He becomes the fourth head coach in program history succeeding Lindsay Carlile, who stepped down from her position in July.

In addition to his coaching responsibilities, Ruhl will also serve as the Universitys Director of Fitness & Recreation. The Spartans new leader is quite accustomed to the integration of faith and learning both as a student-athlete and as a coach. A graduate of NCAA DII Ohio Valley University, a private, Christian college in Vienna, West Virginia, Ruhl was a member of OVUs first-ever mens lacrosse team and later returned to the university as the inaugural head womens lacrosse coach in 2015.

Max brings a wealth of knowledge and experience in both lacrosse and fitness education, Smith said of Coach Ruhl. I have no doubt that he will immediately contribute to the success of our programs both on and off the field.

Ruhl will usher in a new era for Missouri Baptist Womens Lacrosse with plenty to work with including the return of two-time NAIA Second Team All-American Kaitlin Mills in goal, an offensive juggernaut in Jordan Haeusser, who has posted 54 points (40 G, 14 A) in just 13 career games played, along with a healthy mixture of young and veteran talent.

"There's a lot that enticed me about MBU ... the location, facilities, a faith-based environment, a vision of creating a nationally sought-after program, career growth, Ruhl explained. What has caught my attention the most has been my conversation with the team. They want to win, and they want to work for those wins."

Leading the brand-new program to its most successful season in school history, Ruhl was the recipient of Ohio Valley University Athletics Coach of the Year Award in 2018-19. His 2019 squad led the Great Midwest Athletic Conference in draw controls per game (15.80), while individually, the Fighting Scots boasted the conference leader in caused turnovers, ground balls and draw controls/game and had a trio of players rank in the leagues Top 10 in goals per game. During his time with the Scots, Ruhl led three individuals to the all-conference team, five to the academic all-conference team and the team was named an IWLCA Academic Honor Squad in 2018. Ruhl also participated on the IWLCA Top 25 and NCAA DII Top 20 Coaches Polls.