Joe Breschi - Men's Lacrosse Coach - University of North Carolina Athletics

Photo by: LEE WEISSMAN

Joe Breschi

Title:
Head Coach
Email:
breschi@uncaa.unc.edu
Phone:
919-962-5216

Joe Breschi's coaching philosophy is summed up in three words....

FAMILY • ACADEMICS • LACROSSE

Breschi has installed his philosophy at every level of the program and its outreach to alumni, student-athletes, their families, and the Chapel Hill community. Carolina men's lacrosse is achieving at the highest levels on the field, in the classroom, and in the community. The credit for that goes to Breschi, one of the sharpest minds in collegiate coaching circles.

Breschi enters his 17th season as the head coach of Carolina's men's lacrosse program in 2024-25.

Following the 2016 campaign, the words "big winner" were added to the resume. Breschi always had successful programs at Ohio State and UNC, but on Memorial Day weekend 2016, he took the Tar Heel program to heights it had not achieved since 1991 – the NCAA championship.

Breschi, a 1990 Carolina alumnus and former assistant coach for the Tar Heels, became the 12th head lacrosse coach in Carolina history on June 18, 2008. Breschi came to Chapel Hill from Ohio State, where he had served as the head coach for the previous 11 seasons. Young men pursuing college lacrosse careers and college degrees want to play for a man with the character of Breschi. A solid recruiter, excellent tactician, and tremendous communicator, Breschi and his staff know they have put the Tar Heel program on sound footing talent-wise. The Tar Heel players have also achieved at high levels in the classroom being community service leaders.

Carolina has advanced to the NCAA Tournament in 11 seasons since he became head coach.

Following an abbreviated 2020 season (7-0) due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Tar Heels finished the 2021 season with a 13-3 record and a share of the ACC conference title. UNC last shared the regular-season title in 2016. The Tar Heels earned the top overall seed in the NCAA Tournament and stormed their way through the tournament before falling to eventual National Champion Virginia in the Final Four 12-11. It was the 14th time that UNC played in the NCAA semifinals.

In 2016, the Tar Heels went into the NCAA Tournament unseeded. With an 8-6 regular-season record, UNC beat four top seven national tournament seeds, culminating with a 14-13 win over #1 Maryland in overtime in the title game. Carolina not only reached the Final Four for the first time since 1993, it won the national title for the first time since 1991. It did all this without a single player being named first-team All-America, another historic first for an NCAA champion. Six Tar Heels were named All-ACC Academic, and 24 players made the ACC Academic Honor Roll. UNC's team GPA in the spring semester was the highest in program history. In December 2016, Breschi was acknowledged for all those accolades by being named the U.S. Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association National Coach of the Year, the first Tar Heel coach to win the award since Dave Klarmann in 1991. His chief assistant David Metzbower was the USILA's national assistant coach of the year.

The 2015 team won 13 games, the seventh straight year UNC reached double digits in wins. Twenty Tar Heels were named to the ACC Academic Honor Roll. It was a record-setting campaign for the Tar Heels, who went 13-4, finished second in the ACC, and reached the NCAA quarterfinals. Eight Tar Heels were named All-Americas, the most since the 1982 team. Offensively, the Tar Heels rewrote the Tar Heel record book, led by players like Joey Sankey, Jimmy Bitter, Chad Tutton, and Luke Goldstock, who repeatedly required record book updating with their feats.

The 2013 Tar Heels won the ACC regular-season championship, just as the 2016 team did, and also won the ACC tournament championship, the latter for the first time since 1996. Finishing at 13-4, UNC reached the NCAA quarterfinals and was ranked #1 in the USILA final regular-season coaches poll for the first time since 1993. Eighteen Tar Heel lacrosse players were named to the ACC Academic Honor Roll, eight to the All-ACC Academic Team for men's lacrosse for the second time in Breschi's tenure, and the Tar Heel program was one of three sports on campus to win an ACC Top Six For Service award from the conference. Senior attackman Marcus Holman was UNC's first Tewaaraton Trophy finalist since 2004, and Breschi notched his second ACC Coach of the Year honor since his arrival in Chapel Hill.

