ESPN.com - CAA: Towson's Seaman named to NCAA committee

ESPN.com: NCAA

Friday, October 3, 2008
Updated: October 6, 4:48 PM ET
CAA: Towson's Seaman named to NCAA committee

By Sean Burns
Inside Lacrosse

For the Colonial Athletic Association, the news was relatively slow this summer. Save for a few shifts in assistants and a transfer or two, the biggest news -- by far -- was the upcoming shift in the conference that pairs with the Big East and NEC's formation in coming seasons. With Robert Morris and Sacred Heart on the way to the NEC and Villanova departing for the Big East, UMass and Penn State will be joining the Towson, Delaware, Drexel and Hofstra in the new-look Colonial for 2010.

Lax Back 2 School Special

• ACC
• America East
• CAA
• GWLL
• ECAC
• Independents
• Ivy League
• MAAC
• Patriot League

Though the rest of the news out of the member schools wasn't quite as earth-shattering, plenty went on amongst the seven schools that are vying for the league title come next spring.

Biggest News

TOWSON

The lacrosse world no longer has Tony and his Tigers to push around!

Not that they ever did, anyways, but Towson head coach Tony Seaman was named to the NCAA committee, one of two Division I head coaches on the board (the other being Maryland's Dave Cottle). This puts the longtime coach at the forefront for the biggest decisions in the game (equipment changes, NCAA tournament seeds, Championship Weekend locations).

There was also some shifting in the staff surrounding Coach Seaman, as longtime assistant Andrew "Buggs" Combs stepped down as an assistant coach to focus on other opportunities. The position was filled later in the summer by Michael Allan, known mostly for his stints with a pair of highly successful MCLA club teams in California.

On the player front, the Tigers lost Eric Boyle to Maryland, but gained a very respectable recruiting class for 2009, including several members of Inside Lacrosse's Power 100.

Big News

DELAWARE

Former 'Hens make big headlines

For the Blue Hens, some of their biggest program-related headlines came from alums in the summer of '08, as John Grant, Jr. and Alex Smith were marquee names on the MLL championship Rochester Rattlers' squad.

John Grant
Former Delaware player John Grant Jr. was name MLL MVP in 2008.
Grant was his usual unstoppable self, earning MLL MVP honors as well as being named offensive player of the year. Unfortunately, he later found out he will miss at least the 2009 NLL season after an infection that required surgury to his knee. Smith, who helped key Delaware's 2007 final four run by dominating at the "X," kept on that path,setting the MLL face-off record this summer. The Baltimore resident was also nice enough to share the secrets of his success with Inside Lacrosse's readers.

The '09 Blue Hens had a pretty quiet summer, after being named -- ahem -- one of IL's teams that could be worse just after the season ended. On the other hand, Curtis Dickson was projected to be one of the top attackmen returning for 2009, so it wasn't all bad news.

Add/Drop

ROBERT MORRIS

Remington Steele helps Canada to second-place at U-19 games

Though it ultimately fell a hair short of felling the still-unbeaten United States squad, the Canadian U-19 National Team had a spectacular silver medal showing in the World Games this summer in Coquitlam, British Columbia, and Robert Morris goalie Remington Steele was a major factor in that run.

Steele is one of three returning goalies for the Colonals in 2009.

HOFSTRA

Big DII transfer takes short drive

A former Under Armour All American, Christian Scuderi was a starter on the Division II National Championship NYIT squad a year ago. Now, he joins the Pride as a player who has seen what it's like to play in front of a championship weekend crowd.

He joins a squad that was honored with the double-barrelled distinction of being named one of IL's 'stock rising' teams for 2009, as well as being one of the teams to recieve votes in ourvery early preseason top 10. Part of that expectation can certainly be traced to midfielder Anthony Muscarella, who was named one of IL's Top 10 2009 midfielders after the season, and the rest can be chalked up to confidence in Seth Tierney's youth movement, which features top freshman and Canadian U-19 player Jay Card as well as some of the incoming freshman from the Power 100 list.

Plenty of other news surrounded the Hempstead campus, as former players Kevin and Mike Unterstein were both drafted into the MLL, with Kevin later being named an assistant coach at Princeton University. Other former Pride/Dutchmen stalwarts making headlines included Denver Outlaws attackman Brian Langtry, who reinforced his All Star status once more, and Long Island Lizards defenseman Nicky Polanco, who was an All Star again but also got his mug in the pages of IL for other reasons as well.

DREXEL

Raymond brings solid pedigree to Dragons

Greg Raymond
Greg Raymond, who was a three-time captain at Johns Hopkins, joins the Drexel staff.
A rare three-time captain at Johns Hopkins before his graduation in 2005, Greg Raymond joins the Drexel staff this season as an assistant after a three-year stint at Princeton. Raymond, who played three seasons with the New Jersey Pride in Major League Lacrosse, is expected to help the Dragons on the defensive half of the field.

In late June, terrible news hit the Drexel team, as rising sophomore Max Bindle was killed when the bicycle he was riding struck the back of a vehicle.

SACRED HEART

Tanzi earns draft nod from MLL

As one of the final selections (No. 46 overall), Tony Tanzi wasn't on the road to superstardom, but for any player, simply hearing your name called at the MLL Draft is a pretty big honor. In a summer that Tanzi also earned a spot in the prestigious North-South All Star Game played prior to Championship Weekend at Harvard Stadium, the MLL Draft nod was a nice cherry for the Pioneers' stalwart.

VILLANOVA

All not well on the Main Line

Unfortunately, the same summer that saw arguably the most exciting news in Villanova Lacrosse history -- that administration had ponied up enough of a committment to earn a spot in the upcoming Big East roster -- the biggest other story was the departure of one of the most promising players on the Wildcats' roster. Instead of waiting for the program to grow around him, U-19 U.S. team player John Lade left Philly for Syracuse this offseason. (Follow-up story)


	Former Delaware player John Grant Jr. was name MLL MVP in 2008.


	Greg Raymond, who was a three-time captain at Johns Hopkins, joins the Drexel staff.