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Brian Welch

 
Profile
Welch enters his first season as the head coach of the Hiram men's lacrosse program.

Over four seasons with Concordia Chicago, Welch helped re-write the record books, finishing his tenure as the program's all-time winningest coach. Under Welch, the Cougars earned their first conference wins in program history in both the Midwest Lacrosse Conference (MLC) and the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC), as well as the program's first all-conference selection in 2019.

Additionally, the Cougars had tremendous success in the classroom during Welch's tenure, achieving the highest Team GPA in program history, while 43 Cougars earned academic all-conference.

Prior to joining the Cougars, Welch spent two years as the head men's lacrosse coach at Ancilla College in Donaldson, Ind., helping start the Chargers' men's lacrosse program. After building a roster in 2015-16, Ancilla went 6-5 in its first season in program history, earning Welch NJCAA Region 12 Coach of the Year honors.

Three Chargers also earned NJCAA Honorable Mention All-America honors, two were named Academic All-Americans and numerous student-athletes moved on to NCAA Division I, II and III programs.

Welch began his men's lacrosse coaching career at Marian High School in Mishawaka, Ind., helping start the Knights' men's lacrosse program in 2013. Over three seasons with the Knights, Welch coached the team to a 31-15 record, earning Indiana High School Lacrosse Association (IHSLA) New Coach of the Year honors in 2013.

Under Welch's tenure, two Knights earned Indiana All-State selections, four earned Honorable Mention All-State and two were named Academic All-State, while senior John Jessup earned USA Lacrosse's Bob Scott Award in 2013, which recognizes high school seniors who go above and beyond in service to their team, school, and community.

No stranger to college athletics, Welch comes to Hiram with over 15 years of administrative experience having most recently served as the Assistant Director of Athletics for Compliance and Rules Education at Lake Erie College for the past year.

Previously, Welch also spent eight months as the Assistant Athletic Director for Academic Support and Student Services at Valparaiso University in Valparaiso, Ind., while during his time at Ancilla, Welch also served as the Director of Institutional Effectiveness, an Associate Dean of Student Success & Retention, and an Athletic Academic Intervention Specialist, in addition to his head coaching duties.

Welch replaces Brian Jenkins, who helped start and served as the first head men's lacrosse coach in program history, coaching the Terriers to a 26-73 (3-51 NCAC) record over 10 seasons.