Staff

Coaching Staff

Matt Blamey

Head Coach

Coach Blamey was named Head Coach for the University of Arizona Men’s Program in June 2017. In only his second season with Arizona, Blamey was named Southwestern Lacrosse Conference's Division 1 Coach of the Year. Under his tenure, the Wildcats qualified for the 2022 MCLA National Tournament in Round Rock, TX. During the following 2023 season Arizona achieved a program high ranking of #5 in the country in the New Balance weekly national poll.

Previous to Arizona, Blamey headed up the team at Sierra Nevada College Men’s Lacrosse Program in Lake Tahoe. In his two seasons at SNC the Eagles finished with a combined record of 24-7, capturing two consecutive WCLL Championships. In 2017 Sierra Nevada achieved its highest national ranking ever as the No. 3 seed heading into the MCLA National Championship Tournament.

Prior to SNC Blamey served as Head Men’s Lacrosse Coach for Dominican University in San Rafael, CA. After a successful inaugural MCLA season with Dominican in 2015, Coach Blamey was named the WCLL Division 1 Coach of the Year. He also served as Defensive Coordinator at Sonoma State University for two years before Dominican.

Blamey was the founder and head coach of the Northern Virginia Community College Men’s Lacrosse Program (NOVA), the first NJCAA lacrosse program in the state. He also spent seven years as the Head Coach at South Lakes High School in Reston, VA., during which time he was recognized twice as the Liberty District Coach of the Year.

Growing up playing defense in Northern Virginia, Blamey earned multiple MVP honors as Captain for Gar-Field High School. A four-year varsity starter, he was selected First Team All-Conference three of those years, and was a two-time Virginia Commonwealth Games starter and an All-Met nominee his senior year. After graduating in 1996, he continued his playing career as a defender with the University of Mary Washington (NCAA D3) in Fredericksburg, VA.

Show less

Ryan Van Wert

Defensive Coordinator

Entering his second year on staff, Coach Van Wert has been promoted to the role of Defensive Coordinator for 2024. Van Wert had a stand-out playing career as a team captain, president and defensive midfielder for the University of Arizona.

A native of Spokane, WA, Coach Van Wert attended Mt. Spokane High School. While being a 2 year captain he received All-Section and All-League Honors as a Long Pole Defender. He also played club lacrosse for Lilac City and received All-Conference Honors.

Coach Van Wert resides in Tucson Arizona where he is a teacher at Amphitheater high school. He also spends his time coaching both the football and wrestling teams at the high school.

Show less

Connor Griffin

Offensive Assistant

Coach Griffin joins the Arizona Staff after completing his playing career in 2022 with the University of South Carolina. In his one year at USC as a graduate student he was an integral part of a national championship winning team at the midfield position where he earned 1st Team All-SELC and 1st Team All-America honors. Connor was also named the SELC Tournament MVP as well as named to the MCLA National Championship All-Tournament Team.

Prior to South Carolina he was a four year member of the NCAA Division III lacrosse team at SUNY Geneseo where he was a team captain in his junior and senior seasons. In his senior season at SUNY Geneseo he earned 1st Team All-SUNYAC and All-Region Honorable Mention honors. Connor grew up on Long Island where he was a standout student-athlete. He currently resides in Tucson, AZ.

Show less

Brandon Neff

Faceoff Coordinator

Coach Neff joins the staff to take Arizona's faceoff unit to the next level. Neff is an accomplished coach and athlete who most recently served as assistant coach for his alma mater, Desert Vista High School in Phoenix. Neff is currently a coach and director for Faceoff Academy Arizona and former coach with Hot Sauce Lacrosse.

Coach Neff is an accomplished player in his own right, having been a 3-year starter for Manhattanville College (NCAA DIII) in Harrison, NY. He has over 300+ career faceoffs taken and in his 2017 collegiate season maintained a 63% win percentage.

Off the field Coach Neff was named 4x to the MAC Freedom honor roll and to the All-ECAC President's honor roll in 2018. He earned a double major in chemistry & physics and is currently a PhD candidate.

