NILCA Hall of Fame Class of 2025 Features Several High School Coaching Legends

The National Interscholastic Lacrosse Coaches Association will enshrine 11 high school boys’ lacrosse coaches into its Hall of Fame at its annual banquet Oct. 18 at the Milleridge Inn in Jericho, N.Y.

Dennis Bonn, Charlie Burch, Mike Delia, Steve Finnell, Bryan Kelly, Ken McCarthy, Joe McFadden, Tom O’Grady, John Piper, Bill Ritch (posthumous) and Tony Seaman comprise the NILCA Hall of Fame Class of 2025.

This is the sixth class of inductees. Jack Moran, featured last week as part of USA Lacrosse Magazine’s Weekly Cover series, was inducted in 2020.

The NILCA was established in 2012 to provide dedicated service and support to high school boys’ lacrosse coaches in the United States. The inaugural NILCA Hall of Fame induction was in 2019.

Here’s more on each of this year’s inductees.

Dennis Bonn 
Cold Spring Harbor (N.Y.)

The head coach at Cold Spring Harbor (N.Y.) since 2000, Bonn boasts a career record of 368-96 (79.3 percent) with seven state championships. His teams have also captured seven Long Island and 15 Nassau County titles. A four-time Nassau County Coach of the Year, Bonn was named the NILCA National Coach of the Year following an undefeated state championship campaign in 2017.

Charlie Burch 
Cape Elizabeth (Maine) 
Kennebunk (Maine)

Currently the head coach at the University of New England, Burch previously enjoyed a highly successful 24-year high school coaching career. He led Cape Elizabeth to nine state championships between 1987 and 1997, finishing as runners up the other two seasons in that stretch. He also led Kennebunk to title game appearances in 2006 and 2007 and was named the USA Lacrosse Man of the Year in 2009 — the same year he stepped down to leave for the college ranks.

Mike Delia 
East Islip (N.Y.) 
Shoreham-Wading River (N.Y.)

Part of Shoreham-Wading River’s growth from scrappy startup to high school boys’ lacrosse powerhouse, Delia served as an assistant under Tom Rotanz — a NILCA Hall of Fame inductee himself last year. Retired as a teacher and coach, Delia lives in South Carolina and stays connected to the game as one of the state’s top officials.

Steve Finnell 
Garden City (N.Y.)

A recent Newsday headline characterized Garden City (N.Y.) boys’ lacrosse as “a well-oiled machine that shows no signs of stopping.” In 18 seasons with Finnell at the helm, the Rams have compiled a 304-61 (83.2 percent) record — including a 21-2 mark this year culminating in their sixth New York Class B state championship. Finnell also has a pair of state runner-up finishes to his credit, plus nine Long Island titles and 13 Nassau County crowns. He was the NILCA Coach of the Year in 2012.

Bryan Kelly 
Calvert Hall (Md.)

The head coach at Calvert Hall (Md.) since 1996, Kelly won his seventh MSLCA Coach of the Year award this after leading the Cardinals to their sixth MIAA A Conference championship — tied with McDonogh (Md.) for the most by any Maryland private school since the league’s inception. Third-seeded Calvert Hall upset top-seeded Archbishop Spalding in overtime, overtaking the Cavaliers for the No. 1 spot in the USA Lacrosse High School Boys’ National Top 25. Kelly has 351 career wins.

Ken McCarthy 
Somers (Conn.)

The 2024 NILCA Coach of the Year and a 2017 Connecticut Lacrosse Hall of Fame inductee, McCarthy turned Somers into a perennial power upon taking the reins in 1993. He has led the Spartans to five state championships, the most recent coming in 2017. They fell just short of a sixth crown this spring, losing to New Fairfield in the Class M final. McCarthy also started the high school program at South Hadley (Mass.). He’s closing in on 500 career wins.

Joe McFadden 
Loyola Blakefield (Md.)

McFadden spent 41 years coaching high school lacrosse in Maryland, including a remarkable tenure as varsity head coach at Loyola Blakefield from 1984-1999. In those 16 years, he led the Dons to the MSA playoffs 15 times, with 10 appearances in the championship game and five titles (1984, 1986, 1987, 1989 and 1990) in what was then the most competitive conference in the country (precursor to the MIAA). A three-time Baltimore Sun Coach of the Year honoree, McFadden also won a world championship as an assistant coach with the 1992 U.S. Men’s U19 National Team.

Tom O’Grady 
Winter Park (Fla.) 
Montverde Academy (Fla.)

O’Grady has coached at every level of the game, including stops as a college assistant at Texas, Florida, Adelphi and Army. He has more than 40 years of experience, most notably leading Winter Park (Fla.) to a 21-0 record and the FHSAA championship in 1999 — the first Florida public school to win a high school state title. Three years later, he led the Wildcats girls’ lacrosse team to the championship game, becoming the first coach to accomplish that feat on both the boys’ and girls’ side. O’Grady is currently the assistant boys’ lacrosse coach and director of lower/middle school lacrosse at Montverde Academy.

John Piper 
Manchester Valley (Md.)

Part of the NILCA Century Club of coaches with 100-plus career wins, Piper’s impact stems well beyond the field. A fixture in Carroll County youth and high school sports, he has served on the men’s game and coaching education committees at USA Lacrosse and as secretary of the Maryland State Lacrosse Coaches Association since 2010. Piper won the Gerry Carroll Coaching Award from USA Lacrosse in 2007 and was the MSLCA Man of the Year in 2010.

Bill Ritch 
Sewanhaka (N.Y.)

A National Lacrosse Hall of Fame coach, Ritch was the head coach at Sewanhaka from 1948-60 and again from 1963-78. His teams went 362-60-1 (85.6 percent), highlighted by eight consecutive undefeated seasons from 1948-57.  They were Long Island champions from 1949-59 — 11 straight years — and broke the national high school record by winning 91 consecutive games. Ritch was named Nassau County Coach of the Year in 1972. He also coached collegiately and in the USCLA, a precursor to pro lacrosse.

Tony Seaman 
Lynbrook (N.Y.) 
St. Andrew’s (Fla.)

Best known for his work as a college coach and the only person to lead three different teams (Penn, Johns Hopkins and Towson) to the NCAA Division I men’s lacrosse tournament, Seaman has bookended his storied career with equally successful chapters as a high school coach. He started off as a teacher and coach at Lynbrook, where he went 116-61 and was Nassau County Coach of the Year in 1977. He spent 30 years in the college ranks, stepping down at Towson after the 2012 season. Seaman moved to Florida and took over as the head coach at Saint Andrew’s, leading the Scots to three consecutive FHSAA championships from 2021-23. He’s 184-41 in 12 seasons there, bringing his career record as a high school coach to 300-102 (74.6 percent) to go with his 263-166 (61.3 percent) mark as a college coach. Seaman also won a gold medal as head coach of the 1994 U.S. Men’s National Team and coached professionally with the Denver Outlaws.