College Men’s Lacrosse News – Tom Carmean Resigns as Guilford Head Coach; Mark Crisco Named Quakers’ Interim Head Coach

GREENSBORO, N.C. – Tom Carmean resigned his position as Guilford College’s head men’s lacrosse coach Friday. The Quakers’ career coaching wins departs after eight seasons to work with the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation and its “vs. Cancer” initiative.

Guilford assistant Mark Crisco has been named the Quakers’ interim head coach while a national search is conducted to find a permanent replacement.

Carmean closed his Guilford career with a 67-61 (.523 winning percentage) mark. He surpassed Guilford Athletics Hall of Famer Geoff Miller as the winningest coach in program history with a 2018 win over Cazenovia College. The Quakers posted a 9-8 overall record this past season, which included a seven-game winning streak, Guilford’s longest skein since 1986.

The Ithaca, New York, native came to Guilford in June 2010 as the 12th head men’s lacrosse coach in school history. The Quakers enjoyed their best season (9-7) since 1993 in 2011 and opened the 2014 campaign with an unprecedented 5-0 record.

In his Guilford tenure, Carmean developed 16 All-Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) selections, including two-time pick Adam Fiore. Fiore graduated in 2016 ranked third in school history with 212 career points, a 3.93 points per game average. Carmean guided the Quakers to two their first two ODAC Tournament appearances and built up the team’s roster, grade point average, and community engagement.

“Tom did a wonderful job reestablishing the Guilford’s men’s lacrosse program,” said Guilford interim athletics director Craig Eilbacher. “We appreciate all he did for the lacrosse program, its student-athletes, and the College. We wish him the best his future endeavors.”

Prior to taking over at Guilford, Carmean served 11 seasons as head men’s lacrosse coach at Amherst College where he guided the Lord Jeffs to an 82-76 record from 1999-2010. He coached three All-Americans and 25 All-New England Small College Athletic Conference selections during his tenure. An All-America attackman at the University of Massachusetts, Carmean also enjoyed an accomplished professional career and coached two seasons with the Charlotte Hounds, runners-up in the 2013 Major League Lacrosse playoffs.

Crisco recently concluded his fifth season as Carmean’s top assistant. The Maryland native has 13 years of lacrosse experience and served as Guilford’s defensive and recruiting coordinator. He helped develop eight All-ODAC defensemen and coached a defense that set school records for goals against average and caused turnovers. The Quakers reached the ODAC Tournament in 2015 and 2016.

Prior to joining the Quakers, Crisco spent two seasons as defensive coordinator and volunteer assistant coach at Guilford’s league rival, Shenandoah University. A 2011 Stevenson University graduate, he began his collegiate career at Long Island University-Post where he played on the lacrosse team as a defenseman from 2007-09. Crisco helped the Pioneers to the 2009 NCAA Division II National Championship. He graduated from Bel Air (Md.) High School where he earned all-state and All-Harford County honors.