High School

Severn's Cole Gray commits to the winning lacrosse tradition at Lynchburg

Gray will play for veteran head coach Steve Koudelka in what of the winningest mens lacrosse programs in the Old Dominion Conference

Al Franyo

Severn defenseman Cole Gray has committed to play his college lacrosse for the Division III Lynchburg Hornets.
Severn defenseman Cole Gray has committed to play his college lacrosse for the Division III Lynchburg Hornets. / Cole Gray

Lately, several MIAA lacrosse players have committed to Division III college programs which not only have had a lot of recent success, but which are led by head coaches with long tenures with their current programs. One of those student-athletes is 2026 Severn defenseman Cole Gray, who has decided to take his talents to the the Lynchburg Hornets in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference. He will play for Coach Steve Koudelka. 

To say Coach Koudelka has been a winner at the university located in the Virginia town with the same name and built a program pretty much from scratch is an understatement. Koudelka, now in his 29th season as his program's top face, has well over three hundred victories and has led Lynchburg to 10 ODAC Tournament titles and 17 appearances in the NCAA Tournament. When it comes to the latter, the Hornets have made the last twelve postseasons, and right now, their hopes for another return are very much alive. In addition, Koudelka and his teams have had several deep runs in the NCAA Tournament.

The highlight was for Lynchburg was its showing in the 2015 Division III Championship. The Hornets have won a double-digit number of games most years under Koudelka. With their conference triumph this past weekend over Bridgewater, he and the Hornets clinched their 21st consecutive season with a double-digit number of wins. 

As for why Gray selected Lynchburg, he said, " I chose Lynchburg for the outstanding culture and competitive environment within the lacrosse program and school. The campus is beautiful and is full of great people, and the winning mindset of the team is great. The impressive accolades of Coach Koudelka foster a positive team chemistry, creating success for the team and myself in the future. I am very excited about my commitment to the University of Lynchburg, and I am looking forward to what the future holds!"

Many congratulations to Cole Gray and his family.

He will be a part of a pure winning program that has lots of past success, is currently doing quite well, and for which the future is definitely bright. Could Lynchburg take that next step with a national title during his time there? Yes. While Gray will have a chance to be a part of continuing a victorious tradition under a legendary coach at the collegiate level, right now, he has the opportunity to be one of the "pioneers" in getting the run for first-year Severn lacrosse coach Keegan Wilkinson going strong. Best of luck to him.

Published
Al Franyo
AL FRANYO

Al Franyo has been a die-hard fan and follower of lacrosse, especially at the high school and college levels, since the late-80s. He absolutely loves watching games, as well as talking and writing about the sport. On Facebook, he founded the College Lacrosse Discussion Page, which has well over 15,000 members, and helped found and runs the MIAA Lacrosse Discussion Page, which has nearly 5,000 members. The MIAA A Conference is one of the strongest, most competitive and exciting high school conferences in America. Three of his favorite topics include recruiting news about players making college commitments, programs taking the next steps under their respective head coaches, and programs that are so-called "sleepers" when it comes to being very good to great. Even with lacrosse growing at such a rapid pace, Franyo loves how it is still such a small, tight, and fun world. And, in many ways, it is its own culture. He began writing about his favorite sport for High School On SI in 2024. Twitter: @alfranyo

Home/Maryland