Tom Celentani enters his third season as an assistant coach for the VMI lacrosse program.
Over the past two years, he has led the Keydets to four wins with consecutive victories over Hampton and New Jersey Institute of Technology. Junior Wesley Sanders was named to the All-SoCon First Team the past two years, while freshmen Kyle Walsh (2016) and John Daniel (2017) have been named to the SoCon All-Freshman team. Several other Keydets earned academic recognition during the year for their accomplishments in the classroom.
Celentani comes to VMI after serving for two seasons as an assistant at Franklin Pierce in Rindge, New Hampshire, coaching primarily the defenders and goalkeepers. His keeper, Don Denman, led the division in saves with 195 in 2013 while earning preseason All-NILA honors heading into the 2014 campaign.
The Levittown, New York native played at UMass from 2009-12 and started 44 games in a row over three seasons, helping the Minutemen to the 2012 Colonial Athletic Association regular season and tournament championship. UMass finished that season ranked No. 1 in the nation with a 15-0 record as he earned United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (USILA) All-America honors, while also receiving scholar All-America accolades.
Celentani was selected in the Major League Lacrosse draft by the Denver Outlaws in the fourth round (30th overall pick) of the 2012 MLL Draft and then was selected to play for the Boston Cannons the following year.
He graduated from UMass in 2012 with a bachelor's degree in psychology before receiving a master's degree in health administration from Franklin Pierce in 2015.
