U.S. Merchant Marine Academy Men's Lacrosse

Long Island-native Dan Paccione took over as the USMMA men's lacrosse head coach ahead of the 2022 season, replacing the legendary Tom Gill, who led the Mariners for the previous three decades. In four seasons, Paccione has compiled a 39-25 overall record and led the Mariners to the 2023 Skyline Conference Championship and a trip to the NCAA Division III Tournament. He coached one USILA Honorable Mention All-American (Carter Hall '23), one All-Region honoree (Jason Aiello '22 - All-ECAC HM), two Skyline Rookies of the Year (Jack Collins '25 and Owen Barcus '26) and a total of 13 All-Skyline selections. Paccione's teams have also had success in the classroom under his tutalage, as a total of 29 Mariners earned spots on the Skyline Academic Honor Roll.   “My family and I are very excited and thankful for the opportunity to join the USMMA family,” said Paccione. “I would like to thank our athletic director Kristofer Schnatz and the entire search committee for believing in me and my vision of what I will bring to the academy. I plan to build on the foundation and tradition that was built over the years by Coach Gill, Coach Dwyer and the rest of the coaching staff, as well as all the great student-athletes that have come through this prestigious program. I also want to thank Head Coach Jason Miller, all of the St John’s community, players and alumni for the love and support for the past 15 years. I am extremely honored with this great opportunity and can’t wait to meet with the team and get started!”   Paccione comes to Kings Point after spending the past 15 years running the offense at nearby St. John’s University. He spent his first eight seasons in Queens as the top assistant under head coach Jason Miller, before being elevated to associate head coach in 2014.   During his time at SJU, the Red Storm had been featured in the national top-20 coaches and media polls for parts of three seasons, reaching as high as #14/10 in 2013 after a major upset of #1 Notre Dame. That victory, the biggest in program history, came less than a year after St. John’s defeated the then-#2 Fighting Irish in the Big East Semifinals in 2012, resulting in the Red Storm finishing that year as the Big East runner-up.   Throughout his tenure, Paccione mentored an attacking unit that has evolved into one of the most potent and explosive in the country. He has coached 12 players who earned 17 Big East Conference accolades, including three-time USILA All-American Kieran McArdle, who is currently playing in the National Lacrosse League and Premier League Lacrosse.   Prior to St. John's, Paccione spent a season at Stony Brook University, where he worked primarily with both the face-off unit and wing players. He also tutored the man-up personnel, which finished in the top 10 in the country for shooting percentage.   From 2004-05, Paccione worked as an assistant to Yale head coach Andy Shay, where his primary responsibilities included face-off and wing play personnel. During his two-season tenure with the Bulldogs, the face-off unit finished with one of the nation's best winning percentages at the X (.663).   “We are thrilled to have Dan on board here at Kings Point to lead the men’s lacrosse program,” said Schnatz. “He has a wealth of knowledge for the sport of lacrosse – from competing on both the collegiate and professional level, as well as being a key member of the coaching staff at nearby St. John’s University – that should help lead to a smooth transition into this position. The groundwork for USMMA Lacrosse has been set for the past three decades, and we believe Coach Paccione will raise the bar even higher.”   Paccione played lacrosse for the University of Massachusetts and graduated in 2002 with a bachelor of science degree in sports management. He led the Minutemen to two ECAC Championships in 2001 and 2002, and the NCAA Quarterfinals in 2002. In 2002, Paccione also earned first team All-ECAC honors and the UMass offensive Most Valuable Player award when he recorded 34 goals and 13 assists for 47 points, and won 86-of-156 face-offs for a .548 winning percentage.   After graduating from UMass, Paccione played for the New York Saints of the National Lacrosse League (NLL). He was also selected by the Long Island Lizards as the 11th overall pick in the Major League Lacrosse (MLL) draft. He played for the Lizards from 2002-03 and helped the team win the MLL Championship in 2003. In 2004, Paccione played for the Philadelphia Barrage, another squad that won the MLL Championship. The following season, Paccione suited up for the Lizards again, and the team advanced to the MLL Championship game. In 2006, Paccione played for the Chicago Machine.   Paccione and his wife Katie, a physical education teacher in Farmingdale, N.Y., reside in Wantagh, N.Y. The couple has three children, Devin (13), Madison (11) and Luke (8).

