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Kevin Warne
evin Warne enters his ninth season as the Head Coach of the Georgetown University men’s lacrosse team in 2021. A two-time BIG EAST Coach of the Year, Warne led the Hoyas to back-to-back BIG EAST Championships in 2018 and 2019 and has amassed 57 wins during his time on the Hilltop – the second most in program history for a head coach in his first eight years on the sidelines.
During his tenure on the Hilltop, Warne has coached 28 players to All-BIG EAST honors, one BIG EAST Freshman of the Year, one BIG EAST Attack Player of the Year, one BIG EAST Goalkeeper of the Year and 10 USILA All-Americans. Five of his players have played in the prestigious North-South All-Star Game, while 11 have gone on to play professionally in Major League Lacrosse.
During the 2020 season, the Hoyas were one of the most dominant teams during COVID-19 shortened campaign. The Hoyas led the NCAA in in scoring defense (6.33) and scoring margin (10.17) while ranking second overall in clearing (.934). Georgetown’s stout defense, a hallmark of Warne led team, allowed just one team to score more than 10 goals on the season and held opponents to under five goals three different times. Following the season, defenseman Gibson Smith and goalie Owen McElroy were both named Inside Lacrosse First Team Media All-Americans and attackman Jake Carraway was an Inside Lacrosse Third Team Media All-American.
Warne led the Hoyas to their second-straight BIG EAST title in 2019. Georgetown won 13 games on the year, tying the program record for victories in a season, and made its 13th NCAA Tournament appearance before falling to defending national champion Yale. Four Hoyas were named USILA All-Americans as Daniel Bucaro and Lucas Wittenberg earned second team honors while Carraway and Smith collected honorable mention accolades. All four were also named First Team All-BIG EAST. Bucaro broke the program record for career goals scored, Carraway tied the single season record for points and Wittenberg set the single game record with eight assists in the BIG EAST semifinals. Bucaro was also a repeat Tewaaraton Award Nominee.
In 2018, the Hoyas put together one of the best turnarounds in the NCAA by posting eight more wins than the prior season. Behind a stellar 13-man senior class, Georgetown won its first BIG EAST Championship in program history and a trip to the NCAA Tournament before falling in overtime to Johns Hopkins in the opening round. Nick Marrocco became just the seventh GU player, and first since 2008, to be named a USILA First Team All-American while Craig Berge, Ryan Hursey and Bucaro each earned All-America accolades as well. The foursome, joined by Wittenberg and Smith, all garnered All-BIG EAST recognition while Bucaro was selection as a Tewaaraton Award Nominee.
During the 2017 campaign, four players garnered All-BIG EAST recognition including a program-tying three on the first team. Bucaro put together one of the best offensive seasons in program history, scoring 40 goals to go with 13 assists for 53 points, giving him the seventh-most goals and 14th-most points in a single season on the Hilltop. Peter Conley and Michael Mayer also collected First Team All-BIG EAST accolades and an Honorable Mention All-American nod for Conley as well. In addition, Berge was named All-BIG EAST Second Team and Charlie Ford was selected to play in the North-South All-Star Game.
In 2016, Bucaro led Georgetown with 31 points (18G, 13A) and was named the BIG EAST Freshman of the Year, the first Hoya to garner the accolade in program history. Ford collected All-BIG EAST First Team recognition to become the third GU player to repeat as an All-Conference honoree under Warne, while Bucaro and Joe Bucci collected second team accolades.
In 2015, Warne led the Hoyas to the program's first 10-win season since 2007. The Blue & Gray defeated three nationally-ranked opponents on the year and claimed their first BIG EAST postseason victory, defeating Marquette in the BIG EAST Championship semifinals. Warne guided GU to a six-game improvement from 2014, earning him 2015 BIG EAST Men's Lacrosse Coach of the Year honors in the process. Freshman Craig Berge became the first freshman in the program’s storied history to earn All-America honors, being named honorable mention by the USILA. Bo Stafford and Marrocco earned All-BIG EAST First Team honors, while Berge, Ford, Mayer and Reilly O’Connor were all tabbed second team. Seniors O’Connor and Stafford were selected to play in the North-South All-Star Game, while O’Connor was picked seventh overall in the NLL Entry Draft by the Calgary Roughnecks.
