Virginia Lacrosse Announces Hiring of Kevin Cassese as Associate Head Coach

Lars Tiffany formally announced the hiring of Lehigh head coach Kevin Cassese as UVA's associate head coach and offensive coordinator

Lehigh Athletics

Kevin Cassese has been officially hired as the associate head coach and offensive coordinator of the Virginia men's lacrosse program, as announced on Tuesday afternoon by UVA head coach Lars Tiffany. 

“Once in a while, you come across a person who transcends the norms of your profession,” Tiffany said via a press release on Tuesday. “How can this one person continue to overachieve? Kevin Cassese is an innovator and expert technician on the lacrosse field. He is a great leader of both his men and family."

Cassese has spent the last 16 seasons as the head coach at Lehigh, making this a surprising and remarkable hire for Virginia, as Lars Tiffany was able to lure in Cassese, who has been mentioned as a top candidate for several significant head coaching jobs in the last few seasons. Bringing in a coach with such extensive head coaching experience as Cassese is a big victory for Tiffany and the Cavaliers. 

"For me, it was simply the right time for a change and the right time for a new challenge on my career path," Cassese told Inside Lacrosse. "This opportunity is unique to me and will challenge me in new and different ways. I welcome that opportunity for growth and at the same time, I also believe I can make an impact and help to further elevate UVA lacrosse."

Cassese departs Lehigh as the program's all-time winningest head coach with 136 victories at a 56.7% winning percentage. He coached the Mountain Hawks to a 10-5 record in his final season at Lehigh in 2023. Cassese is a two-time Patriot League Coach of the Year, coached 24 All-Americans, and led the Mountain Hawks to three Patriot League Tournament Championships and three NCAA Tournament appearances, with the most recent one coming in 2021.

An inductee to the U.S. Lacrosse National Hall of Fame, Cassese was a three-time All-American in his playing career at Duke, helping the Blue Devils win two ACC Championships and earn three trips to the NCAA Tournament. Cassese was the ACC Player of the Year in 2001, the nation's top midfielder in 2002, and a two-time Tewaaraton Finalist. 

Cassese began his coaching career at Stony Brook, when Lars Tiffany hired him as an assistant in Tiffany's first year as a collegiate head coach. 

“The time I have shared with Kevin, starting in 2004 at Stony Brook and progressing over the past two decades with countless recruiting events, phone conversations, professional development sessions, family gatherings, et cetera, has cemented for me that there is none better than Kevin for grasping the critical aspects of this human endeavor called coaching," said Tiffany. "Kevin is masterful with forging the strongest of bonds that endure. I am thrilled Kevin will be joining Kip (Turner), Logan (Greco), and myself in Charlottesville. His impact will be felt quickly and continuously.”

In addition to filling the role of offensive coordinator voided by Sean Kirwan, who was hired as the head coach at Dartmouth earlier in June, Kevin Cassese will also be the associate head coach at Virginia, which will be the only program in the ACC to have an associate head coach on staff. 

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