Gill is entering his 27th season as the head coach of the lacrosse program at the United States Merchant Marine Academy in 2016-17. Since his arrival at Kings Point, he has led the program to seven conference championships, eight ECAC Metro NY/NJ Championship appearances, six consecutive Maritime Tournament crowns between 1994 and 1999 and an appearance in the NCAA Tournament. The Academy named him the recipient of the Coach Omeltchenko Coach-of-the-Year Award in 1998 and 2007. Gill has also coached a total of five All-Americans and two NCAA statistical champions while at the academy. In his 25 seasons at Merchant Marine, Gill has guided the Mariners to a record of 180-176 (.506) while his overall NCAA coaching ledger stands at 225-209 (.518). After the 2013 season, Gill was named the Landmark Conference Coach of the Year after guiding the Mariners to the #4 seed in the Landmark Tournament. The Mariners won their first-round matchup at #1-seed Goucher, 6-5, to advance to the Championship Game, where the fell to #3-seed Susquehanna, 6-3. In 2012 Gill earned his 200th overall win as a head coach in a 13-7 victory against industry rival Maritime College. Gill led the Mariners to their best season in school history in the spring of 2007.  The program set a school record for winning 13 games and made its first appearance in the NCAA Tournament after winning the Skyline Conference Tournament, 12-11, over then-No. 15 nationally-ranked Stevens Tech.  The Ducks loss to the Mariners snapped their 58-game winning streak against conference opponents which dated back to 2000.  For his efforts, he was named the Skyline Coach of the Year and the recipient of the academys Coach-of-the-Year award. Prior to arriving at Kings Point, Gill coached the Devils of Farleigh Dickinson University-Florham from 1984-88, where he was 45-33 in five seasons and won an ECAC Championship. He has also served as an assistant coach at Cornell, Duke, and Hofstra. Gill serves on various championship and governing bodies in the college game. He is on the board of the NCAA Division-III Lacrosse Championship, All-America Selection and Regional Advisory Committees. He is also a member of the Board of Directors of the Long Island Metropolitan Lacrosse Foundation, the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association Rules Committee and the ECAC Board of the USILA. He has also been heavily involved with the game at the international level as a coach and a player. Gill served as an assistant coach for the Irish National Team that competed at the World Championships in Perth, Australia. He played professionally for the New York Saints, served as an alternate in the 1982 World Games and was selected to compete as a member of Team USA in 1994, 1996 and 2001. Furthermore, Gill coached numerous clinics in Argentina, Australia, and Ireland. Gill earned his bachelors degree at Hostra University in 1978 and was also a four-year letterwinner with its mens lacrosse program. He earned his masters degree in education administration from the University of North Carolina and has subsequently earned a second masters in education at Hofstra as well as his school supervisory certificate. Gill currently resides in Levittown, New York with his wife, Eileen, and son, Brian.

