Johns Hopkins Men’s Lacrosse Coach Peter Milliman announced the appointment of former Blue Jay Jamison Koesterer as the team’s defensive coordinator today. Koesterer returns to Homewood after spending the last four years as the defensive coordinator at UMBC.
“I am thrilled to welcome Jamison back to Johns Hopkins,” Milliman noted. “He has a demonstrated record of success as both a player and coach and his passion for the University and the program was evident throughout the interview process. His past experiences at UMBC, Ohio State and here at Johns Hopkins have prepared him well for this position and I know that the men in our program will very much enjoy playing for him.”
Koesterer joined the UMBC coaching staff in July 2016 and quickly made an impact on the Retriever defense. His unit finished in the top 20 in scoring defense in 2017 (19th / 9.14), 2018 (1st / 7.77) and 2020 (6th / 8.40); the 7.77 goals allowed per game by the 2018 team is a UMBC single-season record. The Retrievers also finished eighth in the nation in man-down defense in 2018 and were ranked second in 2020.
“I would like to thank Jen Baker, Coach Milliman and the administration at Johns Hopkins for giving me this tremendous opportunity,” Koesterer stated. “I am deeply humbled and incredibly grateful. Coach’s vision, philosophy and values were clear from the beginning and we are perfectly aligned in each of those areas. It is going to be my greatest honor to give back to a program that has given so much to me. I look forward to working with our players, their families and all the student-athletes at Johns Hopkins.”
Prior to his time at UMBC, Koesterer spent four seasons at Ohio State and helped the Buckeyes to a pair of trips to the NCAA Quarterfinals (2013, 2015) while working with the defense and faceoff specialists.
While in Columbus, he coached the 2016 Big Ten Specialist of the Year in Jake Withers, while Withers (2014 – ECAC, 2016 Big Ten), Chris May (2015- Big Ten) and Trey Wilkes (2013 – ECAC) each earned all-league honors as faceoff specialists under Koesterer’s guidance.
In addition to his work with the Ohio State faceoff specialists, he also assisted with Buckeye defenses that ranked among the nation’s best in 2013 (13th / 8.83), 2015 (17th / 9.16) and 2016 (19th / 9.07).
Koesterer served as the volunteer assistant coach at Johns Hopkins in 2011 and 2012 and helped the Blue Jays to a two-year record of 25-7 with two trips to the NCAA Quarterfinals. He mentored senior Matt Dolente to First Team USILA All-America honors in 2011, when he finished second in the nation in faceoff winning percentage (.667); Dolente’s faceoff winning percentage that season ranked second in school history at the time.
A year later, Koesterer’s faceoff unit finished seventh in the nation (.578) with junior Mike Poppleton leading the way by winning 167-of-271 (.616).
Koesterer played at Johns Hopkins from 2004-07 and was a member of the Blue Jays’ national championship teams in 2005 and 2007. He scored seven goals and added 12 assists and 101 ground balls during his career. He also won 176-of-318 (.553) career faceoffs and helped guide the Blue Jays to a 51-11 record.
After graduating, Koesterer continued his playing career in the National Lacrosse League as a member of the Portland Lumberjax (2009) and the Washington Stealth (2010). He helped the Stealth to the 2010 NLL Championship – the first title in franchise history – by winning 265-of-446 (.594) faceoffs while collecting 101 loose balls (the equivalent of a ground ball in indoor lacrosse).
In addition to his playing career professionally and at Johns Hopkins, Koesterer originally returned to Homewood for the 2011 season after working tirelessly in the state of Washington to grow the game at the youth level. He served as the Director of Operations at walax.com, a web site dedicated to all things related to lacrosse in the northwest. Walax was also heavily involved in the organization of lacrosse leagues, tournaments and clinics as the sport grew rapidly in the state of Washington. In addition, Koesterer coached the Seattle Starz, who won the 2010 Adrenaline High School Shootout.
https://hopkinssports.com/news/2020/5/8/mens-lacrosse-jamison-koesterer-named-blue-jay-defensive-coordinator.aspx
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via College Crosse: Under Koesterer, UMBC’s defense was ranked #1 in the country in 2018. They were #6 this year before the season ended. And he doesn’t even have to move his stuff. Don’t think Milliman could have done any better with this hire.
