Central Michigan University Athletics
Joseph Manna Named Central Michigan’s Head Lacrosse Coach
7/31/2026 7:06:00 PM | Lacrosse
The orchestrator of an instant-success startup program on the West Coast is named the third head coach in program history
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. – Joseph Manna has been named the third head women's lacrosse coach at Central Michigan University, Zyzelewski Family Vice President/Director of Athletics Amy Folan announced on Friday.
"We are excited to welcome Joseph Manna to Mount Pleasant to lead our lacrosse program," Folan said. "Joseph brings invaluable experience at both the NCAA Division I and II levels. His success with the student-athlete experience at Dominican, work with the Haudenosaunee National Team, a Native American national team, and his Midwest regional ties while coaching and recruiting at Detroit Mercy were all valuable leadership elements. With those experiences, we are confident that Joseph can develop a program that our entire community can take pride in."
Manna arrives in Mount Pleasant after a five-year stint as head coach at NCAA Division II Dominican University (CA), where he established himself as a program builder as the inaugural coach of the Penguins' program. He established the university as a pioneer in collegiate women's lacrosse as the first NCAA Division II program on the West Coast.
"I am incredibly honored and excited to lead the Central Michigan women's lacrosse program," Manna said. "We are going to build a culture of relentless effort, accountability and excellence both on the field and in the classroom. I can't wait to get to work with this group.
"I am grateful to President MacKinnon, Amy [Folan] and Zach [Lowe] for their efforts in the interview process and for seeing my potential and vision as a head coach for this program. I also would like to thank Dominican, both the university and its administration, for allowing me to build their program and my career."
Under Manna's leadership, Dominican has appeared in back-to-back conference title games in the Mountain East Conference (2025, 2026) and amassed a 39-15 record through its first four seasons as a program. Manna built Dominican's program from scratch with four high school all-Americans in a 25-player first recruiting class and burst on the scene with a 13-1 record and a No. 18 final ranking in the WLCA in 2023. The Penguins posted double-digit win seasons in 2025 and 2026 after the program transitioned to NCAA Division II in 2024.
"Central Michigan has a program with a rich history, but also untapped potential for the future," Manna said. "I believe it's a well-resourced program that can compete at the highest level."
The Chippewas won a total of four Mid-American Conference championships from 2022-24 between regular season and tournaments, resulting in back-to-back NCAA tournament berths in 2022 and 2023. The program has had 47 all-conference selections in its 11 seasons, including five conference Player of the Year honorees.
Manna was on the coaching staff of the Haudenosaunee (pronounced "haw-den-uh-sho-nee") National Team for the 2022 World Championships and 2022 World Games that upset Scotland, the world's fifth-ranked unit, for the program's first-ever win over a Pool A squad en route to an eighth-place finish in the tournament.
Before Dominican, Manna made a pair of stops in the NCAA I realm on staff for the final season of Furman's men's lacrosse program (2019-20) and as a graduate assistant for both the men's and women's programs at Detroit Mercy (2020-21). With the Titans, Manna simultaneously coached the nation's 11th-ranked faceoff unit on the men's side and produced a standing-record 24-goal outing in MAC play against Youngstown State in 2021.
The Levittown, N.Y.-native remains SUNY Delhi's single-season record holder in faceoff percentage and was an integral part of the Broncos' first-ever NJCAA national tournament appearance with a 14-4 overall record and a victory over the second-ranked team in the nation. After graduation in 2015, he returned for the first two seasons of his collegiate coaching career as a volunteer in 2016.
THE MANNA FILE
Birthdate: December 18, 1992
Hometown: Levittown, N.Y.
Family: Courtney (Wife), Orrick Oisin "Ori"
Education
SUNY Delhi, 2015
Collegiate Coaching Career (Women's unless otherwise denoted)
Head Coach, Central Michigan University, July 31, 2026-current
Head Coach, Dominican University (CA), July 2021-2026
Graduate Assistant Coach, Detroit Mercy (men's and women's), May 2020-June 2021
Volunteer Assistant Coach, Furman (men's), 2019-2020
Volunteer Assistant Coach, SUNY Delhi (men's), 2016-18
Other Notable Positions
Regional Director of Operations, Alliance NorCal Lacrosse, Dec. 2024-July 2026
Assistant Coach, Haudenosaunee National Team, June 2021-Jan. 2023
Playing Career
Allegany Arrows, CAN-AM Lacrosse League, 2016-18
SUNY Delhi Broncos, NJCAA Region III, 2014-15
Coaching Accomplishments
Inaugural head coach for Dominican University, first NCAA II women's lacrosse program on the west coast
Back-to-back conference title game appearances for Dominican in first two seasons in Mountain East
Produced 39-15 record in first four seasons in Dominican's program history
Successfully guided young Dominican University program in transition to NCAA II
Led Dominican to one of the nation's best defenses statistically in 2025
Dominican's inaugural season led to 13-1 record and No. 18 national ranking in WLCA
"We are excited to welcome Joseph Manna to Mount Pleasant to lead our lacrosse program," Folan said. "Joseph brings invaluable experience at both the NCAA Division I and II levels. His success with the student-athlete experience at Dominican, work with the Haudenosaunee National Team, a Native American national team, and his Midwest regional ties while coaching and recruiting at Detroit Mercy were all valuable leadership elements. With those experiences, we are confident that Joseph can develop a program that our entire community can take pride in."
