Adam Gardner was officially announced as Interim Head Men's Lacrosse Coach and successor to longtime head coach Andy Joly in August 2021.
Gardner, who served as the Spartans’ defensive coordinator from 2017-2021 while obtaining his Master of Science in Sport Management, is primed for the lead role. Paired with coaching at MBU, Gardner has served as an assistant coach at Lindbergh High School as well as a youth director and lead coach for St. Louis Samurai Lacrosse Club. At Lindbergh, Gardner coordinated the varsity defense and goaltending and earned MSLA Assistant Coach of the Year while helping direct the team to the 2018 Show-Me Cup. With St. Louis Samurai Lacrosse, Gardner led the 2025 team to a No. 1 ranking in the state of Missouri in 2020 by usclublax.com and has helped in growing the sport by overseeing program launches for 8U, 10U, 12U and 14U teams.
In addition to lacrosse, Gardner is a USA Hockey Level 4 Coach. Gardner has been a head coach for Portland Junior Hawks, senior team head coach and special advisor for KHL Sisak in Croatia, head coach for the Lindbergh High School Development Team, and assistant coach for the Chesterfield Falcons Hockey CSDHL 15U team.
Gardner obtained his Bachelor of Arts in Sociology from the University of Denver as well as a Master of Science in Sport Management in Missouri Baptist University.
What They're Saying About Coach Gardner...
“I am thrilled for Coach Gardner to join our staff as the Interim Head Men’s Lacrosse Coach. Adam will be a wonderful model of character and faith for our student-athletes. He is no stranger to collegiate lacrosse and I feel confident that he will continue the strong and winning tradition instilled by our former coach, Andy Joly. Adam has been heavily involved in lacrosse here in St. Louis which will no doubt factor into the continuous recruitment of local talent.” – MBU Associate Vice President & Director of Athletics Dr. Thomas Smith
