Fairfield University Men's Lacrosse

A coaching veteran with nearly two decades of collegiate experience, Andrew Baxter was named the Head Coach of Fairfield University Men’s Lacrosse on June 10, 2019. He is 39-37 through six seasons as the leader of the Stags. Baxter has led the Stags back to the CAA postseason in consecutive seasons in 2024 and 2025. This past spring, Fairfield embarked on an historic campaign as the Stags tied the program wins record with a 12-3 final mark. The Stags were the last unbeaten team in the nation after opening the campaign at 9-0 -- the longest winning streak in Fairfield history. Fairfield finished 5-2 in the CAA to claim second place with Baxter earning CAA co-Coach of the Year honors. The Stags spent 10 weeks in the national rankings during 2025, climbing as high as #12/13 on the national ledger. Fairfield was 8-0 on Conway Field at Rafferty Stadium -- the only team in the nation with an unblemished home record -- to complete the first unbeaten home campaign in a full season in program history.   Baxter had served as Defensive Coordinator at Yale University since 2013 and was elevated to Associate Head Coach following the 2018 campaign. Also the Recruiting Coordinator at Yale, Baxter was integral in assembling the squad that won the 2018 National Championship and returned to the title game in 2019 in addition to claiming two Ivy League Regular Season Championships and four Ivy League Tournament Championships. His defensive unit has led the Ivy in scoring defense in each of his last six seasons and ranked among the top 15 nationally in five of his seven campaigns in New Haven.   Before heading to Yale, Baxter was the Defensive Coordinator and Recruiting Coordinator at Ohio State, where he managed the fourth-ranked defense in the nation in 2012. He mentored 2011 ECAC Lacrosse League Defensive Player of the Year Matt Kawamoto, who was also a USILA All-America Honorable Mention in 2011 and a USILA Scholar All-American in 2012.   Baxter is no stranger to CAA Lacrosse, having spent time as both the Offensive Coordinator (2004-05) and Defensive Coordinator (2006-08) at Drexel. His tenure in Philadelphia concluded with the Dragons ranked seventh nationally in scoring defense in both 2007 and 2008 en route to a share of the CAA Regular Season Championship in both campaigns. Baxter also managed the Drexel faceoff men, ranking as high as fifth in the nation on the draw in 2008.   Baxter began his coaching career as an Assistant Coach at Colgate University for the 2002 and 2003 seasons.   As a student-athlete at Springfield College, Baxter made a pair of NCAA Division III postseason appearances. He graduated from Springfield in 2001 with a degree in Movement and Sports Studies.   A native of Rochester, N.Y., Baxter graduated from Brighton High School. He and his wife, Marika – also a Springfield College graduate – have two children, Rae, born in 2010 and Frankie, born in 2014.  

Adrian Torok-Orban was named the Associate Head Coach of Fairfield University Men’s Lacrosse in the fall of 2023. The upcoming 2026 season will be his third with the Stags.   Torok-Orban most recently held the same position at his alma mater, Robert Morris University, serving as the Offensive Coordinator as well as working with the Colonials’ goalkeepers. RMU won the Atlantic Sun Championship in 2022 to advance to the NCAA postseason. In addition to his on-field duties, Torok-Orban oversaw team academics, compliance and alumni relations. He was also a part of Robert Morris’s Student-Athlete Well-Being Committee.   A native of Toronto, Ontario, Torok-Orban also began his coaching career at Robert Morris as Director of Operations in 2019 – also a conference championship season for the Colonials – and spent two seasons as a Graduate Assistant Coach at Mercer University.   As a student-athlete, Torok-Orban was a four-year starter on attack at Robert Morris, racking up 113 points from 2015-18. In his senior season, he helped guide RMU to the first Northeast Conference Championship and NCAA postseason appearance in program history.   Torok-Obran earned a B.B.A. in Business Administration and Management from Robert Morris in 2018. He completed both an M.Ed. and an M.B.A. from Mercer while coaching with the Bears.  

Hulme mentored a squad that included First Team All-CAA and Second Team All-New England defensemen Max Buchanan. Hulme came to Fairfield after a four-year stint as the primary defensive coach at the University of Vermont. During his tenure he helped the Catamounts to a national scoring defense ranking of 25th in 2011, a year after coaching the squad to a NCAA ranking of 14th in man-down defense. Hulme had a role in recruiting the 2010 America East Rookie of the Year, and four All-Rookie Team members, and in 2011 coached a pair of All-America East defenders. Prior to joining the Catamounts coaching staff, Hulme spent 2007-08 as an assistant coach at The College of the Holy Cross. There he served as the programs recruiting coordinator and was the Crusaders primary defensive coach. Hulme graduated from Colgate University in 2007 with a degree in Sociology & Anthropology. He was a four-year starter for the Raiders lacrosse team, and was twice named a USILA All-America. As a team captain in 2007, Hulme was named the Patriot League Defensive Player of the Year and First-Team All-Patriot League. He was also named a 2007 NSCA Strength and Conditioning All-America. Following his career at Colgate, Hulme was drafted in the second round, the 16th overall pick, of the 2007 MLL Collegiate Draft by the San Francisco Dragons. He started nine games for the club in his rookie season at defense. Hulme then spent two seasons with the Boston Cannons, playing every game in 2008 at short-stick defensive middie, and played both defense and short-stick in 2009.

