Michael Phipps is in his second stint serving as an assistant coach at Navy (2015-17) and first under head coach Joe Amplo. Phipps serves as the Mids’ offensive coordinator.
In Phipps’ first season back in Annapolis, he was faced with mounting injuries to several starters, including All-American midfielder Patrick Skalniak who missed 9 games due to a fracture to his spine, and fellow midfielder Dane Swanson who broke his foot for a second time in three seasons. Phipps did yeoman’s work in shuffling lineups (10 in 16 games) and mentoring several young players along the way.
Max Hewitt (Jr/M) emerged the leader of the offense, as the 2023 Honorable Mention All-American paced the team with 36 points on 24 goals and 12 assists. Despite nursing a season-long injury, he became only the eighth different midfielder in program history to score 30 points multiple times in a career (36 points in 2023, 32 points in 2022).
Meanwhile, Navy’s attack line scored 60 goals and added 32 assists. Xavier Arline split his time with football, while Mac Haley overcame inexperience as a freshman to serve as the team’s second and third-leading scorers with 33 (17G, 16A) and 30 (16G, 14A) points respectively. Henry Tolker (So/A), meanwhile, was the team’s finisher, scoring a team-high 27 goals.
A starter in 15 of the 16 contests, Haley closed out his rookie campaign ranked among the top 10 in points (30) and assists (14) by a Navy freshman. He is just the 15th freshman in program history to score 30 points in a season and his 14 assists were the most by a Navy freshman since Tucker Hull and Sam Jones dealt out 15 apiece in 2011.
Phipps served his first stint in Annapolis as an assistant coach from 2015-17 under Rick Sowell. He helped guide Navy to a share of the Patriot League regular-season title in both 2015 and ‘16, while leading the Mids to the 2016 NCAA Quarterfinals. In 2017, the Mids averaged 15.21 points per game which at the time was the program’s best average since the 2007 campaign. Under his tutelage, 2016 team captain Patrick Keena scored 55 points (24G, 31A) to become the first Navy player to reach the 50-point milestone since Jon Birsner in 2006. Keena, meanwhile, is the last player to achieve that feat. That same season, midfielder Casey Rees garnered Honorable Mention All-America honors after producing 37 points on a team-best 34 goals and 3 assists. It’s the most goals by a Navy player since the Mids’ 2004 NCAA Tournament run when Joe Bossi led the team with 44 and Ian Dingman tallied 36 and the third-most goals by a midfielder in program history.
Phipps moved on from Navy to Georgetown (2018-22) where in five seasons, eight of Phipps’ offensive players accounted for a combined 11 All-America citations while also setting multiple school records. Additionally, Phipps helped lead the Hoyas to back-to-back BIG EAST regular-season titles (2021, ‘22), four BIG EAST Tournament crowns (2018, ‘19, ‘21, ‘22) and four NCAA Tournament appearances (2018, ‘19, ‘21, ‘22).
Phipps’ arrival on the Hilltop paid immediate dividends for the Hoyas in the national statistics, as they were ranked among the top 10 in scoring offense in three of his last four years. Meanwhile, Georgetown was ranked among the top 10 in points per game and assists per game in each of his last four seasons.
Anchored by First-Team All-American midfielder Graham Bundy Jr., Georgetown’s offense was among the nation’s elite in 2022 as the Hoyas were one of only five programs to average 15 or more goals on the year (15.06). Five players scored 25 or more goals, three players dealt out 25 or more assists and six players totaled 35 or more points, as the Hoyas were ranked sixth nationally in points per game (23.71) and seventh in assists per game (8.65). Bundy Jr., who was named the 2022 BIG EAST Midfielder of the Year and the BIG EAST Tournament Most Outstanding Player, set a program record for most points by a midfielder by pacing the team with 70 points (45G, 25A). Attackman Dylan Watson (58G, 6A) and midfielder Alex Trippi (27G, 25A) both garnered Honorable Mention All-America honors with Watson closing out the year ranked fourth nationally in goals per game (3.41) and falling just three goals shy of the Georgetown single-season record.
Phipps was promoted to Associate Head Coach ahead of the 2021 campaign where the Hoyas were ranked third in the NCAA with 9.56 assist per game, fourth in scoring margin (+4.81) and seventh in points per game (22.69). Two-time All-American Jake Carraway broke Georgetown’s all-time points and goals records, en route to a Tewaaraton Finalist campaign, while TJ Haley led the NCAA in assists with 49 (3.27 apg) and was named the BIG EAST Freshman of the Year.
During the COVID-19 shortened 2020 season, Phipps’ offense averaged 16.5 goals per game and 9.83 assists per game to rank seventh in the NCAA in both categories. The Hoyas led the nation in scoring margin at dominant +10.17 clip and his man-up offense scored at a .692 rate – second best in the country. Carraway became just the third player in program history to eclipse 200 career points, while he and fellow attackman Dylan Watson each averaged 3.83 goals per game to rank ninth among all Division I players.
In 2019, the Hoyas tallied 254 goals on the season and scored in double-digits in 16 of 18 games. Daniel Bucaro broke the single season (61) and career goal records (153) while Carraway tied the single season points record with 88 (57G, 31A). Both were named USILA All-Americans, along with Lucas Wittenberg with 60 points (23G, 37A). Bucaro was named the BIG EAST Attack Player of the Year, while Carraway and Wittenberg were both tabbed First Team All-BIG EAST. Additionally, Wittenberg set the Georgetown single-game assists record with eight in the semifinals of the BIG EAST Championship.
In 2018, Phipps guided an offense that produced four different 20/20 players for the first time in program history. Carraway (44G, 20A) and Bucaro (34G, 21A) put their marks in the single-season record books while Bucaro and Craig Berge (23G, 24A) garnered USILA All-America honors.
Phipps served as an assistant coach at High Point from 2012-14. In addition to his offensive duties, Phipps also helped develop the Panthers goalies and guided Austin Geisler to finish the 2014 season ranked second nationally in saves per game (13.63) and fifth in save percentage (59.2). High Point won a share of the Atlantic Sun Conference regular season championship during his final season at HPU.
Phipps also spent two seasons as the offensive coordinator at Severn School and in 2008 served as the Director of Lacrosse Operations at his alma mater.
A 2007 graduate of the University of Maryland, Phipps was a three-year starter on attack for the Terrapins and garnered Honorable Mention All-America honors as a senior. He amassed 95 points (48G, 47A) over the course of his career, including a team-high 50 points and 28 goals his senior year. He was the recipient of the Van Trump Award as a senior, honoring the team’s best attackman. Phipps would go on to play professionally in Major League Lacrosse from 2008-10 with the Los Angeles Riptide and Chesapeake Bayhawks.
Phipps and his wife, Maggie, reside in Annapolis with their daughters Finley and Emmy.
The Phipps family name is not only a familiar one in the lacrosse circles, it’s one that has seen three generations coach at the Naval Academy. Michael’s grandfather, Buster Phipps, was an All-American lacrosse player at Maryland and played football under Paul “Bear” Bryant. He went on to serve as an assistant lacrosse coach at Navy under the legendary Willis Bilderback from 1959-72. He helped lead Navy to nine USILA National Championships, including eight straight from 1960-67. During that legendary run, the Mids put together an impressive 79-8 record that featured back-to-back undefeated seasons in 1964 and ‘65.
Michael’s father, Wilson, was a member of Maryland’s 1975 men’s lacrosse NCAA Championship team, who went on to serve as an assistant coach at Navy under Dick Szlasa and Bryan Matthews from 1982-85.
