Phillylacrosse.com, Posted 11/2/17
From Press Release
John Jez has been announced as the Head Coach of the 2023 Duke’s Nationals lacrosse team.
“Coach Jez brings a wealth of professional lacrosse coaching knowledge to the table,” said Dukes Nationals Directors Lou “Gonzo” Gonzalez.
Jez coached at the collegiate level for over 20 years, 13 years as a Head Coach at LIU-Post and Pace University. Jez’s head coaching record includes: over 140 victories, two NCAA national titles, three NCAA championship game appearances, seven NCAA championship appearances and seven conference championships. On his watch, eighty-six players have earned East Coast Conference year-end honors, including two Rookies of the Year and two Players of the Year, one ECAC Player of the Year, 54 All-America distinctions, including 13 First Team, 21 Second Team, five Third Team and 15 Honorable Mention selections and 10 Academic All-Americans
Under his tutelage, four of Jez’s student-athletes were honored as top players in their respective positions by the USILA, while two received the Lt. Raymond Jenners award for National Player of the Year.
Jez has been selected four times as NCAA Division II Coach of the Year by Field Turf, Lacrosse Magazine, USILA and Captain U.
Jez has served as the Chairman of the NCAA Division II Lacrosse Championships Committee and a region advisor on the USILA All-America Committee. He also has served as a representative for the weekly USILA Division II national poll and a Division II representative on the NCAA Men’s Lacrosse Rules Committee.
Jez recently was the general manager for the 2016 U.S. Under 19 Men’s National Lacrosse team. He was also an assistant general manager for the 2010 US Men’s National Lacrosse team and was on the support staff for the 2008 and 2012 US Under-19 National Lacrosse team and the 2006 US National team. During the summer of 2012, Jez came on board as an assistant coach for the Long Island Lizards of Major League Lacrosse.
A native of Ossining, NY, Jez earned a bachelor’s degree in Sports Medicine-Exercise Science in 1994 from Pfeiffer University. He was a four-year letterwinner at the North Carolina school, helping lead the team to national Top-10 ranking his junior and senior seasons. A two-time All-American midfielder in 1993 and 1994, Jez was selected as an alternate for the North-South Senior All-Star game in 1994 and was named Pfeiffer University’s lacrosse MVP that same year. He completed his master’s degree in Criminal Justice at LIU Post in May 2010.
In 2012, Jez was inducted in to the Pfeiffer Athletics Hall of Fame.
Jez and his wife, Christine, currently reside in Cortlandt Manor, N.Y. with their daughters, Olivia (20), Dakota (13) and Jalyn (11).