Jason Miller joined the United States Merchant Marine Academy staff in October of 2022, bringing over 30 years of college lacrosse coaching experience to the Academy. He will serve as a Sports Specialist in the Physical Education and Athletic Department and coach the Mariners’ defense and goalies.   Prior to Kings Point, Miller most recently was the Head Lacrosse Coach at nearby Division I St. John’s University in Queens, N.Y., a position he held for 16 years between 2006 and 2022. The appointment at the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy reunites Miller with USMMA Head Coach Dan Paccione. The two worked together at St. John’s for 15 of the 16 seasons.   Miller is the longest tenured lacrosse coach in St. John’s history, taking the Red Storm from re-instatement in 2005, to inside the nation’s Top 20 in 2013 & 2014. Miller mentored 31 ALL–ECAC & BIG EAST Conference players and 11 USILA North-South Game participants. Miller’s teams also thrived in the classroom with over 100 lacrosse players being named to the Conferences Academic Honor Roll during his time.   Miller’s time in Queens was highlighted by major upsets. In just his third season, the Red Storm upset #5 Georgetown 10-9, in what was the first of a long run of the Red Storm playing the role of “Giant Killer.” In 2012, the Johnnies again upset the Hoyas, earning the #4 Seed to the inaugural Big East Lacrosse Tournament. St. Johns opened the tournament by upsetting the #1 seed Notre Dame, 8-7, earning a bid to the championship game, where they eventually fell to Syracuse, 12-4. The Red Storm finished the season ranked #20 in the USILA Media Poll.   In 2013, the Red Storm earned upset wins over #17 Yale, and #7 Hofstra. The Johnnies then took to the road for a rematch in South Bend. Notre Dame entered the game ranked #1 in the nation, but St. Johns again pulled off the upset, 12-10. It marked the first time a St. John’s lacrosse team had ever beaten a #1 team and remains the biggest upset in program history. St. John’s rose as high as #14 in the national polls, marking the most successful campaign on record.   2014 marked the culmination of the most successful four-year span in the Red Storm lacrosse era, with Miller's 11-member senior class graduating with 28 wins to their names, the most since program reinstatement in 2005. Most notably, senior attackman Kieran McArdle ended a storied career with a record-breaking campaign which saw him named a Tewaaraton National Player of the Year nominee and USILA All-America second team pick for the second-consecutive year. Under the tutelage of Dan Paccione, the Red Storm's offensive coordinator, McArdle repeated as BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Year and conference "Triple Crown" winner as he led the league in points (5.71), goals (2.86) and assists (2.86) per game. McArdle scored a single-season program-record 40 goals in 2014 and ended the year as St. John's all-time leader in career points, goals and assists as well as the first player in program history to record 200 goals, 100 assists and 100 goals in a career. In August 2014, after being drafted fifth overall in the 2014 Major League Lacrosse Collegiate Draft by the Florida Launch, McArdle was named MLL's 2014 Cascade Rookie of the Year.   Prior to St. John’s, Miller served as the Defensive Coordinator at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst between 2003 and 2006.  In 2005, UMASS beat Syracuse University in the first round of the NCAA tournament. The upset ended a streak of 22 consecutive NCAA Final Four Appearances by the Orange. 2006 was the most successful season in UMASS storied history. The Minutemen entered the 2006 NCAA Tournament unseeded, before upsetting #2 Hofstra, #3 Cornell and #4 Maryland to reach the National Championship game, In the semi-finals, the UMASS defense held Maryland, one of the nation’s most prolific scoring offenses to just five goals. The Minutemen eventually fell to #1 Virginia, but their path is widely regarded as the toughest any team has ever taken in the history of the NCAA Lacrosse Tournament.   Miller is not unfamiliar with life at a federal service academy. He served as an Assistant Lacrosse Coach at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point from 2000 to 2003 under Hall of Fame mentor Jack Emmer. In 2003, the Black Knights won the Patriot League, earning a bid to the NCAA Tournament, before falling in the first round to Johns Hopkins.   Miller is also no stranger to Division III. He climbed the coaching ranks through assistant coach stops at Franklin & Marshall College in Lancaster, Pa., from 1995 to 1997, and Springfield College in Springfield, Mass., from 1997 to 1999. The Pride won the ECAC Lacrosse Championship in 1998. Miller also served as an assistant coach at the Rochester Institute of Technology, where the Tigers were a NCAA Tournament Quarterfinalist in 2000.   A native of Rochester, N.Y., Miller played defense on the Springfield College lacrosse team and graduated in 1993 with a bachelor’s degree in Sports Management. He earned a master’s degree in Education, with a concentration in Athletic Administration while serving as an assistant coach for the Pride Lacrosse and Football teams.   Miller and his entire family have made a commitment to education. His father, Richard, served as the President of Hartwick College in Oneonta, N.Y., and his mother, Barbara, is a former English teacher. Miller’s wife, Mary, has been a teacher on Long Island and in Massachusetts for over 20 years. The couple lives in Rockville Centre, N.Y. and has three children, son Liam (17), daughter Maggie (16) daughter Catherine (12), and a 97-pound Chocolate Lab named Hannah (2).

The 2025-26 season will be John Espey’s 20th year as an assistant men’s lacrosse coach at the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy.  Espey is currently an associate professor of physical education and Assistant Director of Athletic Facilities at Stony Brook University, where he served as the Head Men’s Lacrosse Coach from 1987-2004. Prior to his stint with the Sea Wolves, Espey was at the helm of the Duke men’s lacrosse program from 1976-1981 and also served as a graduate assistant at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill from 1975-1976. Espey graduated from SUNY Cortland with a Bachelor’s Degree in Physical Education and from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill with a Master’s Degree in Teaching.  Throughout his career, Espey has served on the NCAA Division-I Championship Committee (2003-2004), NCAA Division-I Playoff Advisory Committee (2002-2003), and was President of the America East Lacrosse Coaches Association (2003-2003). Outside of collegiate lacrosse, Espey was an assistant coach for the Long Island Lizards of Major League Lacrosse from 2004-2011 and has been a Team Liaison for the United States Men’s Lacrosse National Team since 2012. He currently resides in Commack, NY.

Dwyer enters his 43th season as an assistant coach with the United States Merchant Marine Academy lacrosse program in 2016-17. He works as the offensive coordinator of the team and most recently helped guide the club to its best season in Academy history with a school record 13 wins and the programs first bid to the NCAA Tournament. Prior to USMMA, Dwyer was instrumental as a coach with the Garden City High School Trojans boys lacrosse team between 1984-2003. During his tenure, the Trojans compiled a record of 379-35, 11 Nassau County, 10 Long Island and four New York State Championships in 1986, 1994, 1997 and 2000. He also founded the Garden City Lacrosse Alumni Association in 2000. The native of Hicksville earned a bachelors degree in physical education at Southern Connecticut State University and a masters degree in sports management from Adelphi University in 1987. He currently resides in Garden City with his wife, Eileen, daughter, Bradie Ann, and three sons, Dillon, Conor and Devin.