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Nick Myers
Since 2009 when he took the reins of the Ohio State men’s lacrosse program, head coach Nick Myers has taken the Buckeyes to places they’ve never been before. And through his tireless efforts – and those of his coaching staff – he also has Ohio State primed for even greater heights moving forward.
Over his first 14 seasons, Myers has posted a 120-89 ledger overall and a 40-35 conference record. Ohio State’s ascension culminated with a trip to the 2017 Final Four and national championship game. Myers also has the program’s first postseason title on his resume (2013 ECAC Tournament championship), in addition to two Creator’s Trophy titles, a share of a league regular-season title, a spot in the NCAA quarterfinals three times (2013, ’15, ‘17) and to a No. 3 seed in the 2013 and 2017 NCAA Tournaments. In 2018, he was voted by his peers as the co-Big Ten Coach of the Year.
Under his tutelage, members of the program have garnered 25 USILA All-America honors, 47 all-conference nods and 12 conference player of the year accolades. Members of the Ohio State squad have earned 230 Academic All-Big Ten accolades and 316 Ohio State Scholar-Athlete nods, along with the 17 USILA Scholar All-Americans.
Myers was also instrumental in raising over $20 million for a new lacrosse-only stadium that is set to open for the 2023 season. The Buckeyes’ home will be one-of-a-kind and include a heated and lighted field, press box with broadcast facilities and an indoor shooting room.
The team’s community service numbers rise each year, with the program volunteering more than 2,500 hours in the community the last six seasons combined.
In 2022, Myers guided the Buckeyes back to the NCAA Tournament with a 10-6 overall record and 3-2 mark in Big Ten play. Along the way, Ohio State took back possession of the Creator’s Trophy with regular season wins over Penn State and Michigan. In fact, Myers guided the Buckeyes to back-to-back wins over the Wolverines in a six-day span. At the end of the season, four players had garned All-America honors: Jack Myers (second team), Jackson Reid (third team), Justin Inacio (honorable mention) and freshman Bobby Van Buren (honorable mention).
The 2021 season saw significant accomplishments as a team – the 500th win in program history – as well as individually as Ryan Terefenko became the program’s first-ever four-time All-American. The schedule was a Big Ten-only slate due to COVID-19 and the Buckeyes earned a pair of regular seasons wins over rival Michigan and Johns Hopkins.
During the 2020 season, a campaign that was shortened to just seven games due to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, Myers’ team was 5-2 and earned wins over two ranked opponents. In what turned out to be the final game of the season, the Buckeyes defeated No. 14 Notre Dame 13-11 in Ohio Stadium. Ohio State’s offense was on pace to challenge several single-season school records, most notably average goals per game (13.86, 18th best nationally)
In the spring of 2019, Myers and the Buckeyes got off to one of the best starts in school history, going unbeaten in non-conference play for the first time ever. With an 11-10 overtime win at Notre Dame, Myers became the first coach in program history to win 100 games. He coached two All-Big Ten selections – Ryan Terefenko and Justin Inacio – along with the conference’s co-Specialist of the Year (Inacio). He also led the Scarlet and Gray to their first-ever road wins at UMass, Hofstra and Johns Hopkins.
In 2018, Myers and the Buckeyes played their best lacrosse in the final month of the season, rallying to knock off No. 20 Michigan, No. 1 Maryland and No. 9 Rutgers in three consecutive weeks to earn a birth to the Big Ten Tournament. In the process, Myers also became the winningest coach in program history, notching his 93rd career triumph in a 10-7 victory over the Scarlet Knights. Myers and his staff coached a Big Ten Freshmen of the Year (Justin Inacio) for the second consecutive season while also producing four USILA All-Americans: Ben Randall (first team), Ryan Terefenko (third team), Tre Leclaire (honorable mention) and Erik Evans (honorable mention).
