Sept. 5, 2017
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COLUMBUS, Ohio – Justin Tuma, a three-time All-American during his playing career at Roanoke College and most recently the faceoff coordinator/assistant defensive coordinator at Princeton University, has been added to the Ohio State men’s lacrosse coaching staff, head coach Nick Myers announced today.
“I would like to thank Coach Myers and staff for the tremendous opportunity to join the men’s lacrosse family at The Ohio State University,” said Tuma. “It’s an honor and privilege to work alongside such an accomplished staff and team, and to be a part of a Big Ten institution with an outstanding reputation. I am grateful for Coach Madalon, staff, and players for the opportunity and relationships built at Princeton University. I look forward to a great season and cannot wait to get started.”
“We’re very excited to welcome Justin to our staff,” said Myers. “I believe he’ll be a difference-maker in all aspects of our program. It’s always been a goal of ours to attract the best and brightest coaches, and Justin certainly fits that mold. His combined experiences both as a player and a coach will be invaluable as we move forward.”
Tuma worked with several areas of the Princeton program, specifically the face-off men, defense and ran the box on game days. Under Tuma’s guidance, Zach Currier saw a 13 percent increase in his faceoff percentage (from 43 percent to 56 percent, he also had 130 GBs) on his way to being the No. 6 overall pick in the 2017 MLL Draft. He is also likely to be a top five pick in the upcoming NLL draft. In addition, the Tigers saw in increase in their overall team face-off win percentage, improving from 46 percent in 2016 to 50 percent in 2017.
In total, Tuma coached seven All-Ivy League players on the 2016 Princeton squad, including goalie Tyler Blaisdell and defenseman Bear Goldstein. He also mentored two freshman defenders to All-America honors by College Crosse and helped lead the Tigers’ man-down defense to a No. 9 rank nationally (75 percent).
Tuma came to Princeton from Roanoke College, where he spent three seasons as an assistant coach, helping the Maroons to a combined record of 37-17. While at Roanoke, he coached 11 USILA All-Americas, 21 all-league selections and 29 league all-academic selections.
With Tuma as offensive coordinator, Roanoke led the Old Dominion Athletic Conference and was 25th of 223 teams in Division III in scoring offense at 13.56 goals per game. The team also won better than 60 percent of its face-offs, again first in the conference, and 28th in Division III.
Tuma graduated cum laude from Roanoke in 2011 with a degree in business administration and a minor in economics. He was a USILA Scholar All-America, a three-time ODAC Academic Selection and the 2011 ODAC Scholar Athlete of the Year.
On the field he was a three-time USILA All-America and had the rare accomplishment of being named to the Tewaraaton Trophy Watch List as a Division III player during his senior season.
Tuma was the 2011 ODAC Player of the Year and a three-time All-ODAC selection. He holds the Roanoke College records for ground balls in a game and career, and he won 522-of-846 face-offs, or 61.7 percent. He finished his career with 138 points (68G, 70A).
Tuma then earned a master’s degree in business management, graduating with merit, from Durham University in England, where he also played lacrosse. He began his coaching career as the defensive coordinator at Randolph-Macon in the 2013 season.
