John Carroll became the 14th Nichols College men’s lacrosse head coach in program history in the summer of 2019 and begins his fourth season in 2023.
The 2022 edition of the Bison men’s lacrosse program won eight games, including a 10-9 triumph at Salve Regina in the Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) Quarterfinals – the first playoff win in program history. Four student-athletes – Cian Keohane, Hunter Ferreira, Scott Ehrenberg, and Nick Gualtieri – were named to the all-conference team while 12 more grabbed academic all-conference honors.
Nichols saw three student-athletes set a total of five single-season records in 2022. Keohane broke a 48-year old record with his 52 goals, Colby Gillis dished out 46 assists which broke the previous mark of 42, a record which stood for 41 years. Ehrenberg, meanwhile, set records for face-off wins (258), ground balls (136), and face-off winning pct. (.596).
Carroll came to Nichols following four seasons as an assistant coach at Trinity (CT) College, a member of the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC). He spent his last two years as both the defensive and recruiting coordinator, where he was charged with scouting the opponent’s sets, schematics and personnel, as well as choosing the defensive starting lineup and man-down units, and running and organizing the scout team offense. In 2019, the Bantams advanced to the NESCAC Quarterfinals for the first time since 2012, in large part due to their strong defensive play. The Bantams caused 124 turnovers – their highest mark during Carroll’s tenure.
In terms of recruiting, Carroll traveled to high school games, club tournaments, and showcases across the United States, and brought in 50 from the high school graduating classes of 2018 and 2019. In addition to posting their highest win total since 2012, the Bantams placed six student-athletes on the NESCAC Academic All-Conference Team in 2019.
Prior to his arrival at Nichols, Carroll was a volunteer assistant coach at Sacred Heart University (2014-15). He helped organize offensive sets and plays for the Pioneers, choose offensive personnel, and scouted the opposing teams’ tendencies on defense as well as their goalies. Carroll also worked with the face-off midfielders, including training, film sessions, and scouting reports on opponent’s face-off specialists. He was the substitution box coach and assisted in all aspects of recruiting.
Carroll began his coaching career as an assistant defensive coordinator at nearby The College of Holy Cross (2013-14). With the Crusaders, he was responsible for helping organize and execute defensive slides, as well as choosing defensive personnel and helping scout the opposing team's offensive sets, plays, and EMO sets. Carroll also worked with the goalies and face-off specialists – including organizing and monitoring individual film sessions with both – and also served as the substitute box coach. He assisted in all aspects of recruiting.
A 2012 graduate of the University of Albany, Carroll was a four-year member of the men’s lacrosse program who graduated No. 6 on the program’s all-time saves list with 378. In 2010, he was named to the
America East All-Tournament Team and finished the campaign No. 8 in Division I in saves with 185.
Career record at Nichols
|
W |
L |
Pct. |
| 2020 |
2 |
4 |
.333 |
| 2021 |
1 |
10 |
.100 |
| 2022 |
8 |
11 |
421 |
| Total |
11 |
25 |
.306 |
