RENO -- The University of Nevada men's lacrosse team has announced that Matt Carroll will be the program's defensive coordinator for the 2016-17 season.

Having been around lacrosse for the past 20 years, Carroll brings a ton of experience to the program. As a former NCAA Division I player at the University of Massachusetts, he was part of several successful teams which won several honors including ECAC Champions (2005) and New England Champions (2005, 2006). The Minutemen qualified for NCAA tournament in 2005 and 2006, and were ranked consistently in the Top 25 in the country.

In 2006, Carroll was part of a team that made it to the Final Four and NCAA National Championship game. The championship run is considered the most difficult path to the Final Four, as UMass beat the second, third and fourth-ranked teams before falling to Virginia in the championship.

Prior to his collegiate career; Carroll was a four-year letter winner at Ridgefield High School (Conn). He received multiple personal honors while playing there, including All American, All-State (2x), All-Area (2X), All-League (2x FCIAC), and the MVP of the Senior All-Star Game, Conn. Super-Junior, 2x Team Captain, Division II State Champion and Inside Lacrosse Top Recruits to Watch.

More recently, Carroll played for several men's club teams; including teams from Sacramento, the Bay Area and locally for the Tahoe Dawgs.

His coaching experience includes being a defensive coach for the Ridgefield Renegades, which was a team dedicated to participating in recruiting tournaments and locally coaching and teaching the game to youth in South Lake Tahoe.

Coach Tatro is excited to have an assistant of Carroll's caliber on the Nevada Wolf Pack staff.

"Coach Carroll will bring an incredible amount of IQ to our team," Tatro said. "Not many teams will have someone on their coaching staff that has played in a NCAA Division I Championship game. This is what's needed to compete and be successful against the best teams in the country, which we are trying to do here at Nevada."