UMass men's lacrosse head coach Greg Cannella announced the hiring of Brian Jacovina as assistant coach on Sept 14, 2011. The former UMass star was most recently an assistant at Rutgers and spent four seasons at St. John's prior to that. Jacovina fills the vacancy left when four-year assistant coach Kevin Burns was named head coach at Bellarmine University on Aug. 16, 2011.

"We are very excited to have Brian back here coaching," Cannella said. "As a player Brian exemplified toughness, intelligence, tremendous skill and class - everything you want in a player. I have no doubt Brian will bring those characteristics, along with his great knowledge of the game and other intangibles, each and every day while coaching our players here at UMass. I could not be happier for the program and we will all benefit from his return."

Jacovina most recently was at Rutgers as an assistant coach throughout the summer of 2011, serving as the offensive coordinator and recruiting coordinator with the Scarlet Knights under head coach Brian Brecht.

"I am thrilled to be part of the UMass lacrosse staff," Jacovina said. "I had the honor of playing four years under Coach Cannella and was a teammate of Coach Schneider for two years. Now I look forward to the opportunity of working with them and the great group of men on this team. It has always been a dream of mine to coach at my alma mater and I would like to thank Coach John Miller (St. John's) and Coach Brian Brecht (Rutgers) for all the guidance and help I have received from them."

Jacovina served as assistant coach at St. John's for the 2008-11 seasons under head coach Jason Miller. Guiding the goalies and midfielders, Jacovina gained valuable experience coaching on both the offensive and defensive ends of the field.

While at St. John's, the team showed steady improvement offensively in his four seasons, averaging a high of 8.36 goals per contest in 2011.

While with the Red Storm, Jacovina also served as the program's video coordinator, travel coordinator, and assistant recruiting coordinator.

Jacovina was the Denver Outlaws' 2007 first round Major League Lacrosse Supplemental Draft selection. He began the 2008 season with Denver before being picked up by the Boston Cannons for the remainder of the campaign.

Jacovina has coached at numerous lacrosse camps throughout his time involved with the sport, including the Mid-Summer Classic (2007-10), Rutgers MVP Lacrosse Camp (2010), Peak 200 Lacrosse Camp (2005-10) and UMass head coach Greg Cannella's All-Star Camp (2005-06).

A terrific two-way midfielder in his four years as a Minuteman, Jacovina was a three-time All-New England selection. He took home New England Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association Eighth Division I All-New England Senior Scholar Athlete honors as well as Face-Off Magazine Preseason Third Team All-America.

Jacovina finished his UMass career with 84 points on 30 goals and 54 assists and collected 94 ground balls over 60 games. A consistent offensive threat, Jacovina record 26 total points in his sophomore and junior seasons before securing 24 as a senior.

A four-year letterwinner at Holy Trinity High School, the Hicksville, N.Y., native tallied a remarkable 139 points on 42 goals and 97 assists as a senior and finished his career with a school-record 404 points. Jacovina was named NSCHSAA All-Long Island in each of his four years and was the Long Island Player of the Year in 2003. The 2002 Wendy's High School Heisman nominee also excelled in football and basketball during his scholastic career.

Jacovina graduated from the University of Massachusetts in 2007 with a degree in sport management.