The Marquette Golden Eagles men's lacrosse team represents Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and competes in the Big East Conference of NCAA Division I. The Golden Eagles play their home games at Valley Fields starting in 2016 and were formerly coached by Joe Amplo.
History
Starting a program Marquette started talking about adding a new program to its offerings in the summer of 2010. The athletic department eventually settled on lacrosse since the school lacked a spectator spring sport, and by September the move was approved by the Board of Trustees. The University partnered with former college head coach Dave Cottle, who led the search committee for the program's first coach. Marquette introduced former Hofstra assistant Joe Amplo as head coach on February 27, 2011.
2015: Put on the map The first two years of play for the Golden Eagles went as expected. Marquette went 5–8 in its first season, earning the program's first victory on March 2, 2013 against Air Force, and 6–10 in the second season. It was 2015 when Amplo and his team started turning heads.
Marquette started its season defeating two straight ranked opponents, No. 18/16 Lehigh and No. 17/19 Hofstra. On February 16 the Golden Eagles entered the media and coaches' top 20 for the first time in program history. They would move as high as 9th in the media poll.
However, Marquette couldn't hold on down the stretch. Losses to Georgetown, Bellarmine, Notre Dame, Duke and Denver ended the Golden Eagles tournament hopes.
Tournament Time Despite the strong 2015 season, Marquette hadn't accomplished its goal of making the NCAA Tournament. The team wouldn't have to wait much longer.
After defeating Villanova in the first round of the BIG EAST tournament, the Golden Eagles shocked the lacrosse community on May 7, 2016, defeating then-No. 1 Denver 10-9 for the Golden Eagles' first BIG EAST title. The loss was the first for Denver in their three years of BIG EAST play and the Pioneers first home loss in 22 games. The win was only the second for a Marquette program over a top ranked team, and the first since the men's basketball team took down Kentucky in 2003. Liam Byrnes was named the tournament's most valuable player.
The win propelled the Golden Eagles from an on-the-bubble team to the sixth best seed and Marquette's first tournament appearance in just its fourth season of play. Marquette hosted its first NCAA Tournament game on May 14, 2016, a 10–9 loss to perennial powerhouse North Carolina. The Tar Heels would go on to defeat Maryland 14-13 in overtime for their first NCAA title since 1991.
All-time head coaches Years Head coach Record Postseason 2012–2019 Joe Amplo 52-53 0–2 2020-2024 Andrew Stimmel 21-41 0–0 2025- Jake Richard 12-11 0—0 – Total 82-103 0–2
Season results The following is a list of Marquette's results by season as an NCAA Division I program:
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†NCAA canceled 2020 collegiate activities due to the COVID-19 virus.
Awards All-Americans Tyler Melnyk (2014 Honorable Mention) Liam Byrnes (2016 Second Team) B.J. Grill (2016 Third Team) Jake Richard (2016 Third Team) Mason Woodward (2021 Honorable Mention)
Big East Coach of the Year Joe Amplo (2014)
Big East Defensive Player of the Year Liam Byrnes (2016) Noah Richard (2019)
First-Team All-Big East Selections B.J. Grill (2014, 2015) Tyler Melnyk (2014) Liam Byrnes (2015, 2016) Kyle Whitlow (2015) Ryan McNamara (2016, 2017) Noah Richard (2018, 2019) John Wagner (2018) Nick Grill (2019) Tanner Thomson (2019) Bobby O'Grady (2022) Devon Cowan (2021, 2023) Mason Woodward (2021, 2023, 2024)
Golden Eagles in the Pros Seven Golden Eagles were drafted in the Major League Lacrosse Draft, eight in the National Lacrosse League Draft and three in the Premier Lacrosse League Draft.
The following Golden Eagles players were selected in the National Lacrosse League Draft: Player Year Team Tyler Melnyk 2014 Edmonton Rush Andrew Smistad 2014 Calgary Roughnecks Liam Byrnes 2016 Georgia Swarm Kyle Whitlow 2016 Colorado Mammoth Tanner Thomson 2019 Saskatchewan Rush John Wagner 2019 New York Riptide Connor McClelland 2020 Saskatchewan Rush Mason Woodward 2023 New York Riptide Luke Williams 2024 Calgary Roughnecks Caleb Creasor 2024 Saskatchewan Rush
The following Golden Eagles players were selected in the Premier Lacrosse League Draft: Player Year Team Noah Richard 2019 Atlas Lacrosse Club Mason Woodward 2024 Utah Archers Peter Detwiler 2026 Carolina Chaos
The following Golden Eagles players were selected in the Major League Lacrosse Draft: Player Year Team Liam Byrnes 2016 Florida Launch Jake Richard 2016 New York Lizards B.J. Grill 2016 Denver Outlaws Ryan McNamara 2017 Rochester Rattlers Andy DeMichiei 2017 Ohio Machine Noah Richard 2019 Chesapeake Bayhawks Luke Anderson 2020 Chesapeake Bayhawks
References
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