St. John Fisher University Athletics

Dave Dobbins became the head coach of the St. John Fisher men’s lacrosse program after the 2017 season and has since elevated the Cardinals to national prominence.

Entering his ninth season leading the Cardinals, Dobbins owns a 100-41 overall record and a dominant 57-4 mark against Empire 8 Conference teams, including regular-season and playoff contests. Fisher has won the E8 title and reached the NCAA Tournament in each of the last six seasons. The Cardinals have won a game in the national tournament in five of those years. 

A bevy of players have been recognized at the conference and national levels under Dobbins, including 10 multi-time United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (USILA) All-Americans. That lengthy list includes first-team selections Joe Post (2021, 2022) and Jack Mulvihill (2022), both of whom earned All-America honors three times. Post ended his collegiate career atop the Division III record book in career ground balls recovered (854) and faceoffs won (1,250).

Two of Dobbins’ players – Post and Nicholas Miller, also a three-time USILA All-American – have played in the National Lacrosse League (NLL). Post played for the Rochester Knighthawks, while Miller, Fisher’s all-time leader in goals (240), assists (125) and total points (365), played for the Buffalo Bandits. 

It didn’t take the Cardinals long to become one of the most consistent programs in Division III under Dobbins, the four-time Empire 8 Coach of the Year. The Cardinals posted a 12-6 record and reached the E8 championship in 2018, his first season as head coach, and had one of the best seasons in program history the following year. Fisher in 2019 set the program’s single-season wins record (17-3 overall), topped No. 10 Stevens for its first conference title and won an 11-10, double-overtime thriller over No. 11 Gettysburg for its first NCAA Tournament win. 

Dobbins’ Cardinals had another breakthrough season in 2024, as they went on the deepest NCAA Tournament run in program history. After claiming its fifth straight Empire 8 title, Fisher knocked out No. 5 Wesleyan 15-13 and No. 4 St. Lawrence 11-10 en route to a matchup against eventual national champion Tufts in the national quarterfinals. 

Since 2021, the Cardinals own a 32-0 regular-season record and a 12-0 postseason record against Empire 8 teams. They have suffered only one loss to a current E8 team – Hartwick in 2018 – under Dobbins. Their last conference loss came to Stevens, now a member of the Middle Atlantic Conference, during the regular season in 2019. 

Dobbins spent one season as St. John Fisher’s associate head coach before being named the Cardinals’ head coach after Jon Johnson announced his retirement at the end of the 2017 season.

A native of the Rochester area, Dobbins came to Fisher by way of the Ohio State University, where he served on the coaching staff from 2009-14. He was the Buckeyes’ associate head coach in 2013, when they won the ECAC Tournament championship and reached the quarterfinals of the NCAA Tournament, finishing 13-4 overall. That season stood as the best in program history until the 2017 Buckeyes went 16-5 overall and reached the national championship game. 

Dobbins’ first collegiate coaching job came as an assistant at Salisbury University, where he worked from 2003-09. With Dobbins on staff, the Seagulls went 121-5 and won NCAA Division III national championships in 2004, 2005 and 2007. The Intercollegiate Men’s Lacrosse Coaches Association named Dobbins its DIII Assistant Coach of the Year in 2005. 

Dobbins played collegiate lacrosse at Division I Colgate University from 1998-2001. He earned his bachelor’s degree in mathematics from Colgate and later received a Master of Education degree from Salisbury. 

In addition to coaching Fisher, Dobbins has served as upstate New York’s director of '3d Lacrosse.’ The company works to provide innovative lacrosse training as well as recruiting showcases and premier lacrosse leagues across the United States.

Year-By-Year At Fisher

By The Numbers Under Dobbins

All-Empire 8 Honors Earned: 82 (41 first team)

Empire 8 Offensive Player of the Year Winners: 3… Matthew Kemmis (2024), Joe Post (2022), Ian Evans (2021) 

Empire 8 Defensive Player of the Year Winners: 3… Jack Cornell 2x (2024 and 2025), Brian Jantz (2023)

Empire 8 Goalkeeper of the Year Winners: 2… Tyler Manning (2025), Darin Eakins (2021), 

Empire 8 Rookie of the Year Winners: 3… JP Revitte (2025), Sean Donaldson (2024), Ian Evans (2019)

Empire 8 Tournament MVP Honorees: 6… Brady Mason (2025), Ben Hammond 2x (2022 and 2024), Jacob Gallina (2023), Nicholas Miller (2021), Darin Eakins (2019)

USILA All-America Honors Earned: 35 (3 first team)... Andrew Rosso (2018), Joe Post x3 (2019, **2021, **2022), Jack Muvihill x3 (2019, 2021, **2022), Nicholas Miller x3 (2019, 2021, 2022), Tucker O’Donnell x2 (2021, 2022), Roger Panara x2 (2021, 2022), Ian Evans x2 (2021, 2022), Jordan Depetres (2022), Matthew Jeffries (2022), Kyle Rochester (2022), Jack Cornell x3 (2023, 2024, 2025), Brian Jantz (2023), Connor Mesh x3 (2023, 2024, 2025), Sam Miller, Timmy Salit x2 (2023, 2025), Ben Hammond (2024), Jordan Leuze x2 (2024, 2025), Matthew Kemmis (2024), Tyler Manning (2025), Brady Mason (2025) … ** denotes first-team

USILA Scholar All-America Honors Earned: 18… Brady Mason (2025), Connor Mesh (2025), Zach Stirpe (2025), Ben Hammond (2024), Jordan Leuze (2025), Matthew Kemmis (2025), Timmy Salit (2025), Brian Jantz (2023), Ian Evans (2022), Jack Mulvihill (2022), Matt Jeffries (2022), Nicholas Miller (2022), Tucker O’Donnell (2022), Joe Post (2022), Jordan Depetres (2022), Kyle O’Dea (2020), Zach Wagner (2019), Andrew Rosso (2018)

Updated 1/28/2026