NEWARK, NJ—NJIT men's lacrosse head coach Travis Johnson named Brad Conlon and Brian Tironi as  assistant coaches for the Highlanders, who will play their first Division I varsity season in the Spring of 2015.
 
Conlon has coached in the college ranks since 2009, most recently having been an assistant coach at Princeton, which finished the 2014 season with a 7-6 record. Tironi, who played NCAA Division I lacrosse at the University of Massachusetts, comes to NJIT from the New Jersey high school scene, where he was an assistant coach for Group 1 state champion Mountain Lakes High School in 2014.
 
"I'm pleased and excited that both Brad and Brian will be a part of the building process here at NJIT," said Johnson in announcing his first coach staff as NJIT head coach. "I'm thrilled to be able to work every day with Brad and Brian."
 
Before his experience at Princeton, where he was assistant defensive coordinator and goaltending coach, Conlon coached at NCAA Division II Pfeiffer University in Misenheimer, NC, from 2010 until July 2013. During that time, the Falcons were a combined 36-16, including 13-4 in his final season. He was defensive coordinator and goaltending coach as an assistant at Pfeiffer and finished up his tenure with the program as Interim Head Coach at the start of the 2013 offseason before departing for Princeton.
 
Like NJIT's head coach, Travis Johnson, Conlon is a graduate of Rochester Institute of Technology and, also like Johnson, he began his coaching career at RIT. Conlon was an assistant coach with the RIT Tigers in the 2009 and 2010 seasons.
 
Since becoming a college coach in 2009, Brad Conlon has coached four All-Americans, 27 all-conference players, two Freshmen of the Year, three Defenders of the Year, and three Goalies of the Year.
 
Said Johnson: "Brad's background is a perfect fit for NJIT.  He is a young bright coach who will be able to correlate well with the type of student-athletes NJIT can attract."
 
Brian Tironi, who was a star athlete and later a coach in New Jersey high schools, still holds numerous football playing records at Mountain Lakes (NJ) High School.
 
Tironi has been a coach at Mountain Lakes in both football and boys lacrosse. The 2013 Mountain Lakes football team was undefeated NJ North 2 Group II champion, winning its fifth straight conference title. In 2014, the school's lacrosse team reached the semifinals of the NJSIAA Tournament of Champions after claiming the state Group 1 title and finishing 22-4.Tironi previously coached lacrosse at Glen Ridge (NJ) High School.
 
"Brian will be a great addition (to the coaching staff), as he is a New Jersey guy from one of the top lacrosse programs," said Coach Johnson of Tironi. "He is a great teacher of the game and that ability will help our team have continued growth every day."

(Front page photo courtesy of Mount St. Mary's University sports information)