Shane Lynch was named head coach of the Nichols College Men’s Lacrosse Team prior to the 2023 spring season.
During his time on "The Hill", Lynch has guided Nichols to two appearances in the Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) Tournament Men’s Lacrosse Championship, highlighted by the team's 2023 CCC Semifinal victory at Roger Williams University, 6-4 in his first season with the program. Individually, a number of the program’s student-athletes have stood out under Lynch's guidance, with seven players earning a total of nine All-CCC accolades, including 2023 CCC Scholar Athlete of the Year Nick Gualtieri. Additionally, new arrivals to the program have also thrived under Lynch in the 2025 season, his third at the helm, with freshman attacker Kane Williams claiming Conference of New England (CNE) Rookie of the Week honors throughout the season.
Lynch comes to Nichols following a stint as the Associate Head Coach at College of the Holy Cross, spending four seasons on the sidelines for the Crusaders, holding the responsibilities of Defensive Coordinator. In his first season with Holy Cross in 2019, Lynch helped guide the squad to a 7-7 record, securing wins over Navy, Brown, and Harvard. The team earned the fifth seed in the Patriot League (PL) postseason, a program best dating back to 1988. His defense finished the regular-season fifth in caused turnovers, eighth in scoring defense, and 15th in man-down defense in all of NCAA Division I.
Lynch coached All-PL First Team selection in defender Matt Farrell in 2019 prior to Sean New being selected in the first-round of the 2020 Premier Lacrosse League (PLL), the Crusaders first and only PLL selection. Most recently, Chris Conlin was named to the All-PL First Team as a defender in 2022 after garnering Second Team honors in 2021.
Prior to his time in Worcester, Lynch spent four seasons with the Naval Academy Preparatory School (NAPS) as the head coach and assistant athletic director from August 2015 to August 2018. While at NAPS, Lynch helped recruit, train, and develop future members of the Navy men's lacrosse team.
Before his stop at NAPS, Lynch was an assistant at Washington College. At Washington, Lynch was a part of a special team that made its way to the Division III Final Four with an 18-2 final record in the 2014 season. Lynch helped guide several players who were recognized as some of the Centennial Conference's (CC) as well as the nation's best players, including Casey McKnight who was All-CC for three seasons before being named an All-American and the Division III Defensive Player of the Year in 2014.
He has also shown an ability to develop talent for the next level, with five National Lacrosse League draft picks to his credit, highlighted by a Canisius player being selected in the top 20 picks in three of the last four NLL Entry Drafts.
Lynch was a four-year letter winner at Wesley College as a member of the Wolverines' lacrosse team, highlighted by being named the team captain in his final two seasons. After receiving his Bachelor's in Sports Management from Wesley in 2011, Lynch was awarded his Master's in History from Washington College in 2014.
