Joe Conner - Men's Lacrosse Coach - Dartmouth College Athletics

Joe Conner

Title:
Assoc. Head Coach / Recruiting and Offensive Coordinator
Alma Mater:
Mount St. Mary’s ’07
Email:
Joseph.J.Conner.Jr@dartmouth.edu
Phone (603):
646-3135
At Dartmouth:
4th Year (2022)

Joe Conner wrapped up his fifth year as associate head coach, offensive coordinator and recruiting coordinator in 2023.

Over his time in Hanover, Conner helped the Big Green reach new heights, both as a team and offensive unit. In 2023, Dartmouth finished 6-6 overall, marking its most wins and first time at .500 or better since 2008. Among the highlights, the Big Green came back from 7-1 down at Hobart to beat the Statesmen, 20-16, marking their first win over Hobart since 1995. It was one of three games in which Dartmouth scored 17 or more goals, also Holy Cross (17) and Hampton (18), marking the first time that’s happened three times since 1996. The Big Green also opened Ivy League play with a thrilling 10-9 overtime win over Harvard, marking the program’s first league victory since 2015. In every week of March, Dartmouth was receiving national votes in the USILA Coaches Poll and Inside Lacrosse/Media Poll.

The Big Green continue to gain national attention???? Dartmouth comes in at #20 in @QKessenich’s top 20, is receiving votes in both the @Inside_Lacrosse media and @USILA_Lax coaches poll, and moved up to #6 in the New England Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association Poll!#TheWoods pic.twitter.com/gKhE0t9eDS
— Dartmouth Men’s Lacrosse (@DartmouthMLax) March 14, 2023

Under Conner’s leadership, the Big Green scored 140 goals in 12 games in 2023, their most goals in a season since 2008 when they had 150 in 14 contests. Dartmouth reached double-figure goals in four Ivy League games, which was also its most since 2008. Bridging the very end of 2022 and most of 2023, the Big Green scored on the extra man in 15 straight games, marking the longest active streak in the nation at the time.

In 2023, Dartmouth began the season 4-0 for their best start since 2003 and was one of just two undefeated teams in the nation in mid-March (the other being eventual National Champion Notre Dame). Individually, Colin McGill finished with 46 points, the most points by a Dartmouth player since 2008. Emmett Paradine was named Ivy League Rookie of the Year, the Big Green’s first major award winner since 2017. Paradine posted 10 points at Hobart (seven goals, three assists), as the only Division I rookie in the nation to reach double figures in a game in 2023. Nate Davis was named second team All-Ivy, emerging as one of the league’s top offensive midfielders.

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Today, @emmett_paradine was named @IvyLeague Rookie of the Year — our first @IvyLeague major award winner since 2007!

Look back to season that was from the nation’s fourth leading rookie scorer among midfielders ??#TheWoods?? | #GoBigGreen pic.twitter.com/WKONLexXLx
— Dartmouth Men’s Lacrosse (@DartmouthMLax) May 3, 2023

Other highlights during Conner’s time include starting the 2022 season 4-1 and coming ever-so close to breaking through in the Ivy League. In a season that saw six Ivy League teams advance to the NCAA Tournament, the Big Green fell to eventual national finalist Cornell, 8-7, in a game they were leading until 6:23 remaining and tied until 3:08 on the clock. Dartmouth later dropped a 12-10 final at No. 3 Princeton, who would also advance to the Final Four, in a game the Big Green were leading early in the fourth quarter. In addition, Dartmouth dropped a 16-12 final to a Penn team that went on to be seeded in the NCAA Tournament, while dropping a 14-13 final to Stony Brook in nonleague action.

Since 2019, the Big Green increased their win total every year (excluding the one game played in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic). From 2020-23, Dartmouth posted a 13-5 record in nonleague play.

Conner arrived in Hanover after serving nine years on the Bucknell men’s lacrosse staff, seven of those as the top assistant and the last two as the associate head coach. He helped the Bison win their first-ever Patriot League Tournament championship in his second season in Lewisburg, as well as achieve their highest national ranking at any point in a season in program history (sixth) during the 2013 campaign.

In his first year in the role of offensive coordinator, Conner coached Bucknell to the top shooting percentage in the nation in 2012, setting program records in goals (179), assists (108) and points (287) along the way. In 2016, his Bison offense ranked 20th nationally with over 11 goals per game. In 2018, Bucknell scored nearly 12 per game as the team finished the year ranked 16th in the nation. The top-three offensive players on the team were all selected in the 2018 Major League Lacrosse Draft, including Will Sands who set the program record with 55 assists while scoring 20 goals as well to become the fourth Bison with at least 70 points in a season.

Conner was also Bucknell’s recruiting coordinator during his tenure. In 2013, three Bison student-athletes were listed among Inside Lacrosse’s top 25 freshmen, more than any team in the nation. The following year, his recruiting class was ranked 13th nationally by Inside Lacrosse with three recruits among the publication’s Power 100 Recruit Rankings.

Prior to his stint at Bucknell, Conner spent two years as the assistant coach at Mount St. Mary’s. He helped the Mountaineers earn the second seed for the Northeast Conference (NEC) playoffs, and in his final season coached the defense, which produced the ninth-lowest goals against average in the country.

Conner is a 2007 graduate of Mount St. Mary’s and received his master’s degree from his alma mater in 2009. In his first three years as an undergraduate, Conner attended Binghamton as a midfielder before transferring to Mount St. Mary’s for his senior season, moving to attack.

A native of Ijamsville, Maryland, Conner played both lacrosse and football at Urbana High School. He earned All-America honors in lacrosse and was the starting quarterback for the record-setting football team that won four-straight state championships and 50 consecutive games. He still holds Frederick County’s single-season record for touchdown passes (28).

Conner and his wife, Erin, have three children — sons Ethan and Jace, and daughter Gia.