Staff

John Danowski - Head Coach

Cemented as one of the top coaches in college lacrosse, John Danowski has led the Duke men’s lacrosse team to unprecedented success and himself to the top over the Division I men’s lacrosse wins list. Danowski was introduced as Duke’s eighth head men’s lacrosse coach on July 21, 2006 and quickly led the Blue Devils to some of the most successful lacrosse seasons in school history, which included three NCAA Championships in a five-year span.

In Danowski’s 12 years at the helm of the Blue Devils lacrosse program, he has compiled an impressive 180-55 record in leading Duke to seven ACC regular season titles and four ACC tournament titles, nine appearances in the national semifinals from 2007-14 and 2018, five in the NCAA title match and ultimately to the 2010, 2013 and 2014 national titles. The 2014 NCAA crown put Danowski, a winner of 399 career games, among a small group of nine coaches to win three national titles and among eight to capture consecutive crowns. Meanwhile, Duke’s run of eight straight NCAA semifinals rank as the second most of any program since 2000 with Syracuse. Danowski, with a 399-194 record, owns the most wins among Division I head coaches and will become just the third coach across all three divisions to record 400 career wins. He passed Dom Starsia as the winningest Division I lacrosse history in 2017, garnering his 376th win with a 13-6 victory over Jacksonville.

A winner of nearly 80 percent of his games at Duke, the individual awards Blue Devil players have garnered is equally impressive. In 11 seasons, Danowski mentored 64 All-America selections, 36 All-ACC choices, two Tewaaraton Trophy winners, a pair of USILA Attackman of the Year honorees, a USILA Defenseman of the Year, three USILA Midfielder of the Year award recipients and 21 USILA Scholar All-America picks.

While the success on the field is unsurpassed in Duke lacrosse history, the student-athletes excellence in the classroom also is unrivaled. The Blue Devils consistently lead the ACC in All-ACC Academic picks as well as players on the ACC Academic Honor Roll. In 2018, Duke had 36 players – 77 percent of the team – achieve a 3.0 grade point average for the entire academic year, while Justin Guterding was named the ACC Student-Athlete of the Year and a USILA Scholar All-American.

Duke, after winning consecutive NCAA titles in 2013 and 2014, returned to championship weekend in 2018 where it ultimately fell to Yale in national championship game.

Ranked as the preseason No. 1, Duke came up just short against the first-time champion Bulldogs in a 13-11 setback. The Blue Devils finished the season with a 16-4 overall record, marking the seventh time in program history they have reached the 16-win mark. --- READ MORE

Ron Caputo - Assistant Coach

One of the great minds in collegiate lacrosse, Ron Caputo is in his 13th season as an assistant coach at Duke. Caputo currently works closely with the Duke defense after spending 10 seasons as the leader of the midfielders and faceoff specialists.

In his 13 seasons with the Blue Devils, Duke has posted a 176-57 record, captured three ACC titles, advanced to the NCAA Semifinals nine times and ultimately won the 2010, 2013 and 2014 national championships.

This past season, his second season working with the defense, Caputo mentored the dynamic duo of JT Giles-Harris and Cade Van Raaphorst to first team All-America honors and Giles-Harris to the ACC Defensive Player of the Year award. As a defensive unit, Duke led the ACC and ranked seventh nationally in allowing 9.61 goals per game.

Caputo transitioned to working with the defense in 2018 and the Blue Devils proceeded to post their best performance since 2009. They ranked 12th nationally with an 8.39 goals against average, the lowest by a Duke squad since 2009. Sophomore Cade Van Raaphorst garnered All-America third team recognition under his watch, while goalkeeper Danny Fowler was honorable All-America.

In his nine seasons with the Duke midfield, the Blue Devils ranked among the top 11 in scoring offense in every year and was among the top six in eight of those, including the No. 4 spot in 2015 and 2016. Caputo mentored many of Duke’s talented midfield units, including the trio of Deemer Class, Myles Jones and Christian Walsh that set the Duke record for goals by a midfield unit.--- READ MORE

Matt Danowski - Assistant Coach

One of the best players in Duke men’s lacrosse history, Matt Danowski enters his eigth season with the program. In his seven seasons with the attackmen, Danowski has mentored some of Duke’s top scorers, including Jordan Wolf, Justin Guterding and current junior Joe Robertson.

In each of his years, the Blue Devils have featured one of the nation’s top offenses and some of the most prominent attackmen in the game with Joey Manown and Joe Robertson poised to become a part of that group. Duke averaged 12.22 goals per game a year ago to rank 21st nationally.

In 2018, Duke’s offense was the best in the ACC and ranked fourth nationally with Guterding leading the way. With Danowski providing daily inspiration and guidance, Guterding rewrote the NCAA record book in 2018 as he broke the career goals record with 212 goals. Netting 66 goals and 113 points overall, Guterding led the nation in goals (3.30/game) and was third in points (5.65).

Overall, Duke’s offense has flourished under Matt Danowski, ranking second and third nationally in scoring in 2014 and 2013, respectively. In 2015, following the departure of All-American Jordan Wolf, Duke was fourth nationally in scoring offense at 14.28 goals per game. In 2016, with Guterding headlining the attack as a sophomore, the Blue Devils were fourth nationally.

As a player, Matt Danowski remains at the top of the Duke records book and near the top of the NCAA records book. He is still Duke’s all-time leading scorer with 353 career points and tops in assists at 183. Matt is one of four Duke players to rank in the top 10 in career goals, assists and points. In NCAA history, Matt is third in career points and sixth in assists.--- READ MORE

Ned Crotty - Volunteer Assistant Coach

Former Duke great Ned Crotty joined the men’s lacrosse staff in September of 2017 as a volunteer assistant coach and has honed his lacrosse knowledge in working closely with the defensive unit.

In 2019, Duke ranked seventh nationally and tops in the ACC with a 9.61 scoring defense. The Blue Devils featured two of the top defensemen in the game and were one of the fiercest defensive units in Division I lacrosse.

Crotty, the 2010 Tewaaraton Award winner and Duke graduate, has remained active in the sport in playing in the current Premier Lacrosse League and as a member of the U.S. Men’s National Team. One of the premier offensive talents in Duke history, Crotty joins Ron Caputo to help lead the Duke defense, but also has the playing experience as an elite offensive player to lend help to the Blue Devil players. Crotty and assistant coach Matt Danowski are the lone Tewaaraton Award winners in program history and scored a combined 592 career points.--- READ MORE