POUGHKEEPSIE, New York – Marist Director of Athletics Tim Murray has announced the hiring of Keith Detelj as the Red Foxes' head women's lacrosse coach.
"It gives me great pleasure to welcome Keith Detelj back to the Marist College community," Murray said. "He has worked hard preparing himself to be our next head coach, serving at the junior college, Division III, and Division I levels. I am confident that with his experiences, knowledge, and intellect, he is uniquely prepared to provide our women not only a great student-athlete experience, but also success on the field."
Detelj (pronounced Duh-TELL), a 2007 Marist graduate, returns to the Poughkeepsie campus with over a decade of coaching experience in women's lacrosse. Most recently, he served as assistant coach for the Kennesaw State women's lacrosse program for the 2022 and 2023 seasons, where his responsibilities included goalie development and working with the Owls' offense. Kennesaw State set program records for wins and goals scored in 2022 and had an Honorable Mention All-American each of the last two years.
"I am very grateful for the many colleagues, players, and coaching opportunities that have helped me to this point," Detelj said. "I am humbled and give thanks to Director of Athletics Tim Murray, Vice President of Student Affairs Deborah DiCaprio, Senior Woman Administrator Elizabeth Donohue, and President Kevin Weinman for the opportunity to be a part of this exceptional experience created by Marist College. Thank you to the search committee, coaches, and support staff for their time and continued excitement and candor throughout the process.
"I am very eager to be a part of the positive movement Marist Athletics has built and look to serve this program in ways to keep forging the great traditions of excellence here. I believe that the Marist women's lacrosse program can achieve this once again, and I am extremely excited to begin another journey in this special place."
Detelj served as head coach at SUNY New Paltz for five seasons from 2017-21. He guided the Hawks to their first winning conference record in program history in 2021. That year, New Paltz ranked in the nation's top 30 in free position shooting percentage, draw controls per game, and caused turnovers. From 2019-21, he was a member of the NCAA Division III Regional Ranking Committee.
Detelj was the women's lacrosse assistant coach at Nassau Community College in the 2013-14 seasons, and became head coach in 2015. That season, he guided the program to an NJCAA Division III Final Four appearance and was named District Coach of the Year. He was also the head women's soccer coach at Nassau from 2012-14. In the 2014 season, Nassau reached the NJCAA Division III Elite Eight and had two All-Americans as Detelj was named Regional and District Coach of the Year.
Professionally, Detelj played for the Dayton Dutch Lions of the United Soccer League (USL) from 2014-15. He played in the USL Premier Development League from 2009-14.
Detelj is one of the finest dual-sport athletes in Marist history. His decorated career included winning Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference championships in both men's soccer and men's lacrosse as a student-athlete, and he earned the Most Valuable Player award in conference tournaments for both sports.
Detelj was a four-time First Team All-MAAC selection, as he earned the distinction twice in both soccer and lacrosse. He holds Marist men's soccer's Division I program records for career goals and points, and he was named the Red Foxes' Male Co-Sportsperson of the Year in 2007. He was named to the MAAC 35
th Anniversary First Team, the MAAC 40
th Anniversary Men's Soccer Team, and was Honorable Mention for the MAAC 40
th Anniversary Men's Lacrosse Team.
He also served as an assistant coach for the Red Foxes' men's soccer program in the 2016 season. The Red Foxes went 11-7-1 overall, qualified for the MAAC Men's Soccer Championship, and had the nation's second-leading scorer in Cameron Harr.
Detelj graduated from Marist with a Bachelor's degree in Biology. He was inducted into the Connetquot High School Sports Hall of Fame in 2016.