IMG Academy announces new heads of lacrosse programs

IMG Academy has poached a big name to serve as the new head of its boys lacrosse program. Matt Kerwick, the head coach at Cornell as recently as May, was named IMG’s new director of lacrosse Thursday after more than four seasons in Ithaca, N.Y.

Kerwick resigned his post with the Big Red in May after a disappointing season for Cornell. The Big Red started 0-5 and missed the NCAA tournament for the second consecutive season. Before those struggles, Kerwick kept Cornell a tournament fixture. He took over as an interim head coach for the Big Red in 2014 and led Cornell to two straight Ivy League titles in 2014 and 2015. He was an assistant coach in 2013 when the Big Red reached the final four.

“This is an exciting opportunity to lead student-athletes at one of the most committed academic and athletic institutions in the world,” Kerwick said in a statement. “I am sincerely thankful to the leadership at IMG, and look forward to bringing my experiences to assisting these young women and men in achieving their goals.”

With the Ascenders, Kerwick will take the reins of a program developing into one of the best in the nation. IMG finished in the USA Today’s Top 10 during each of the past two seasons and has sent 25 players on to Division I school since 2013. Kerwick replaces Bill Shatz, who left the program this spring after having served as the director of the program since 2011.

The Kerwick announcement rounds out a busy week for the Ascenders’ lacrosse programs. On Tuesday, IMG announced its first director of girls lacrosse, which begins play this fall. Kim Russell, who had been the head coach at Division III Baldwin Wallace University in Berea, Ohio, since its program debuted in 2012, is slated to take over in Bradenton beginning next month.

“For the last two decades, I have been able to live my passion by helping student-athletes develop, and reach their full potential on and off the field. I am thrilled for the opportunity to continue this as part of the IMG Academy family,” Russell said in a statement. “It’s an incredibly rewarding challenge to launch a new program and with amazing resources, facilities and foundation for lacrosse at IMG, we will hit the ground running.”

This story was originally published July 27, 2017 at 5:49 PM with the headline "IMG Academy announces new heads of lacrosse programs."