2023 Towson Lacrosse Gameday Magazine

Now in his 12th season at the helm of the program, Shawn Nadelen has the Towson men’s lacrosse team poised to continue dominance in the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA).

In 2022, Towson earned a share of the CAA regular season title and a trip to the CAA title game. Towson earned a victory over then #20 UMass and had four players earn All-CAA First Team: James Avanzato, Colby Barsz, Shane Brennan and Koby Smith.

During the 2019 season, Nadelen and the Tigers made their fifth-straight appearance in the CAA Championship game, winning the CAA Tournament and hosting a first-round game of the 2019 NCAA Tournament.

During the 2017 campaign, Towson reached NCAA Championship Weekend for the first time since the 2001 campaign, beating #8 Penn State and #2 Syracuse along the way. Since Nadelen took over the program, Towson has amassed an overall record of 83-50 (.624). During the 2016 CAA Tournament, Nadelen became the fastest coach to win 50 Division I games at Towson and is the second-fastest to the mark including the program’s Division II days. He became just the second coach in the program’s history to be named CAA Coach of the Year, winning the honor in 2016.

A highly decorated and respected collegiate and professional player, Nadelen spent seven seasons as an assistant coach for former Towson Head Coach Tony Seaman, including two years as the team’s associate head coach and defensive coordinator. Since Nadelen arrived at Towson in 2004, he has sparked a defensive resurgence in which the Tigers have allowed an average of nine or fewer goals four times and finished among the nation’s top 20 defenses twice, including 2011 when the Tigers allowed 8.23 goals per game.

Nadelen began his coaching career in 2002 as an assistant coach at Princeton University for the legendary Bill Tierney and helped Princeton reach the national championship game. The next two seasons, he was part of a Princeton squad that had an 11-4 record and reached the NCAA Tournament each year.

A four-year starter and a senior captain for Johns Hopkins, Nadelen moved from midfield to close defense in his junior season. He led the Blue Jays to the NCAA semifinals twice and was named an All-American in 2001.

In addition to coaching, Nadelen had a very successful playing career at the indoor and outdoor professional level. A three-time Major League Lacrosse (MLL) champion with the Chesapeake Bayhawks, Nadelen played 11 seasons with the franchise.

Nadelen spent 10 years as a player in the National Lacrosse League (NLL). He played seven seasons for the Philadelphia Wings after stints with the New Jersey Storm and Minnesota Swarm.

One of his greatest highlights as a player came in the summer of 2010 when he recovered from a serious knee injury to help Team USA win the gold medal at the Federation of International Lacrosse World Championships in England.

A native of Rochester, New York, Nadelen is married to the former Mary Ciolek, who is a certified athletic trainer and a member of Towson’s kinesiology faculty. The couple has three children: Megan, William and Luke.