Lots Of News Coming Out Of Johns Hopkins
Late last week former Johns Hopkins coach Dave Pietramala did a couple interviews with local media outlets. When you combine those interviews with one that Quint Kessenich gave to LaxSportsNet they provided clarity on why Pietramala and the school parted ways. Since 2015 the school president Ronald Daniels has emphasized getting the school’s national academic rankings as high as possible. This means the entrance requirements for lacrosse players have gone way up. When you combine that with the cost of Hopkins compared to public schools it makes recruiting difficult. Another factor is that Coach Pietramala lost some key people that were helping him get the players he needed into the program. I think this is that he meant when he said there were differences between him and the school on the future of the program.
Based on reports from Ty Xanders of Inside Lacrosse and Chris Jastrzembski of College Cross the search firm has been moving swiftly. They have talked to nine coaches about the position. They include Shawn Nadalen of Towson, Andy Shay of Yale, Dan Chemotti of Richmond and Peter Milliman of Cornell. It has also been reported that the current players wanted Scott Marr of Albany. He is a Hopkins alum and his son Kyle graduated from Hopkins in 2019. Coach Marr was not contacted by the firm but it was reported last night that he wasn’t interested in the position. Jastrzembski reported this morning that Coach Chemotti will remain at Richmond so that leaves Nadalen and Milliman as the finalists, Coach Nadalen has been the heavy favorite because he is an alum, was successful at Towson, and wouldn’t have to relocate his family which would be difficult under the circumstances.
Barring something unforeseen happening I think Coach Nadalen will be the next coach at Homewood. Should he take the job picking his assistant coaches will be interesting. His current staff at Towson doesn’t have big names on it so I would be surprised if they all come with him. I think the current offensive coordinator for the Hopkins women Steele Stanwick will be a strong candidate for the same position with the men no matter who ends up taking the job. Reports say the school wants to fill the position by May 1st so we should be hearing a final decision soon.
