Wagner College Men's Football

Ilan Flores arrives on Grymes Hill as the Seahawks' Equipment Manager. He previously held the same position at East Carolina University for two seasons. Flores earned his Bachelor's degree in Business Management from East Carolina in 2021.

Tom Masella SI Advance Feature  Wagner College announced the hiring of Tom Masella as Wagner's 12th head football coach in 2019. View this post on Instagram Welcome Home, Tom Masella! Meet Wagner's new Head Football Coach! A post shared by Wagner Seahawks (@wagnerathletics) on Dec 7, 2019 at 6:55am PST   "It's wonderful to welcome Tom Masella back to the Wagner family and home to Staten Island, where his career as a leader in football began decades ago," said President Martin. "Building on the good work of his predecessors and tapping his extraordinary experience as a coach and mentor to young people, he will strengthen the proud tradition that is Seahawk football at Wagner College."   A member of the Wagner Athletics Hall of Fame and Staten Island native, Masella returns to Grymes Hill after most recently serving as the defensive coordinator at Northeast Conference (NEC) rival Bryant.   "We're thrilled to bring Coach Masella back to our football program," Hameline added. "His ties to Staten Island and the Wagner College community along with his proven track record as a coach make him a great fit for our football program. As a former Seahawk student-athlete and assistant coach here he knows what it takes to be successful on Grymes Hill and I'm confident he will help our student-athletes achieve their goals on the field and in the classroom." Welcome home, @tommasella! Get to know our new Head Football Coach! pic.twitter.com/AJxIwODC4f — Wagner College Football (@Wagner_Football) December 7, 2019   Masella's rich coaching background includes a stint as the associate head coach for Wagner during the historic 2012 season, as the Seahawks won their first NEC Football Championship in school history before becoming the first NEC team to post a win in the NCAA FCS Playoffs with a 31-20 victory over Patriot League Champion Colgate.    "It's great to be home and back at my alma mater. I'd like to thank Dr. Martin and Coach Hameline for placing the trust in me as we look forward to re-building a championship program here at Wagner," Masella commented. "I'm excited to meet our current players and coaches and hit the recruiting trails as soon as possible. Wagner is known for having great players from the Metropolitan area and I look forward to re-connecting with those high school coaches. We have a great tradition here on Staten Island and hopefully we can make the community proud of our football program again."   A proven winner at the highest level, Masella brings over 30 years of collegiate coaching experience back to Wagner, including six seasons at the FBS level, 10 as a head coach, and 15 years as a defensive coordinator at the FBS and FCS level.  Apart from helping the Seahawks to a league title in 2012, Masella was a part of conference championship teams at Boston University (1993), Louisiana Tech (2001), UMass (2003), Central Connecticut (2004, 2005), and Fordham (2007). Masella's head coaching experience includes two years at Boston University (1996 - 1997), two seasons at the helm at CCSU (2004 - 2005) and six at Fordham (2006 - 2011).  At Fordham, Masella's Rams won the 2007 Patriot League title after an 8-4 season, earning him Patriot League Coach of the Year honors. Masella was also a finalist for the Eddie Robinson Award, which is given to the top FCS coach in the country. The Rams featured 12 all-league players that season. In his only two years as the head coach at Central Connecticut, Masella won the conference title in both seasons, the first-ever football championships at the school, compiling 15 wins and coaching 11 All-NEC selections. Masella spent the 2002 and 2003 seasons as the defensive coordinator at UMass, helping the Minutemen win the 2003 Atlantic-10 title. A graduate of Tottenville High School on Staten Island, Masella was a standout defensive back throughout his four-year Seahawk career, highlighted by leading Wagner to a combined 17-3 record over his final two seasons on Grymes Hill.    In Masella's junior season of 1980, Wagner compiled an 8-2 record, capped by the program's first-ever postseason appearance, as the Seahawks earned a spot in the NCAA Division III Playoffs. The following season, in 1981, with Masella serving as one of the Seahawks' team captains, the Green & White went 9-1, as Wagner rebounded from an opening-day loss to Montclair St. by winning nine straight. He was inducted into the Wagner Hall of Fame in 2018. Most recently, Masella served as the defensive coordinator and linebackers coach at fellow NEC program Bryant. Two Bulldogs picked up All-NEC honors, with Tomas Wright earning a spot on the First Team and Jesse Nemerowicz garnering Second Team accolades. Wright led the circuit with five forced fumbles and ranked among the top-five in the league with nine sacks while Nemerowicz's 95 tackles this year were fifth-most in the league.   Masella's family includes his wife, Lesli-Ann, as well as two sons, T.J., and Jack.  

