Bio

Catawba College head men’s lacrosse coach Mike Murphy has announced that Will Urban will be joining the program as an assistant coach. Urban will be a part of Murphy’s first staff at Catawba.

“I am incredibly pleased to announce the addition of Will Urban to our coaching staff,” Murphy stated. “Will knows the game of lacrosse and the landscape of Division II. Will had an outstanding playing career at the University of Mount Olive. He was a two-time All-American and the 2018 Ensign C. Markland Kelly Jr. Award winner, which is given to the NCAA DII Top College Goaltender of the Year.”

Urban joins Catawba after serving as an assistant coach at Belmont Abbey for three seasons. During his time with the Crusaders, Belmont Abbey went 27-9 overall and captured the Conference Carolinas championship in back-to-back seasons in 2021 and 2022. The Crusaders finished in the top 20 in the DII USILA National Rankings in each of the last three seasons, ranking third in a shortened 2020 season, 13th in 2021 and 20th in 2022, respectively.

Urban was the recruiting coordinator and goalkeeper coordinator during his time with the Crusaders. Under Urban’s tutelage, goalie Thomas Sullivan was named the 2022 Conference Carolinas Defensive Player of the Year and earned conference tournament Most Valuable Player honors in 2021 and 2022. Sullivan also earned honorable mention All-American honors last season. Following the 2020 shortened season, goalie Bryce Gifford garnered First Team All-American accolades and was named a USILA Division II Scholar All-American.

Prior to his arrival at Belmont Abbey, Urban served as an assistant coach for one season at Walsh University in Canton, Ohio.

Urban played for Coach Murphy at Mount Olive from 2015-18. Urban was a two-time All-American with the Trojans and was named the 2018 Ensign C. Markland Kelly Jr. Award winner, which is given to the nation’s most outstanding goalkeeper. Urban was also named the Conference Carolinas Defensive Player of the Year following his senior campaign. Urban earned his degree in criminology and criminal justice from Mount Olive in 2018.