Hope College’s Michael Schanhals selected as MIAA Men’s Lacrosse Coach of the Year

Hope College’s Michael Schanhals ’91 has been chosen as the 2024 MIAA Men’s Lacrosse Coach of the Year.

The award is voted on by league coaches and based on the achievements of their colleagues during both regular-season and postseason competition.

Schanhals led the Flying Dutchmen to the fourth MIAA regular-season championship in program history and back-to-back MIAA Tournament titles this season.

Hope finished with a 13-4 overall record this season, including a 6-0 mark in MIAA play. 

The Flying Dutchmen also defeated two league opponents during the MIAA Tournament. Hope competed in the second round of the NCAA Division III Tournament.

“This honor is for our team that has worked so hard,” Schanhals told the MIAA. “We are grateful for the support of our athletic administration and Coach Chris Scheldt, Coach Nick Schanhals, Coach Pablo Peschiera, Tonia Gruppen, Jacalynn Pawloski, Dan Smith, and our Director of Operations Rachel Wozniak. The MIAA is full of outstanding coaches, and I am appreciative of working with them.”

Under the leadership of Michael Schanhals, nine Flying Dutchmen were selected to 2024 All-MIAA Teams, including 2024 MIAA Offensive Player of the Year–and four-time All-MIAA honoree–senior attacker Michael Mann, along with the 2024 MIAA Rookie of the Year, freshman attacker Gibson Heethuis.

In his 13 seasons, Schanhals has guided the Flying Dutchmen to four NCAA Division III Tournament appearances, four regular-season MIAA titles and double-digit wins seven times, including a team-record 15 wins in both 2022 and 2018.