Men's Lacrosse
- Title:
- Head Coach
- Phone:
- 4390
John Desko has blazed a trail of excellence that distinguishes him as one of the most respected coaches in the nation and the world. A 2020 inductee into the National Lacrosse Hall of Fame Desko's 46 consecutive years at Syracuse (1976-79 player, 1980-1998 assistant coach, 1999-2021 head coach) coincided with the program's rise as the preeminent program in the nation.
Desko was on staff for all-11 of the program's NCAA Championships and in his 46 years was involved in 529 victories and concludes his head coaching tenure at the end of the 2021 season ranked in the top-15 of total wins in lacrosse history.
Throughout his tenure, he has maintained the winning tradition of Syracuse lacrosse. Since replacing Hall of Fame coach Roy Simmons Jr. in 1999, Desko has kept the Orange in the hunt for an NCAA title each year and he has brought home the national championship trophy five times (2000, 2002, 2004, 2008, 2009) since the turn of the century, the third-most NCAA Championships at the NCAA Division I level of any head coach.
In the process, Desko established a successful leadership style recognized by many in the lacrosse world. His legacy of achievement led to his selection as the USILA Division I Coach of the Year in 2008, the BIG EAST Coach of the Year in 2011, the FieldTurf Division I Coach of the Year in 2013, and the ACC Coach of the Year in 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018, becoming the first coach in league history to win the title four times in a row. No other ACC coach has earned the honor in even three consecutive seasons. In addition, Desko served as the head coach of the U.S. Senior National Team at the 2006 International Lacrosse Federation (ILF) World Championship. They are just some of the many honors bestowed upon Desko during his sparkling career.
Throughout his tenure, Desko has coached some of the greatest players ever to don a lacrosse jersey and he’s left an indelible mark on the game.
SETTING THE STANDARD
Desko holds a 265-93 career record and owns the second-best winning percentage (.741) of any active NCAA Division I coach. Overall, he is 12th on the Division I list for career winning percentage and concluded the 2021 season ranked 15th in NCAA Division I history for most career victories.
Desko’s record in the postseason is just as impressive. He is 34-16 in the NCAA Tournament and holds the seventh-highest tournament winning percentage (.680) of any coach in the history of college lacrosse. Desko’s postseason dominance has resulted in five NCAA titles, which ranks third all-time behind Bill Tierney (7) and Roy Simmons Jr. (6).
Desko’s achievements are the product of recruiting and developing some of the best lacrosse players in the world. Since he was named head coach, Syracuse has had 75 players earn a total of 135 All-America nods, including four-time honorees Mike Powell, Mike Springer and Mike Leveille. Two of his charges — Powell in 2002 and 2004, and Leveille in 2008 — went on to win the Tewaaraton Award as the nation’s best player.
Desko’s leadership and longevity have been crucial to establishing the Syracuse dynasty. The Orange advanced to the NCAA semifinals 22 straight years between 1983 and 2004. The streak was as much a reflection upon Desko as anyone, as he was the one person directly associated with the team for all 22 seasons. During the first 16 years of the Final Four streak, he served as an assistant coach (Desko spent 19 seasons as a Syracuse assistant overall) and then he led the team to the Final Four in each of his first six years as head coach, winning national championships in 2000, 2002 and 2004.
In Desko’s 42 seasons on the Syracuse coaching staff, the team has reached the NCAA title game a stunning 17 times, or nearly once every other year.
In addition to his national success, Desko guided the Orange to its first ACC title in 2015, just Syracuse’s second year in the country’s most dominant lacrosse league. He repeated the charge in 2016, when the team won back-to-back games in Kennesaw, Georgia to earn its second-straight ACC Championship. ‘Cuse also went undefeated in league play during the 2017 and 2018 regular seasons, earning the Orange either a conference tournament or regular season title in four of the team’s six seasons in the conference thus far.
Prior to joining the ACC in 2014, Desko and the Orange went 20-4 in four seasons as a member of the BIG EAST Conference, capturing three regular-season championships (2010, 2011, 2013) and two BIG EAST Tournament titles (2012, 2013).
Syracuse has had 36 players earn a total of 54 all-conference nods since 2010, including two-time All-ACC selections Nick Mellen, Brett Kennedy, Nate Solomon, Sergio Salcido, Nick Mariano, Ben Williams, Kevin Rice and Brandon Mullins. In addition, five players have captured major individual conference awards in that span, including Rice who was named the ACC Offensive Player of the Year in 2015, and Salcido who garnered the honor in 2017.
Desko’s 2020 team was shaping up to be one of his best in recent history, before the season was ended after five games due to the Coronavirus pandemic. The Orange ended the year No. 1 in both the USILA Coaches Poll and the Inside Lacrosse/Maverik Media Poll.
TWICE AS NICE
Desko led the Orange to a 32-4 overall record and back-to-back national championships in 2008 and 2009. The Orange finished with identical 16-2 records both years, tying the school season standard of 16 wins, and becoming the first team since Princeton in the 1990s to repeat as NCAA champions.
In 2008, Desko engineered one of the most impressive turnarounds the sport has ever seen. After going 5-8 and missing the postseason in 2007, he led the Orange to its record 10th NCAA crown. In addition, the Orange tied the NCAA record for the best one-year win-loss improvement (+8.5). Desko’s squad was second in the nation in scoring offense (13.61) and posted a 7.62 goals-against average, the best mark for a Syracuse outfit in nearly four decades.