Myers’ 2017 team put together a memorable run that resulted in the program’s first-ever trip to Championship Weekend. The Buckeyes set a school record by winning 16 games and by virtue of a 16-11 win over Duke in the NCAA Quarterfinals, advanced to the Final Four. In Foxboro, the Buckeyes came from behind to beat Towson in the national semifinals, punching a ticket college lacrosse’s biggest stage: the NCAA title game. Along the way, several of Myers’ players earned recognition: junior defenseman Ben Randall became the first Buckeye in program history to be a USILA First Team All-American while faceoff specialist Jake Withers earned second team honors, Tre Leclaire and Tom Carey were third team selections and Eric Fannell and Ryan Terefenko were honorable mention choices. The four first/second/third team honorees are a program best.
During the Summer of 2016, Myers led Team USA to the gold medal at the FIL Under-19 World Championship. The squad was 6-0 in the tournament and rallied from an 8-2 deficit in the championship game to win the title, Team USA’s eighth consecutive gold medal. Myers will coach the Team USA U19 squad once again this summer at the World Championships in Limerick, Ireland.
The 2016 the Buckeyes (7-8) took on a Top 20 team in eight of their final nine games and had five one-goal decisions. Buckeyes claimed half of the Big Ten Player of the Year awards, with Robby Haus named defensive player of the year and Jake Withers receiving specialist honors; both were also named First Team All-Big Ten. Haus, who was a Third Team All-American, was joined by Carter Brown as USILA Scholar All-Americans. The Showdown in The Shoe, which had a crowd of nearly 55,000 by the end of the game, saw the Buckeyes post their fifth consecutive win over Michigan. Twenty-four Buckeyes represented the program at the Scholar-Athlete Dinner and 14 were named to the Academic All-Big Ten squad.
In 2015, Myers led the Buckeyes into a new era, as the Big Ten Conference sponsored men’s lacrosse for the first time. Ohio State, which ended the year 12-7 overall (3-2 B1G), advanced to the inaugural Big Ten Tournament championship game and earned an at-large spot in the NCAA Tournament. In the first round of the NCAA tourney, the Buckeyes went on the road and defeated two-time defending champion Duke before falling in the quarterfinals to eventual national champion Denver. During the season, the Buckeyes claimed the Creator’s Trophy with road wins over Penn State and Michigan and topped three of the NCAA semifinalists while also hosting the Showdown in The Shoe before a crowd of more than 44,000 by the end of the game. Three Buckeyes earned USILA All-America accolades, as Jesse King and Haus were named to the third team and Tom Carey was an honorable mention choice, while five were recognized by the Big Ten, with King and Brown named First Team All-Big Ten. Academically, 24 Buckeyes were invited to the Scholar-Athlete Dinner, with 15 earning a spot on the Academic All-Big Ten Team, and Turner Evans and Christopher May both were named USILA Scholar All-Americans.
In 2014, the Buckeyes (6-8) shared the ECAC regular season title in the last year competing in the conference, posting a 3-1 league ledger and earning a spot in the conference tournament. The Showdown in the Shoe returned to Ohio Stadium, with the Buckeyes downing Michigan in front of more than 31,000 fans prior to the Ohio State football spring game. Joe Meurer was named the ECAC Defensive Player of the Year and led eight Buckeyes as all-conference selections. Meurer and King, a Tewaaraton Award Top 25 candidate, earned USILA All-America accolades, with King on the third team and Meurer an honorable mention pick. Meurer also was named a Scholar All-American by the USILA.
The 2013 campaign was one of the best in program history, posting a 13-4 ledger for the most wins for a Buckeye team since 1978. Ten of the victories were during the regular season, just the fifth time a Buckeye team hit double-digit wins before entering postseason play. The squad downed both Penn State and Michigan on the road to claim the Creator’s Trophy for the first time. Wins over ranked opponents Loyola and Denver lifted the Buckeyes to the ECAC tournament crown and the No. 3 seed in the NCAA tournament. Nearly 2,400 fans – a number that ranked fourth nationally among all first-round sites – watched the Buckeyes beat Towson 16-6 to advance to the NCAA quarterfinals for the second time in school history.
