John Tillman

John C. Tillman (born c. 1970) is an American lacrosse coach. He is currently the head coach for the University of Maryland Terrapins men's lacrosse team. He previously served as the head coach at Harvard University and as an assistant coach at the Naval Academy and Ithaca College.

Early life A native of Corning, New York, Tillman served in the United States Navy as a fleet support officer. and with the Cornell Big Red in 1991. He graduated from the Cornell University School of Hotel Administration in 1991.

Tillman played professionally in the National Lacrosse League for the Baltimore Thunder from 1997 to 1999 and the Washington Power in 2000. He also played at the amateur level for the Toyota Lacrosse Club, which won five consecutive Southern Division Championships and a world championship in 2000.

Coaching career After graduating from college, Tillman worked as an assistant coach at Ithaca College from 1992 to 1995.

Harvard In September 2007, Harvard University hired Tillman as the Crimson's head coach. That year, the Crimson improved to an 8–5 record, including 3–3 in the Ivy League. He finished his tenure at Harvard with a 20–19 record.

Maryland On June 15, 2010, Inside Lacrosse and The Baltimore Sun reported that the University of Maryland had hired Tillman to replace former head coach Dave Cottle. He was signed to a seven-year contract with a base salary of $150,000 per annum. Rather than overhaul the team, Tillman made minor adjustments to terminology and refocused the defensive scheme from man-to-man match-ups to team containment. During the postseason, Tillman remained in contact with his two predecessors at Maryland. He discussed his players and their personalities with former coach Dave Cottle, whom he invited to address the team after the regular season in which they lost to four underdog opponents.

After the season, Navy expressed interest in hiring Tillman as replacement for retired head coach Richie Meade, but he elected to remain at Maryland.

Personal life He is the brother of Mac and Tim Tillman. He is a practicing Catholic, and entered fully into the Church on April 12th, 2026.

Head coaching record