KINGSTON, Ont. (May 27, 2022) – The Queen's Gaels are excited to announce two appointments for the Lacrosse program, elevating
Mike Watson to Technical Director, Lacrosse, and naming
Connor Kearnan Head Coach, Men's Lacrosse starting ahead of the 2022-23 season.
Watson, who has served as Head Coach, Women's Lacrosse since 2015-16, will oversee both the Men's and Women's programs at Queen's to ensure they develop a shared vision and approach to the sport both on and off the field.
"I am excited to be involved in a bigger role with Queen's Lacrosse this year," said Watson, who will maintain his role as Head Coach, Women's Lacrosse in addition to the new position. "We have had a lot of success with the Women's program in recent years and I believe we can expect to see similar results with the Men's team. A high-profile school such as Queen's having successful Men's and Women's Lacrosse programs will make it an easy choice for incoming student-athletes."
Watson has managed to create a great team culture and has positioned Queen's Women's Lacrosse as one of the top programs in the province. He first joined the program as an assistant coach in 2014 before taking over as Head Coach in 2015. Under Watson, the Gaels won the OUA Championship in 2018-19 and have captured the OUA silver medal three times (2017-18, 2019-20, 2021-22).
Kearnan will join the Gaels while also competing in the National Lacrosse League (NLL) as a member of the New York Riptide.
In 18 games with the Riptide this past season, Kearnan recorded 34 goals and 28 assists.
"I am very honoured and humbled to be selected as the next Men's Lacrosse coach at Queen's University," Kearnan said. "I'm extremely excited to bring my lacrosse knowledge and background to campus, to which I hope I can be a part of helping these young men grow into not only exceptional lacrosse players on the field, but also fine gentlemen in society, and excellent students in the classroom.
"The goal with Queen's Lacrosse is to make it a mainstay powerhouse in Canadian University Field Lacrosse Association (CUFLA), consistently, year after year. All the right tools and parts are here, and I'm excited to put it all together!"
Kearnan played collegiately at Canisius College, an NCAA Division I school in Buffalo, New York, where he was named the 2018 MAAC Championship Most Valuable Player, the 2018 MAAC Offensive Player of the Year, and the 2017 MAAC Co-Offensive Player of the Year.