Individually, Logan Schuss became the program’s all-time leading goal scorer and a two-time ECAC Offensive Player of the Year, as well as the first Buckeye to earn first team all-conference accolades four times. Schuss was a second team All-American and Dominique Alexander, King and Meurer all were named honorable mention All-Americans, just the second time in program history four Buckeyes were recognized and the first time since 2008. Three Buckeyes – Schuss, Alexander and Trey Wilkes – were named USILA Scholar All-Americans.
The 2012 campaign saw the Buckeyes (8-7) earn a spot in the ECAC tournament semifinals after finishing second in the regular season with a 5-1 league ledger. Schuss was named the ECAC Offensive Player of the Year and joined Joe Bonanni on the USILA All-America third team, with four Buckeyes named to the All-ECAC team. Matt Kawamoto and Bonanni became the first USILA Scholar All-Americans in program history.
In 2011, the Buckeyes (8-8) earned a spot in the inaugural ECAC tournament. The team was 5-2 at home, including a 13-8 upset of No. 3-ranked North Carolina Feb. 19 in Ohio Stadium, the program’s first win over a Top 3 opponent in history. A record 28 Buckeyes were invited to the Scholar-Athlete dinner, with a league-high 10 Ohio State players named to the ECAC All-Academic team. Kawamoto, a USILA Honorable Mention All-American, picked up ECAC Defensive Player of the Year accolades and was one of four Buckeyes named to the all-conference teams.
In 2010, the Buckeyes (7-8) faced one of the toughest schedules in the nation as they began play as a member of the ECAC Lacrosse League. The squad had a 5-2 ledger at home, and highlighting the home slate was the third-annual Showdown in The Shoe when the Buckeyes topped Air Force with an NCAA record attendance of 31,078. Schuss was named ECAC Rookie of the Year and became the first Buckeye freshman to nab All-America honors after leading the ECAC in points per game and was one of two Buckeyes recognized on the all-conference team.
In 2009, his first season at the helm of the Buckeye program, Myers led Ohio State (8-8) to a spot in the Great Western Lacrosse League championship game after a third-place finish in the league’s regular-season standings despite losing two All-Americans and four all-conference selections from the 2008 squad that reached the NCAA quarterfinals. Senior All-American Joel Dalgarno, who finished his career as Ohio State’s all-time leading goal scorer and ranked second all-time in points, led the GWLL and was sixth nationally with 3.81 points per game. In all, seven Buckeyes were named all-conference, with two first team selections.
As the top assistant under Joe Breschi at Ohio State from 2006-08, Myers served as the offensive coordinator for the Buckeyes, oversaw recruiting and handled other aspects of the day-to-day operation of the men’s lacrosse program.
In 2008, Myers helped guide the Buckeyes to a share of the Great Western Lacrosse League regular-season title and an at-large berth into the NCAA tournament. The team downed Cornell on the road for the program’s first NCAA tournament victory and berth in the quarterfinal round. He was the offensive coordinator as the Buckeyes ended the season third in the NCAA in scoring offense (13.2 goals per game) and extra-man offense (45.7 percent).
Myers began his coaching career as the volunteer coach for the Buckeyes for two seasons (2002, ’03) and was on the Buckeye staff when the squad earned a spot in the NCAA tournament in 2003, the first appearance in program history, and shared the GWLL title.
He spent the 2004 and ’05 campaigns as the top assistant coach at Butler before rejoining the Buckeye staff in 2006.
Myers played for Springfield College in Massachusetts, earning Division III All-America honors in 2001. He was a three-time All-NEWMAC selection and was the 2000 conference player of the year.
Myers graduated from Springfield with a degree in sports studies/physical education in 2001. In 2016 he was named to the inaugural Springfield College 40 Under 40 class.
A native of Kennebunk, Maine, Myers graduated from Kennebunk High School in 1997. He was a two-time high school All-American and participated in the 1997 North-South All-Star Game.
