John Jez enters his fourth season as head men’s lacrosse coach at C.W. Post. Jez is only the eighth head coach in the 51 years history of the program.
Under Jez’s leadership, the Pioneers have reestablished the strong winning tradition and perennial national dominance of the men’s program at the Long Island University.
The 2009 USLIA and 2009 FieldTurf/NCAA Division II Coach of the Year guided the 2009 squad to the best record in program’s history. On May 24, 2009, C.W. Post captured its second national title in front of over 24, 000 fans Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Massachusetts by defeating previously unbeaten LeMoyne College 8-7.
During his short tenure as head coach, Jez’s players have earned 17 East Coast Conference year end honors, including 2009 ECC Player of Year, Greg Cerar, and 2008 ECC Rookie of the Year, Michael Messina. He has also helped his players to earn a combined 18 All-America distinctions, including seven First Team, six Second Team and five Honorable Mention selections.
Under his tutelage, Cerar and Michael Cama were honored as top players in their respective positions by the USILA. Cerar was honored as the 2009 Lt. Col. J Turnbull Award winner for Outstanding Attackman of the Year and the 2009 Lt. Raymond Jenners award for National Player of the year. Cama was honored as the 2009 Specialty Player of the Year.
Jez also stresses excellence in the classroom, resulting in four players earning USILA Scholar All- American honors, including Matt Dimler (2008), Greg Cerar (2009), David Loftus (2009) and Dan Sciulla (2009). Each semester, more than 20 of Jez’s players have been recognized with the C.W. Post Athletic Academic Achievement Award. This award is given to student-athletes that obtain a 3.0 or higher semester GPA. Many student-athletes who have achieved a 3.25 or better were named to the ECC Commissioner Honor Roll.
The 2009 season marks the top in Jez’s head coaching career. The team finished as NCAA Division II National Champions with a 15-1 record and a .938 winning percentage, which was second best in the nation. The Pioneers’ offense finished ranked No. 1 nationally averaging, 15.06 goals per game and they scored at least 10 goals against all but one opponent. This also marked the best scoring offense in the 50-year history of the C.W Post lacrosse program. The man-up and face-off units also led the nation in 2009, with the man-up unit scoring 51 percent of the time and the face-off unit, posting a 67.5 win percentage.
The 2008 and 2007 seasons were also very successful under Jez’s leadership. The Pioneers finished ranked fourth nationally both years and were ranked in the top in many NCAA statistical categories.
Before taking over for legendary National Lacrosse Hall of Fame inductee, Tom Postel, Jez assisted him for two seasons in 2005 and 2006. In 2005, the Pioneers advanced to the NCAA Division II Semifinal round against NYIT.
Jez came to C.W. Post after serving as head coach at Pace University for the 2003 and 2004 seasons. He led the Setters to as high as No. 3 national ranking in Division II. In 2003, he coached the nation’s top scoring offense that averaged 19.07 goals per game. In 2004, his team averaged 15.93 goals per game which was third-best nationally. While at Pace, Jez mentored six All-Americans and 12 Northeast 10 All-Conference performers.
Prior to his appointment as head coach at Pace, Jez served as an assistant for six years at the Pleasantville campus and a he had one-year stint at Division I Sacred Heart University.
Jez currently serves as the Chairman of the NCAA Division II Lacrosse Championships Committee and is the central region advisor on the USILA All-America Committee. He also serves as a representative for weekly USILA Division II national poll.
Jez is also an assistant general manager for the 2010 US Men’s National Lacrosse team. He was on the support staff for the 2008 US Under-19 National Lacrosse team and the 2006 US National team.
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 name Pfeiffer University’s lacrosse MVP that same year.
Jez and his wife, Christine, currently reside in Cortlandt Manor, N.Y. with their daughters Olivia (11), Dakota (5) and Jalyn (3).