In 2014, Warne coached his first All-American as Tyler Knarr, a faceoff specialist, earned USILA Third Team honors. He and Conley were both named to the All-BIG EAST First Team as well, with Conley being the first Hoya to earn All-BIG EAST First Team honors as a freshman in program history. Knarr was selected to play in the North-South All-Star Game and went on to play in the MLL.
In his first season, Warne led the Hoyas to its first postseason appearance since 2007 with a trip to the 2013 BIG EAST Championship. Georgetown finished 6-9, going 3-3 in BIG EAST Conference play, while the Hoyas finished second in the league in ground balls (31.53) and caused turnovers (7.87) a game. O'Connor finished second in the BIG EAST in points per game (3.73) and joined Knarr, O'Connor and Charlie McCormick on the 2013 All-BIG EAST Second Team. Under Warne's tutelage, Brennan Bicknese was selected to play in the North-South All-Star Game.
Under his guidance, Warne has already helped several players to historic careers at Georgetown. Knarr was named a 2014 Third Team USILA All-American, 2014 North-South All-Star Game participant and an All-BIG EAST First team selection after leading the nation in ground balls (10.9/gm) and finishing third in face-off win percentage (.661). He also broke his own single-season ground ball program record (153), originally set in Warne's first season, 2013. He also broke the program record for single-season face-off wins (207). Conley became the first GU freshman to earn All-BIG EAST First Team honors after leading the Hoyas with 37 points in 2014, Berge was the Blue & Gray’s first player to earn USILA All-American accolades as a freshman, earning honorable mention honors in 2015, and Bucaro was the first Hoya to garner BIG EAST Freshman of the Year honors in program history in 2016.
Regarded as one of the top defensive minds in men's lacrosse, Warne helped guide Maryland to consecutive NCAA National Championship games in his two years in College Park with a 25-11 record. The Terps finished the season ranked No. 2 in the country by Inside Lacrosse in 2011 and 2012.
In 2011, his first season with Maryland, Warne helped lead the Terps to a 13-5 season record, the 2011 ACC championship and three-straight wins in the NCAA Tournament to reach the title game. In 2012, Maryland finished the regular season, 9-5 and again advanced to the NCAA Tournament Championship Game. In two seasons, Warne helped guide seven Maryland players to earn All-America honors, including defender Brett Schmidt, who was named the ACC Scholar-Athlete of the Year in 2011.
Prior to Maryland, Warne spent three seasons as an assistant coach at Harvard, where his primary responsibility was overseeing the Crimson defense. In his first season with the Crimson program in 2008, the team had the most All-Ivy League selections since 1999 and was ranked in both major polls during the year. During the 2009 campaign, Warne's defensive unit ranked third in the nation in goals allowed per game and Harvard won eight games for the first time since 2002. The Crimson earned five All-Ivy picks and was ranked as high as No. 11 in the nation in the USILA poll. Harvard allowed 10 or more goals only twice and upset No. 5 Duke to open the season. Warne's work with the Crimson earned him recognition as one of college lacrosse's top assistant coaches by ESPN's Quint Kessenich prior to the 2010. In 2010, Warne helped the Crimson win at least six games for the third straight season, as Harvard earned its first victory over No. 6 Princeton since 1990.
Warne came to Harvard from UMBC, where he served as associate head coach for the Retrievers and helped UMBC advance to the NCAA quarterfinals in 2007. He also served as UMBC's main recruiting coordinator, as well as the program's liaison to the equipment and strength & conditioning departments. Prior to his position at UMBC, Warne served as an assistant coach from 2001-04 at the University of Delaware, working primarily with the offense.
A 2000 graduate of Hofstra, Warne majored in psychology while playing for the Pride from 1995-99. He was a four-year letterwinner and a two-time All-America East honoree. As a senior, he was also named an honorable mention All-American after guiding Hofstra to its third league championship and postseason berth.
While finishing his degree at Hofstra, Warne served as an assistant coach at Plainview-Old Bethpage High School on Long Island. He got his start at the collegiate coaching level in 2000 at the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy prior to moving on to coach at Delaware.
Warne married the former Jennifer Merrill, who was a four-time letterwinner and team captain at Hofstra in volleyball, in August 2009. The couple currently resides in Darnestown, Maryland, with their daughter, Campbell, and son, Patrick.
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