Myers married the former Julie Cowles, also a Springfield College graduate. The couple lives in Columbus with their sons, Mason and Zachary.
Myers’ brother, Pat, was a four-year letterwinner for the Buckeyes from 2000-03, a two-time All-Great Western Lacrosse League honoree and the conference rookie of the year in 2000. He has been an assistant coach at North Carolina, Cornell, Bucknell and Penn and is currently the head coach at Lafayette College.
Myers Quick Facts
Hometown: Kennebunk, Maine
High School: Kennebunk
College: Graduated from Springfield in 2001 with a degree in sports studies/physical education
Family: wife, Julie; sons, Mason and Zachary; mother, Miriam Myers-Burch; father, Fred Myers; brother, Pat Myers; sister, Ali Burch
Lacrosse career: NEWMAC Player of the Year in 2000 … Division III All-American in 2001 … three-time All-NEWMAC honoree … 221 career points … had 91 points as a senior, the second-highest single-season total in program history.
Coaching career: Ohio State, head coach (2008-present); Team USA, U-19 head coach (2016, 2020); Ohio State, assistant coach (2006-08); Butler, assistant coach (2004-05); Ohio State, volunteer assistant coach (2002-03)
Assisted under: Joe Breschi (Ohio State), Stan Ross (Butler), Craig Kahoun (Butler)
Coaching highlights: Coached Team USA to gold medal in 2016 FIL U-19 World Championship … led Ohio State to 2013 ECAC Tournament and Creator’s Trophy titles and NCAA quarterfinals, as well as No. 3 seed in NCAA tourney … guided Ohio State to NCAA quarterfinals and Creator’s Trophy in 2015 in first campaign in the Big Ten … on Ohio State staff when Buckeyes earned first NCAA tournament bid (2003) … member of Buckeye coaching staff in 2008 when squad reached NCAA quarterfinal round for first time and shared GWLL title … Ohio State players have earned 26 USILA All-America honors the last 11 years, along with 47 all-conference honors … in his 11 seasons at the helm, 279 players have been named Ohio State Scholar-Athletes, 198 have been selected for the Academic All-Big Ten team and 17 have been named USILA Scholar All-Americans … was voted as the 2018 Big Ten co-Coach of the Year … currently in his second stint as the head coach of the United States U-19 team.
Away from lacrosse: Enjoys spending time with friends and family
Myers’ Coaching Vision
I look at coaching as an opportunity to teach and impact young men who hold a burning desire to play the game of lacrosse. As a teacher I feel you must first seek to understand, before you are understood. The delicate balance of family, religion, education, lacrosse and free time in a student athlete’s life are the backbone of successful teaching. Three values and beliefs reinforce my optimism that doing the right thing will prevail. The first is collaboration, the second is consensus, and the third is empowerment.
I understand the importance of building trust with players and committing every bit as much as they do to studying and learning the game. The common goal of sacrificing for something intangible is what drives a team and brings them together. It is a game that consumes me, rewards me and has ultimately shaped who I am. My driving force is to provide every student-athlete the opportunity to have this experience and to grow as a young adult. The student-athlete experience is not a four-year commitment; it is a life long commitment. There is nothing more rewarding than watching a young man come in open to new ideas and move on seasoned and prepared for the challenges that lie ahead.
To be the best player and the best coach you must be a student of the game. To understand the history of the sport of lacrosse, to study the role of each player on and off the field, to see the entire picture of each players’ role and what they bring to the team’s success is the legacy of coaching I get to pass along. I have been truly blessed with the opportunity to teach the game I love and a game which has impacted me in such a tremendous way. I cherish the rewards received as a coach working with student-athletes and working to gain a better understanding of the ups and downs of the profession every day. I rely on experience and an incredible circle of both family and mentors I have been associated with to guide me on this journey. Each day represents my continued effort to grow and learn in pursuit of my vision as both a teacher and coach. When all is said and done, this is the legacy I pass down to each player I have the privilege of working with that they take into their own future endeavors.
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