University of Rhode Island

Chris Lorenti enters his sixth season with Rhode Island in 2025. He joined the Rhode Island coaching staff as the inside linebackers coach in February of 2020 and was promoted to the team's Defensive Coordinator ahead of the 2023 season. 

The Rhody defense had a banner year in 2024, culminating in a CAA Football title as well as an at-large selection to the NCAA Championship as the 10-seed. Five members of the unit earned All-CAA Football honors in outside linebacker A.J Pena (First Team), defensive lineman Westley Neal, Jr. (First Team), defensive back Freddy Mallay (Second Team), inside linebacker Cole Brockwell (Third Team) and safety Emmanuel Gomes (Third Team). Inside linebacker Devin Hightower and defensive lineman Carson Primrose earned honorable mention. Under Lorenti's supervision, Pena was also named a First Team All-American by the Associated Press. 

Since Lorenti's arrival, 11 different defensive players have earned all-conference honors from CAA Football, with four multi-year selections. In each of his five seasons in Kingston, one of Lorenti's inside linebackers has led the team in tackles. 

Lorenti came to Rhode Island after 12 seasons on the staff at Southern Connecticut State. He served as the Owls’ defensive coordinator from 2015-19. He was the offensive line coach and special teams coordinator in 2014, and before that spent seven seasons coaching the inside linebackers. During his time at Southern Connecticut, he coached two All-Americans and nine All-Conference selections.

As a player at Southern Connecticut, Lorenti played four seasons as a linebacker. He finished his career with 176 tackles. As a junior, he finished third on the squad with 82 tackles and tallied a team-high three fumble recoveries. At the conclusion of his playing career, Lorenti was just one of 14 players in the history of the Owls’ program who served as a captain for two seasons.

He earned a Bachelor's Degree in Human Performance in 2010.