Gene McCabe Earns Old Dominion Athletic Conference Men’s Lacrosse Coach of the Year Award Washington and Lee University’s head men’s lacrosse coach garners the award for the fifth time after winning his sixth ODAC title.

By Lily Caldwell
May 12, 2026

Gene McCabe, Washington and Lee University head men’s lacrosse coach, was selected as the 2026 Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) Coach of the Year in voting conducted by the league’s coaches.

McCabe led the generals to a 16-6 overall record and a 9-1 mark in conference play to seize the ODAC regular season title. W&L went on to win the ODAC Tournament, posting a 18-8 win over the University of Lynchburg to claim the league’s automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Championship.

The team finished the regular season ranked fifteenth in the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (USILA) Division III poll and registered a 19-10 victory over ninth-ranked Gettysburg College in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. W&L’s season came to an end following a 13-12 loss to Christopher Newport University in the Round of 16.

Across his 20 seasons as head coach at W&L, McCabe, who achieved his 300^th career coaching win this season, has led the Generals to six ODAC Tournament Championships and 10 trips to the NCAA Division III Tournament. McCabe has been named the ODAC Coach of the Year five 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 307-133 (.698) overall record in 25 seasons as a collegiate head coach, and he is the Generals’ all-time wins leader with a 253-115 (.688) overall mark at W&L. He has gone 136-26 (.840) in regular season conference play, including a 74-4 record over the last nine seasons.

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

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