Show less

Mike Francois

Strength & Conditioning Coordinator

Coach Francois is a native of Colorado where he was a two-sport athlete in hockey and lacrosse. After high school he moved to British Columbia to play junior hockey. Post hockey, Francois transitioned into the coaching world where he attained his bachelors in kinesiology: Human Performance & Sport from Metropolitan State University in Denver. Francois completed his internship at the Steadman Hawkins Sports Performance clinic where he developed the skills and techniques necessary to prepare high level athletes for their respective sports.

Coach Francois holds many professional certifications that range from strength & conditioning, long-term athletic development, to KT taping. Having experienced the trials and tribulations of an athletic career, along with a multitude of sports injuries; He has built a fully comprehensive strength & conditioning approach centered around specific injury prevention, pre-habilitation, and performance. Coach Francois currently lives in Marana with his wife Tyra and 4 bullies

Show less

Hank Bolon

Volunteer Assistant

Coach Hank Bolon is entering his fifth season with the Wildcat offense. The former offensive coordinator for the Wildcats had to pair down his staff position due to time commitments with his full time job. His dedication to the program is evident having volunteered to continue with the program for the past several years.

Bolon grew up in Chapel Hill, NC where he excelled at midfield for perrenial contender Chapel Hill High School. Bolon had a stellar career with the Tigers and was elected as team captain during his senior season. After high school Coach Bolon competed collegiately at NCAA DIII Illinois Weslyan University. Once graduating from IWU, Bolon accepted a career position in Tucson, AZ. Prior to joining the staff at UofA, Coach Bolon coordinated the offense at Mountain View High School.

Show less

Drew Leisten

Head Coach (D2)

Coach Drew Leisten grew up in Eagle, ID where he was a 4-year varsity starter for Eagle High School. After graduation he continued his competitive career playing collegiality at Boise State University.

Leisten began his coaching career at Mountain View High School in Meridian, ID. He then transitioned to the collegiate coaching ranks moving on to Northwest Nazarene University where he served for two seasons as offensive coordinator for the Nighthawks. Leisten also serves as an active lacrosse coach for nationally renown club True Lacrosse during the off-season.

Show less

Josh Garcia

Offensive Coordinator (D2)

Coach Garcia is an alum of the University of Arizona men's lacrosse program. He had a standout career with the Wildcats playing both attack and midfield. Garcia has always been known as having the best stick on the team.

Prior to Arizona, Garcia grew up in Petaluma, CA where he excelled on the lacrosse field for Casa Grande High School. He was a 4-year varsity starter and team captain for the Gauchos. He was a 3-time All-Conference player and amassed over 350 career points. During the off-season he coached for 101 Lacrosse in Northern California.

Show less

Tommy Atella

Defensive Coordinator (D2)

Coach Atella is an alum of the University of Arizona program where he served as the starting goalie for his junior and senior seasons. He was named SLC All-Conference as well as twice being named the Warrior Goalie of the Week.

Prior to transferring to Arizona, Atella was a two-sport athlete in lacrosse and football at Carroll University (NCAA D3) in Wisconsin. He has extensive experience as a private goalie coach as well as serving as the Defensive Coordinator for the Oro Valley High School program. He currently lives in Tucson and works for the Sonoran Desert Research Learning Center.

Show less

Media Team

Joshua DeGuzman

Media Coordinator

Joshua joins the program as the media coordinator, shooting video content for the Wildcat program to document the season and highlight the action of the games.

Originally from Austin, Texas; he played midfield for the Bowie High School Bulldogs during the earlier years of Texas lacrosse. He is an alumni of Fort Lewis College in Durango, Colorado with a Marketing degree. As a Skyhawk he played midfield and served as the team’s vice president and two year captain.

Working in the real estate industry and with a passion for travel and the outdoors; he became pretty handy shooting content for social media.

Show less

Asher Goldblatt

Photographer

Asher is a current student at the University of Arizona and experienced sports photographer. He joined the program in 2023 and will be capturing special moments of your Wildcats in action.