Joseph Czelusniak joined the Wagner Football staff ahead of the 2024 season and will serve as the Seahawks’ wide receivers coach.   Czelusniak arrives on Grymes Hill with a plethora of coaching experience at the Division II level, most recently at Houston Christian University.   Prior to his stint at Houston Christian, Czelusniak coached at UVA Wise. In 2022, 17 different Cavaliers hauled in at least one reception with three finishing with over 400 receiving yards.   While serving as the program’s running backs coach, Jaevon Gillespie earned second-team all-conference honors after averaging five yards per carry and rushing for eight touchdowns.   As a player, Czelusniak finished his career at Alderson Broaddus, where he set seven single season and two career records while compiling 5,890 All-Purpose yards 42 Total Touchdowns.  

Keyon Means-Bowman ’22 joined the Wagner football staff ahead of the 2025 season. A former Seahawk linebacker, Means-Bowman began his Wagner career in 2018 and went on to appear in multiple seasons for the Green & White. As a freshman, he tallied eight tackles, including a career-high four stops against Campbell, and added two tackles in a season-ending win at Robert Morris. During the Spring 2021 season, he appeared in one game, making two tackles and contributing on special teams against Bryant. Over the course of his Wagner career, the Irvington, NJ native totaled 21 tackles. Following his graduation in 2022, Means-Bowman returned to his alma mater, Irvington High School, where he coached football, wrestling, and baseball from 2023–2024.

Chris Evans joined the Wagner football staff ahead of the 2025 season. Evans played four seasons at FDU-Florham as a wide receiver, where he won two bowl games in 2021 and 2024. Evans, a Staten Island native, graduated from Port Richmond High School and received his bachelor’s degree in sports administration from FDU in the spring of 2025.  In addition to coaching, Chris will be pursuing a master’s degree in business administration at Wagner.   

Chris Anarumo joined the Wagner football staff ahead of the 2025 season. A Staten Island native, Anarumo spent the past four years as a student assistant coach with the West Virginia University football program. Since 2021, he contributed to the development and success of the Mountaineers through roles with the safeties, running backs, and tight ends. For the past two seasons, Anarumo served as the Tight Ends Student Assistant, where he conducted opponent breakdowns and self-scout reports, led position meetings with developmental players, assisted with on-field drills, and signaled for the offense during practices and games. His efforts played a role in the development of standout tight end Kole Taylor, a 2023 Second Team All-Big 12 selection, and in WVU’s 2023 Duke’s Mayo Bowl championship. In 2022, Anarumo worked as the Running Backs Student Assistant, managing opponent breakdowns, developmental meetings, and on-field drill preparation. He began his tenure with the Mountaineers in 2021 as the Safeties Student Assistant, where he was responsible for charting defensive plays, preparing self-scout reports, and assisting with position-specific drills.

BJ Buckle returns to Grymes Hill after spending the last three seasons at West Virginia State University, where he served as the Special Teams and Recruiting Coordinator, as well as the Defensive Line coach. In his final season at WVSU, Buckle coached three players who earned All-Mountain East Second Team honors. Before his time at WVSU, Buckle spent two seasons as the Defensive Line Coach at FDU-Florham. In 2021, he helped lead the Devils to victory in the ECAC James Lynah Bowl. No stranger to Grymes Hill, Buckle was a defensive lineman for the Seahawks for four seasons, graduating in 2019.

David Kaplan arrives on Grymes Hill after spending the last two seasons as a defensive backs coach at St. Norbert College. Prior to St. Norbert, Kaplan served as the defensive backs coach and interim defensive coordinator at Dean College in Franklin, Massachusetts. While serving in his interim position, Kaplan decreased defensive points per game allowed by 19 points per game, and oversaw the 25th best pass defense in Division III. Kaplan previously worked as a Defensive Quality Control Analyst at the University of North Dakota, helping the Fighting Hawks reach the FCS playoffs in 2022. Kaplan also coached running backs at Grinnell College in Iowa for the 2021 season.  Kaplan graduated with an economics degree from Northwestern University in 2021. While at Northwestern he worked as a football recruiting intern with University of California, Berkeley.

