Proud of Growth at VMI, Purpura Answers the Call at Ohio State

Simply out of habit, James Purpura wasn’t about to send the incoming call from an unknown Columbus, Ohio, number to voicemail.

It turned out to be the first step in the VMI men’s lacrosse coach becoming the new offensive coordinator at Ohio State in June.

“Thankfully, I answered it,” Purpura said recently of Buckeyes head coach Nick Myers’ initial outreach. “A lot of people when they don’t get a familiar number might hit the turn-off button, but in coaching, you just never know what you’re going to get if it’s not spam. We started talking, and it was a quick process. There is a lot of alignment … not just lacrosse, but in culture building and team building.”

Those are areas where Purpura thrived during a five-year run at VMI. The overall record of 28-42 might not look gaudy, but it doesn’t take much understanding of the Keydets’ history to recognize the program’s progress.

VMI increased its victory total in each of Purpura’s seasons after his arrival from Division III Arcadia. The seven wins amassed in 2024 were the Keydets’ most since 2005. Then they went 10-4 last spring, their most victories since 1988.

Oh, and VMI ranked second in Division I with 14.6 goals per game behind only national champion Cornell.

“You don’t have to be an expert to see what he’s done there is pretty remarkable in the last three or four years,” Myers said. “That to me was really attractive. He’s the kind of a guy that’s done more with less everywhere he’s gone relative to some of the resources he’s gotten in his two head coaching spots.”

Myers had some moving pieces on his staff after the Buckeyes completed one of the best seasons in their history, a 14-3 run that included the Big Ten regular season and tournament titles. Andrew Vossler, who primarily worked with goalies and faceoff men, has three young children and chose to step away from coaching.

Assistant Justin Tuma then agreed to take over those responsibilities, packaging them with overseeing the riding and clearing units as a special teams coordinator. That left open an spot on offense, and Purpura was Myers’ first call.

The two didn’t know each other well before. Myers said he recognized Purpura as a go-getter at national coaching conventions and had seen him on the road. Purpura recalled a few casual conversations over the years.

But they hit it off talking about what was possible in Columbus.

“I’m really proud of what we built and I think it’s something that was really special — the culture, the competitiveness, the growth that we achieved together in those five years,” Purpura said. “But when the opportunity at Ohio State came up, I just thought it was something that was too meaningful to pass up. It’s a premier institution in the world athletically, academically. Everybody knows what a Buckeye is.”

Myers describes his staff as a “collaborative” effort, and Purpura should fit right in after demonstrating ingenuity throughout his rebuilding effort at VMI.

“He’s a guy that when presented with a problem finds a way versus makes an excuse,” Myers said. “Just listening to him talking about strategy, they didn’t have a great faceoff situation this year and how they had to complement their team to win around that. He didn’t look at it as a crutch so much as an obstacle and a way and an opportunity to figure out a way to win. I love that mindset.”

It's also a fascinating juncture for Ohio State’s offense, which graduated eight of its top nine scorers. Attackman Garrett Haas (29G, 17A) was arguably the Buckeyes’ most consistent offensive player in the final month of the season. Freshman midfielder Liam White (11G, 6A) posted his first career multi-goal game in the Big Ten final against Maryland.

They’re the only two returning players who had double-digit points for Ohio State last season. Little wonder the Buckeyes targeted the transfer market for veteran offensive production.

Midfielder Jackson Birtwistle scored 56 goals in four seasons at Syracuse, though an injury ended his senior season in February. Brad Sharp had 42 goals and 35 assists as a three-year starter at Yale, while fellow midfielder Lucas Soelberg played in 38 games for the Bulldogs.

Myers can’t hide his excitement about the impact of an offense-heavy recruiting class that includes Fin Watson and Winter Rivera, among others.

“I really look at it as a blend of bringing some veteran guys, bringing back some guys,” Myers said. “I think Garrett Haas is a guy we can really build around. He’s poised to break out as a junior. He really did kind of blossom down the stretch in the Big Ten. Then some of these young guys we have. I think with James, we’re very aligned in our offensive strategy.”

It might seem like it could be difficult to slide back into an assistant role after seven years as a head coach, but Purpura thinks he could be a better assistant because of his understanding of how many different things a head coach has to deal with.

Things such as fundraising and alumni relations are Myers’ responsibility, and he promised Purpura his job as the offensive coordinator would be targeted toward recruiting, offensive strategy and player development.

All of which points toward producing an efficient offense, no easy task for anyone in the rugged Big Ten but one Purpura and the Buckeyes will get to work on building this fall.

“We all want to score goals, and there’s a lot of ways to get to that,” Purpura said. “I know we want to play a fun, exciting brand of lacrosse, and I think for us, we have a lot of similar conceptual ideas. It’s kind of like football. If you have guys that are triple option and you’re a spread guy, well, maybe that doesn’t work. I think coach and I share a lot of the same philosophies and ideas.”