DANVILLE, Va. — Averett University named Bryan Habick as its next men's lacrosse head coach on Thursday.

Habick, who has most recently served as the men's lacrosse head coach at NAIA Saint Andrews University, becomes the second head coach in Averett's program history.

"Coach Habick's passion and love for lacrosse and coaching make him a great fit for our program as we look to grow on the strong foundation we've built over the first six seasons," said Meg Stevens, vice president, director of athletics and campus operations. "His personality and enthusiasm make him a great fit for Averett, our men's lacrosse program and our community."

Habick takes over a relatively young men's lacrosse program at Averett that made its debut in 2018. The Cougars are coming off a 3-11 season in 2023 after making the move to the highly competitive Old Dominion Athletic Conference from the USA South Athletic Conference, where the program played its first five seasons. The Averett men's lacrosse program has produced one conference rookie of the year, one all-state selection and one academic all-district at-large selection since its inception.

"Averett is on the forefront of academic and athletic success, and competing in the ODAC provides the opportunity to produce incredible student-athletes," Habick said. "I am elated to be joining the Averett community and I'm ready to have a hand in creating and fostering a holistic student-athlete experience. I want to thank President Dr. Tiffany Franks, Meg Stevens, Deputy Director of Athletics Danny Miller and everyone that had a hand in this process for welcoming me into the Averett family."

Habick led the Saint Andrews program for two seasons as head coach after being promoted from associate head coach and defensive coordinator following the 2021 season. Prior to Saint Andrews, Habick was the men's lacrosse assistant coach at Division III College of Wooster from August 2018 until July 2020, where he helped the Fighting Scots earn a fourth-place finish in the North Coast Athletic Conference and produce three all-conference selections and two all-tournament team selections. He also served as an assistant coach for Division III Marywood University in 2018, helping the program place third in the conference standings with five all-conference selections.

Habick got his coaching start in 2015 as an assistant coach at Division III Capital University, where the program won the Ohio Athletic Conference regular season title, produced the OAC Offensive Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year and totaled 11 all-conference selections. He then spent the 2016 season at Division III Washington & Jefferson College as an assistant coach. The Presidents finished third in the conference, tallied eight all-conference selections and had one USILA All-Region All-Star. Habick then earned his first head coaching position at Division III Wilmington College, where he coached two seasons.

"We are excited to welcome Coach Habick to Averett as our next men's lacrosse head coach," Franks said. "He comes with high expectations not only for his team on the field, but also beyond athletics. He is committed to helping his student-athletes succeed in the classroom, in developing lives of significance, and in their future careers following college."

In addition to his college coaching experience, Habick has coached and evaluated youth and travel lacrosse in Ohio, Pennsylvania, North Carolina and New Jersey. Outside of coaching, Habick has served on multiple NCAA and NAIA lacrosse committees. He is also the owner and founder of Down-East Athletics LLC.

A native of Brielle, New Jersey, Habick played four seasons at Utica University as a defenseman, longstick midfielder and shortstick defensive midfielder.

Habick earned his Bachelor of Arts in communication arts from Utica in May 2014. He joins the Averett family along with his wife, Michelle.