(Photo by Florida Southern Athletics)

EAST LANSING, Mich. – Daniel Joseph (DJ) Lubs was hired as the new defensive coordinator at Michigan State on Wednesday.

Lubs was the first-ever NCAA Division II All-American at Florida Southern in 2013, earning the honor twice during his career as a close defenseman with the Mocs. Lubs was also a three-time first team all-conference recipient at FSC.

After his graduation in ’14, Lubs was selected to play in the prestigious USILA North-South game, which was held at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore. He was a member of the Colorado Mammoth of the National Lacrosse League and the Denver Outlaws of the Major Lacrosse League.

At Florida Southern, Lubs was a teammate with current Michigan State head coach Cam Holding.

“It means a lot for a friend to reach out and hold me in high regard,” said Lubs. “Michigan State is a tight-knit community and I’m looking forward to adding to the program and hopefully bringing back a national championship for the first time.”

Lubs takes over as defensive coordinator after the departure of Josh Kamstra, who moved to Memphis after receiving a promotion .

“I couldn’t be happier to have DJ as the defensive coordinator at MSU,” Holding said. “DJ is a very intense, energetic coach who will bring high expectations and a great deal of competition to the team. His knowledge of the game and attention to detail will continue shaping our defense to be one of the best in the MCLA.”

Lubs will be in charge of a defense that returns all of its starters from last year. Even with three All-Americans and a squad that posted the best goals against average in the CCLA, Lubs is already focused on improvements.

“I pride myself on having players be tough from top to bottom,” Lubs said. “I love the dirty parts of the game, like being a physically mean defense and winning every ground ball. Ground balls turn the tide every game.”

Michigan State has won six consecutive CCLA championships, advancing to the MCLA National Championships for the eighth time in 2017. The Spartans finished with an 11-5 record.