Manna arrives in Mount Pleasant after a five-year stint as head coach at NCAA Division II Dominican University (CA), where he established himself as a program builder as the inaugural coach of the Penguins' program. He established the university as a pioneer in collegiate women's lacrosse as the first NCAA Division II program on the West Coast.
"I am incredibly honored and excited to lead the Central Michigan women's lacrosse program," Manna said. "We are going to build a culture of relentless effort, accountability and excellence both on the field and in the classroom. I can't wait to get to work with this group.
"I am grateful to President MacKinnon, Amy [Folan] and Zach [Lowe] for their efforts in the interview process and for seeing my potential and vision as a head coach for this program. I also would like to thank Dominican, both the university and its administration, for allowing me to build their program and my career."
Under Manna's leadership, Dominican has appeared in back-to-back conference title games in the Mountain East Conference (2025, 2026) and amassed a 39-15 record through its first four seasons as a program. Manna built Dominican's program from scratch with four high school all-Americans in a 25-player first recruiting class and burst on the scene with a 13-1 record and a No. 18 final ranking in the WLCA in 2023. The Penguins posted double-digit win seasons in 2025 and 2026 after the program transitioned to NCAA Division II in 2024.
"Central Michigan has a program with a rich history, but also untapped potential for the future," Manna said. "I believe it's a well-resourced program that can compete at the highest level."
The Chippewas won a total of four Mid-American Conference championships from 2022-24 between regular season and tournaments, resulting in back-to-back NCAA tournament berths in 2022 and 2023. The program has had 47 all-conference selections in its 11 seasons, including five conference Player of the Year honorees.
Manna was on the coaching staff of the Haudenosaunee (pronounced "haw-den-uh-sho-nee") National Team for the 2022 World Championships and 2022 World Games that upset Scotland, the world's fifth-ranked unit, for the program's first-ever win over a Pool A squad en route to an eighth-place finish in the tournament.
Before Dominican, Manna made a pair of stops in the NCAA I realm on staff for the final season of Furman's men's lacrosse program (2019-20) and as a graduate assistant for both the men's and women's programs at Detroit Mercy (2020-21). With the Titans, Manna simultaneously coached the nation's 11th-ranked faceoff unit on the men's side and produced a standing-record 24-goal outing in MAC play against Youngstown State in 2021.
The Levittown, N.Y.-native remains SUNY Delhi's single-season record holder in faceoff percentage and was an integral part of the Broncos' first-ever NJCAA national tournament appearance with a 14-4 overall record and a victory over the second-ranked team in the nation. After graduation in 2015, he returned for the first two seasons of his collegiate coaching career as a volunteer in 2016.
THE MANNA FILE
Birthdate: December 18, 1992
Hometown: Levittown, N.Y.
Family: Courtney (Wife), Orrick Oisin "Ori"
Education
SUNY Delhi, 2015
Collegiate Coaching Career (Women's unless otherwise denoted)
Head Coach, Central Michigan University, July 31, 2026-current
Head Coach, Dominican University (CA), July 2021-2026
Graduate Assistant Coach, Detroit Mercy (men's and women's), May 2020-June 2021
Volunteer Assistant Coach, Furman (men's), 2019-2020
Volunteer Assistant Coach, SUNY Delhi (men's), 2016-18
Other Notable Positions
Regional Director of Operations, Alliance NorCal Lacrosse, Dec. 2024-July 2026
Assistant Coach, Haudenosaunee National Team, June 2021-Jan. 2023
Playing Career
Allegany Arrows, CAN-AM Lacrosse League, 2016-18
SUNY Delhi Broncos, NJCAA Region III, 2014-15
Coaching Accomplishments
Inaugural head coach for Dominican University, first NCAA II women's lacrosse program on the west coast
Back-to-back conference title game appearances for Dominican in first two seasons in Mountain East
Produced 39-15 record in first four seasons in Dominican's program history
Successfully guided young Dominican University program in transition to NCAA II
Led Dominican to one of the nation's best defenses statistically in 2025
Dominican's inaugural season led to 13-1 record and No. 18 national ranking in WLCA
Saturday, April 25
Monday, April 06
Tuesday, March 31
Saturday, March 28