In 2012, Carolina advanced to the ACC Tournament championship game for only the second time since 1996. The second half of the season was a strong one for the Tar Heels, and Carolina featured one of the most improved offenses in the nation. Eighteen UNC players were named to the ACC Academic Honor Roll. In 2011, Carolina had the ACC Freshman of the Year for the second straight season while six UNC players were named All-America, and three were tapped for All-ACC accolades. Fifteen Tar Heels were named to the ACC Academic Honor Roll, and Carolina placed a school-record eight players on the All-ACC Academic Team.

In 2010, Breschi led the Tar Heels to a 13-win season, matching the fourth-most wins in a season in school history and recording the most wins since 1993. Carolina grabbed a share of the ACC regular-season title for the first time since 2003. Carolina opened the season with 10 straight wins, its longest winning streak since 1991. Breschi guided his team to the national lead in extra-man offense, and he saw attackmen Billy Bitter and Marcus Holman be named the ACC Player of the Year and the ACC Freshman of the Year, the first time in 14 and 12 years, respectively, that UNC won those awards. Carolina's final poll ranking of No. 4 was its best since the 1996 campaign. Breschi was deservedly named the ACC Coach of the Year for his efforts.

In his first year at Carolina in 2009, he led the Tar Heels to a 12-6 overall record and a spot in the NCAA quarterfinals. The Tar Heels won their first game in the ACC Tournament in 13 years, and they fell just one goal shy of reaching their first Final Four in 16 years. Breschi was the first UNC coach in history to have double-digit win seasons in his first eight years as head coach before that streak was broken in 2017 when Carolina finished 8-8.

Breschi was an assistant coach at UNC and Brown University for seven seasons before his stint in Columbus with the Buckeyes. He has completed 29 seasons of collegiate coaching experience overall, entering the 2020 campaign. In 2018, he earned his 200th overall collegiate coaching victory. Breschi has accomplished much in his life for a man a mere 51 years old.

A native of Baltimore and a 1986 alumnus of Loyola-Blakefield School, Breschi compiled a 92-63 record in his 11 years at OSU along with a 34-18 regular-season Great Western Lacrosse League mark. The Buckeyes shared GWLL regular-season titles in 1999, 2003, and 2008 and won the conference championship outright in 2004. The Buckeyes had seven winning seasons in Breschi's last eight years and made NCAA Tournament appearances in 2003, 2004, and 2008. Taking over a non-scholarship program in 1997, Breschi built the OSU program to prominence from scratch. Along the way, OSU had three double-figure winning seasons, going 10-3 in 1999, 12-4 in 2004, and 11-6 in 2008, when the program had the most significant wins in its history.

Immediately before moving to Chapel Hill, in Breschi's 11th season at OSU, the Buckeyes enjoyed their most successful campaign in history. Ohio State won its first NCAA Tournament game by defeating No. 8-seeded Cornell 15-7 in the NCAA first round on the Big Red's home field. The Buckeyes shared the GWLL regular-season title and reached the finals of the GWLL Tournament.

Four Buckeyes were named All-Americas in 2008, including second-team attackman Kevin Buchanan, who was also the fifth pick in the 2008 Major League Lacrosse draft. Four Buckeyes were GWLL first-team selections in 2008, and another four were second-team choices. He coached Ohio State players to 128 academic All-Big Ten honors and 217 Ohio State Scholar-Athlete awards in his 11 seasons at Columbus. Breschi was a three-time GWLL coach of the year selection in 1999, 2003, and 2004.

Breschi was one of the finest lacrosse players in the history of the ACC while playing for UNC from 1987-90. He was an All-ACC selection in 1989 and 1990 and was selected to play in the prestigious USILA North-South All-Star game in 1990. He was a first-team All-America pick on defense in 1990 and an honorable mention All-America in 1989. He was elected the sole team captain in 1990. Carolina has elected a single captain only three times since 1981, including Breschi's senior year.

After leading the Tar Heels his senior season to the NCAA semifinals and an ACC title, Breschi was selected as UNC's nominee for the 1990 Anthony J. McKevlin Award, given annually to the outstanding male athlete in the ACC. In 2002, Breschi was named to the prestigious ACC 50th Anniversary Men's Lacrosse Team, honoring the Top 50 players in league history. He was a member of U.S. National Teams that played in the World Lacrosse Games in 1994 and 1998. Breschi earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in communications from Carolina in 1990. He was a member of two U.S. National Teams (1994 and 1998).

