Gene McCabe Earns Old Dominion Athletic Conference Men’s Lacrosse Coach of the Year Award Generals’ mentor garners the award for the fourth time after winning his fifth ODAC title.

By Brian Laubscher
May 23, 2025

Gene McCabe, Washington and Lee University head men’s lacrosse coach, was selected as the 2025 Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) Coach of the Year in voting conducted by the league’s coaches.

McCabe led the Generals to a 17-4 overall record and a 10-0 mark in conference play to seize the ODAC regular season title. W&L went on to win the ODAC Tournament, as well, posting a 13-12 overtime win over the University of Lynchburg to claim the league’s automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Championship.

The Blue & White finished the regular season ranked seventh in the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (USILA) Division III poll and registered a 20-9 victory over the University of Scranton in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. W&L’s season came to an end with a 14-12 loss to Gettysburg College in the Round of 16.

Across his 19 seasons as head coach at W&L, McCabe has led the Generals to five ODAC Tournament Championships and nine trips to the NCAA Division III Tournament. He’s been named the ODAC Coach of the Year four times, and his coaching staff was honored as the Intercollegiate Men’s Lacrosse Coaches Association (IMLCA) Region 4 Staff of the Year on three occasions, including after both the 2023 and 2024 seasons.

McCabe boasts a 291-127 (.696) overall record in 24 seasons as a collegiate head coach, and he is the Generals’ all-time wins leader with a 237-109 (.685) overall mark at W&L. He has gone 127-25 (.836) in regular-season conference play, including a 65-3 record over the last eight seasons. This also includes a 25-game unbeaten streak in regular-season ODAC play that W&L will carry into next season.

McCabe has served as a faculty member at W&L through two separate stints, first as an assistant coach from 1998-2001 and again as head coach since 2006. He also serves as W&L’s assistant director of athletics for compliance, a role he has held since 2022. McCabe holds a bachelor’s degree in European history from Bates College.

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