Copelan was named the programs third head coach in varsity history on August 25, 2008 and has returned the Stags to the national conversation. Fairfield ranked as high as 18th in the polls last spring, having entered the national ledger in each of the last four seasons and six of Copelans first seven years on the sidelines. Copelan led the Stags into a new era in 2015, as Fairfield joined the nationally-prominent Colonial Athletic Association. The Stags made an immediate impact on the CAA, winning the regular season title and hosting the 2015 CAA Championship on newly-constructed Conway Field at Rafferty Stadium. Copelan was tabbed as the CAA Coach of the Year for his efforts, leading Fairfield to a 9-6 record and producing 11 All-CAA honorees, including Rookie of the Year Will Fox 18. 2015's group of 10 graduating seniors was the winningest four-year class in Fairfield history, compiling 41 total wins and a .661 winning percentage. Fairfield student-athletes also continue to gain the national and regional spotlight as Max Buchanan 15, Tristan Sperry 15 and TJ Neubauer 16 collected All-New England laurels in addition to earning First Team All-CAA recognition. The 2014 edition of the club boasted a final record of 12-4, tying the programs single-season wins mark. The campaign began with a record-setting 7-0 start and included the teams first-ever ECAC Lacrosse League Regular Season Championship and a trip to ECAC Championship Game. Following the record-setting season, 2014 ECAC Goalkeeper of the Year Jack Murphy 15 was drafted by the Boston Cannons in the eighth round of the Major League Lacrosse Collegiate Draft. Murphy represents the ninth Stag during Copelans tenure to be drafted or signed as a free agent into the MLL ranks. Fairfield made four consecutive ECAC postseason appearances from 2011-14, including three trips to the ECAC Championship Game. Along the way, the program has earned several landmark victories. Copelans 2013 club recorded the Stags first-ever victory over the nations top-ranked team with an overtime triumph at No. 1 Denver, and the 2010 Fairfield team topped a Notre Dame club that went on to reach the NCAA National Championship Game. All told, the Stags have bested at least one ranked opponent in each of Copelans seven seasons at Fairfield. Copelan has seen his student-athletes excel in the classroom as well. During his stay at the helm, every student-athlete that has completed his eligibility has also earned a degree from Fairfield. The Stags had 39 student-athletes earn All-ECAC Academic Team honors under Copelans tutelage, including a program-high 10 honorees in 2014. In 2015, Drew Federico 15 was named to the CAA All-Academic Team, with Max Buchanan 15 and Tristan Sperry 15 collecting USILA Scholar All-America distinctions. Signs of the Stags return to national prominence were immediate when Copelan took the reins for the 2009 season. His first team went 7-6 overall to earn the programs first winning record since 2005 and a winning mark (4-3) in the ECAC Lacrosse League for the first time since joining the league in 2006. Fairfield has continued its upward trend under Copelan; the Stags have never closed the year with a sub-.500 record overall or in conference play during his tenure. Fairfield is the second head coaching stop on Copelans resume, who was the youngest head coach in the nation when he was hired to lead Marist College in 2004. In his first season with the Red Foxes, he was named the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Coach of the Year following a MAAC Regular Season Championship and the programs first winning season in six years. In 2005, he led Marist to its first-ever NCAA postseason berth. His two-year run with the Red Foxes produced nine All-MAAC honorees, including 2004 Offensive Player and Rookie of the Year Keith Detelj and 2005 Rookie of the Year Dan Needle. After his stint at Marist, Copelan held an assistant coaching position at the University of Maryland from 2006-08, rising to the offensive coordinator position for his last campaign with the Terps. Maryland reached the NCAA Tournament in each of Copelans three seasons, highlighted by a trip to the 2006 Final Four. Copelan also served as the recruiting coordinator for Maryland in his final two seasons, with great success.  Inside Lacrosse ranked the Terps 2007 incoming class as the second best in the nation, and the 2008 class was dubbed as a third-best in the country. Individually, Copelan helped the Terps to secure six of 2008s top-50 high school recruits. As a student-athlete, Copelan was a four-year varsity letter winner at Bucknell University. He earned All-Patriot League accolades for his performance on the field in 2003 and was named to the leagues Academic Honor Roll in each of his seasons with the Bison.

Connor Kubikowski joined the Fairfield Men's Lacrosse coaching staff in August of 2025, most recently serving a three-year stint at Manhattan University as the Jaspers’ defensive coordinator. Manhattan was the nation’s toughest defense in 2023, allowing just 8.00 goals per game, and ranked among the top-30 nationally in all three of Kubikowski's campaigns in Riverdale. Kubikowski, who previously coached at Army West Point and Montclair State, played collegiately at Saint Joseph’s from 2014-17. He was a two-time All-Northeast Conference selection for the Hawks, earning the honor at both defenseman and LSM during his career. Kubikowski earned a B.S. in Marketing from Saint Joseph’s.  

Matthew Nunes joined Fairfield Men's Lacrosse as an Assistant Coach in August of 2025 following a standout career as a student-athlete at the University of Virginia. Nunes appeared in the cage for 64 games at Virginia from 2022-25, where he holds the program record for saves in a single season (213 in 2023) and ranks second in career saves (657). The 2022 ACC Freshman of the Year, Nunes was in goal for the Cavaliers in two Final Fours and eight total NCAA postseason contests. Nunes was a three-time ACC Academic Honor Roll selection and graduated from Virginia with a degree in Politics in 2025.    

A 2025 Fairfield graduate, Matt Rice was named the Director of Lacrosse Operations in August of 2025. A four-year presence for the Stags in the defensive midfield, Rice was a co-captain of Fairfield Men’s Lacrosse in 2025. In his career, Rice collected 104 ground balls with 33 caused turnovers and pitched in offensively with nine goals and five assists in 56 games. The two-time CSC Academic All-District selection graduated from Fairfield in 2025 with a B.S. in Finance.