After graduating from Carolina in 1990, Breschi coached at his alma mater for two seasons before going to Brown as an assistant coach from 1993-97. Breschi was an assistant at UNC for Dave Klarmann in 1991 and 1992 and was part of a staff that captured ACC titles both of those seasons and UNC's fourth NCAA title in 1991. UNC compiled a 28-3 record during Breschi's assistant coaching stint.

Success at North Carolina came as a coach for Breschi and as a player. Breschi and his wife Julie have five children, the late Michael Breschi, and four amazing daughters, Sam, Abby, Lucy, and Emily.

Joe Breschi At A Glance
• Full Name: Joseph Carl Breschi
• Birthdate: April 9, 1968 in Baltimore, Md.
• Hometown: Baltimore, Md.
• High School: Loyola-Blakefield School
• College: Graduated from the University of North Carolina in 1990 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in communications
• Family: Married to the former Julie Riccardelli of Roseland, N.J. Julie earned a B.A. in psychology from Denison in 1989 and a M.Ed. degree in counseling psychology from Springfield College in 1992.
• Children: The late Michael Robert Breschi, Samantha Grace Breschi, Abigail Christine Breschi, Lucy Michaela Breschi, Emily Valerie Breschi
• Parents: Bob and Tish Breschi of Baltimore, Md.
• Lacrosse Career: Two-time All-Atlantic Coast Conference selection as a defenseman (1989 and 1990) • Two-time U.S. Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association All-America honoree (1989 and 1990, including first-team honors in 1990) • North-South All-Star Game participant in 1990 • Member of the U.S. National Team which played in the World Lacrosse Games in 1994 and 1998 • Named to the ACC’s 50th Anniversary men’s lacrosse team in 2002.
• Coaching Career: North Carolina, assistant coach (1991-92); Brown University, head assistant coach (1993-97); Ohio State, head coach (1998-2008); North Carolina, head coach (2008-present).
• Assisted under the following head coaches: Dave Klarmann (North Carolina 1991-92); Peter Lasagna (Brown 1993-97).
• Coaching Highlights: USILA coach of the year 2016 • Led Tar Heels to 2016 NCAA title • ACC coach of the year in 2010 and 2013 • Great Western Lacrosse League coach of the year in 1999, 2003 and 2004 • Led Ohio State to the first NCAA Tournament appearance in program history in 2003 and coached team to a return trip in 2004 • Led OSU to its first-ever NCAA Tournament win in 2008 by upsetting #8 seed Cornell in the first round on the Big Red’s home field • Coached the Buckeyes to GWLL regular-season titles in 1999, 2003, 2004 and 2008 • Led Carolina to the NCAA quarterfinals in 2009, 2010, 2013 and 2015 and NCAA bids in 2011, 2012, 2014 and 2017 • Mentored UNC to a share of the 2010, 2013 & 2016 ACC regular-season titles, the 2010 crown being Carolina’s first title since 2003 • Coached the Tar Heels to their first ACC Tournament win in 13 years in 2009 and to another finals berth in 2012 • Led UNC to 2013 ACC Tournament championship, Carolina’s first since 1996 • Tar Heels also won league tournament in 2017 • As an assistant he helped lead Brown to two Ivy League championships (1994 and 1995) and a trip to the NCAA Final Four (1994) • UNC claimed two ACC championships when he was an assistant coach (1991 and ‘92)...Tar Heels won NCAA title in 1991 while he was an assistant under Dave Klarmann.

Michael R. Breschi Scholarship Fund
    Since the Michael R. Breschi Scholarship fund was created, hundreds of contributions have come from more than half the states in the Union. The scholarship is awarded annually to a Ohio State lacrosse player – most likely a rising senior — who fits former head coach Joe Breschi’s criteria.
    “It was started in memory of Michael and what he meant to me and my family in the three and a half years that he was with us,” Breschi said. “And it’s a way to keep his memory alive in all of us, in the Ohio State program and in what I did at Ohio State. And it’s a tribute to him and an opportunity to give to a young man who exemplifies the spirit of Michael.”
    Ohio State and North Carolina annually compete in a fall scrimmage in Baltimore, Md., to benefit the scholarship fund. To make contributions to the Michael Breschi Scholarship Fund please send checks to: The Ohio State University, Michael Breschi Scholarship Fund, Room 235, St. John Arena, 410 Woody Hayes Drive, Columbus, OH 43210.