaching career at Western Albemarle High School in Virginia.
Zentgraf is a 2010 graduate of Notre Dame with a degree in sociology, earning BIG EAST Honor Roll distinction. While coaching lacrosse over the past decade, she has also worked as a youth counselor and a physical education teacher.
She and her husband, John Luhrsen, are the proud parents of a young son, Dino.