Recruiting Areas:  New York City | New Jersey (Ocean, Monmouth) | Junior College/Prep – (Lackawanna, Myrtle Beach, Sussex, Monroe, Nassau) Jim Munson, a Staten Island native who completed an incomparable 24-year career as head coach at nearby Tottenville High School in 2015, completed his sevent season with the Wagner football program in 2023. Regarded as a passionate and vocal leader, Munson built the Pirates into a perennial PSAL playoff team. En route to posting a 178-88-3 (.667) record at Tottenville, he guided the Pirates to two PSAL championships, in 1997 and 2003. Additionally, his Tottenville teams made two title game appearances at Yankee Stadium (2012, 2013) among their five overall city appearances.   Munson's longstanding relationship with Tottenville, where he graduated from in 1982 and was a stop-student-athlete from 1979-82, reaches back nearly three decades.   Among the hundreds of players he coached, a host of whom went on to play collegiately, including four who went on to play in the NFL, including Joe Andruzzi (Packers, Browns and Patriots), Anthony Coyle (Green Bay Packers), Gus Edwards (Baltimore Ravens), and Adewale Ogunleye (Dolphins, Bears, Texans). Additionally, Munson coached Abraham Kromah, who played for Edmonton in the CFL. Overall, Munson coached 27 Division I scholarship players. Despite stepping down as head coach in 2015, Munson continued to serve as Tottenvile's assistant principal and athletic director until 2020.  Munson earned a BA in physical education from Kean College in 1989. He then went on to earn a master's degree in physical education from Brooklyn College in 1999, from where he also holds a certificate in supervision and administration. Munson and his wife, Michele, are the parents of a son, James, a former football standout under his father at Tottenville who, following his graduation from the U.S. Naval Academy where he also played football, is currently serving as a First LT. in the United States Marine Corps.

Quincy Guy-Barnes joined the Wagner football staff in the spring of 2023 after previously playing quarterback for the Seahawks. In 2022, he passed for 173 yards, 114 coming in the season finale at Duquesne. In 2021, Guy-Barnes appeared in two games, earning the start against Merrimack  and throwing for one touchdown while rushing for 60 yards against the Warriors before missing the rest of the season due to injury. Guy-Barnes earned a Bachelor's Degree in Sports Administration from Wagner in 2022 and completed his MBA from Wagner in 2024.

Josh McClurg joined the Wagner football staff in the spring of 2026 after spending the past two seasons at Eastern Kentucky University. During his first year with the Colonels, McClurg served as the assistant inside linebackers coach as EKU posted a 6–2 record in UAC play and advanced to the NCAA FCS Playoffs. This past season, he transitioned into the role of assistant defensive backs coach, continuing to contribute to the program’s defensive development. Prior to his time at EKU, McClurg coached tight ends at UVA-Wise. A native of Lexington, Kentucky, McClurg played three seasons as a defensive back at Morehead State University, where he graduated in 2023.  

Ross Ragonesi joined the Wagner football staff in the spring of 2026 after spending the previous three seasons at Post University. Ragonesi served as the Defensive Coordinator at Post and was promoted to Associate Head Coach in his final season. During the 2025 season, Ragonesi guided three defensive players to All-NE10 selections, including freshman Jazaire Aurelus, who led the league in interceptions. In 2024, Ragonesi mentored sophomore linebacker Mike Gabettie to Second Team All-NE10 honors. Gabettie finished the season ranked No. 1 in the nation in solo tackles per game (7.4) and tied for No. 1 nationally in total tackles per game (13.6). The Post defense also finished third in the conference in total takeaways. Before joining Post, Ragonesi spent five seasons at Long Island University as safeties coach. In his final season with the Sharks, he helped guide safety Victor Nelson to HERO Sports FCS Sophomore All-American honors and First Team All-NEC recognition. Nelson finished first in the NEC in interceptions and total passes defended. During the spring 2021 season, Ragonesi helped the Sharks lead the NEC in interceptions. In 2019, the program’s first season at the FCS level, he guided strong safety Liam McIntyre to HERO Sports Freshman All-American Honorable Mention recognition. During LIU’s final season competing at the Division II level in 2018, Ragonesi helped lead the program to a 10–1 record and an NE10 Conference title. He coached safeties Kasim Thomas and Zach Cofrancesco to Second Team and Third Team All-NE10 selections, respectively. The defense also climbed to a national ranking of fourth in points allowed per game and 12th in passing efficiency defense. Ragonesi joined LIU from the University of Rochester, where he coached the secondary for one season. Prior to Rochester, he served as an assistant coach at his alma mater, SUNY Brockport, for three seasons, primarily working with the secondary. During his time at Brockport, Ragonesi helped guide multiple players to All-Empire 8 Conference selections. A four-year starter at free safety for the Golden Eagles, Ragonesi served as a team captain during his senior season in 2013. He earned All-NJAC honors in 2011. Ragonesi graduated from Brockport in 2014 with a bachelor’s degree in kinesiology and a minor in coaching.