During the regular season, the Orange reeled off 10 straight wins and went undefeated at the Carrier Dome (9-0). Syracuse rolled to four consecutive wins in the postseason, including a 13-10 victory against Johns Hopkins in the title game. During its postseason run, Syracuse defeated three top-five opponents and bested second-seeded Virginia, 12-11, in double overtime in one of the most memorable semifinal games in tournament history.
In addition to his fourth championship, Desko capped the year by winning the F. Morris Touchstone Award as the USILA Division I Coach of the Year to join Roy Simmons Jr. as the only two Orange mentors to earn the honor.
As an encore, Desko presided over a 2009 Orange team that ended the year on a nine-game winning streak and led the nation in scoring margin (+5.56) after finishing second nationally in scoring offense (12.94) and fourth in scoring defense (7.39). The Orange posted a 6.46 goals-against average in its four NCAA Tournament wins, and the 2008 and 2009 seasons marked the first time since 1969 and 1970 that Syracuse finished with goals-against averages of less than 8.0 in consecutive years.
The Orange tied the school record with 10 home victories, and after cruising to wins in its first three NCAA Tournament contests, defeated Cornell, 10-9, in overtime in one of the most thrilling championship games in lacrosse history.
SUCCESS LEADS TO OPPORTUNITY
Desko’s coaching success has led him to additional opportunities outside Syracuse, including his appointment as U.S. National Team coach for the 2006 ILF World Championship, where he led the squad to the silver medal. In addition, Desko spent three days in June of 2009 at the U.S. National Team tryouts as part of a committee commissioned by U.S. Lacrosse to evaluate players for the 2010 Federation of International Lacrosse (FIL) World Championship.
On the college level, Desko served as a coach for the North squad in the annual North-South Senior All-Star Game at the University of Delaware in 2000.
Desko is also a leader in the sport’s administration. He served on the NCAA Lacrosse Committee, a group that oversees and regulates rules, championships and other issues pertinent to the sport from 1999-2003. He has also worked as a member of the NCAA Division I Regional Advisory Committee, a group that assists in the evaluation of teams throughout the season.
THE HEIR APPARENT
When Roy Simmons Jr. retired in 1998, Desko was the perfect choice to continue the Orange’s championship legacy. He spent 19 seasons as Simmons’ assistant and helped him turn Syracuse into the lacrosse dynasty it is today.
Prior to becoming Simmons’ top lieutenant in 1980, Desko played for him from 1976-79. When Desko arrived on campus, he helped Syracuse achieve its first winning season (7-4) since 1971. As a sophomore in 1977, Desko and the Orange went 8-6 and the team scored a then school-record 238 goals.
Syracuse’s fastest midfielder his first two years, Desko switched to defense as a junior and the Orange continued its winning ways. SU went 10-3 in 1978, and with Desko leading the way, held opponents to 104 goals, the lowest total at Syracuse in eight years.
With just two seasons of experience on defense, Desko earned All-America honors in 1979 and helped the Orange to a 10-5 record and the school’s first NCAA playoff berth. He served as team captain as a junior and senior, and the Orange’s record improved in each of his four years on the squad.
After his playing career ended, Desko joined Simmons’ staff and the program continued to blossom. The pair led the Orange to its first NCAA title in 1983, and by the time the decade was through Syracuse was synonymous with championship lacrosse.
In his 19 seasons as an assistant, the Orange compiled a record of 229-43 (.842), earned 18 NCAA Tournament invitations, reached the Final Four 16 consecutive times and won six national championships.
His assistant coaching duties included coordinating recruiting and serving as co-director of the popular Syracuse University Lacrosse Camp. He recruited some of the best lacrosse players to ever play the game, including two-time National Player of the Year and Outstanding Midfielder of the Year Gary Gait, two-time Outstanding Attackman of the Year Tim Nelson, four-time All-American Brad Kotz, three-time All-American Paul Gait, and the Powell brothers (Mike, Casey and Ryan) — the school’s top three all-time leading scorers.
SYRACUSE THROUGH AND THROUGH
Prior to attending Syracuse University, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in sociology, Desko was was a three-sport standout at nearby West Genesee High School in the mid-1970s, excelling in lacrosse, football and basketball.
During the course of his coaching career, Desko has been recognized by several local organizations for his lacrosse achievements. In the fall of 1997, Desko was inducted into the Upstate New York chapter of the Lacrosse Hall of Fame for his service to the game. He’s also received two more local sports honors. In 2008, he was inducted into the Greater Syracuse Sports Hall of Fame in a ceremony at Drumlins Country Club. Three years later, he was inducted into the Camillus/West Genesee Sports Hall of Fame.
Lacrosse is very much a family affair at Syracuse. Desko’s two younger brothers, Dave and Jeff, were All-American lacrosse players for the Orange, and John’s son, Tim, completed his Syracuse lacrosse playing career in 2012.
John and his wife, Cindy, reside in Syracuse. They have four children — Tim, Ryan, Nicole and Casey. The Desko children have Orange ties as well. Tim was a standout player for the Orange, Ryan is a current Syracuse student manager with the program, Casey graduated in 2017. While Nicole graduated from Hobart and William Smith Colleges in 2015, she spent two years working in the Syracuse athletic department as a Development Coordinator. Tim is now a successful lacrosse coach in his own right, spending the past four seasons on the Le Moyne staff. He also spent one season at Lafayette.
