Spalding’s Zach Gutierrez Commits to UMBC, Following Family and MIAA Footsteps

Another Cavalier heads to Catonsville as Archbishop Spalding’s deep connection with UMBC grows, returning a familiar last name to the Retrievers’ attack.

Archbishop Spalding's Zach Gutierrez has commited to ply his college lacrosse at UMBC. / Zach Gutierrez

As has been the case for years, there are currently many college lacrosse programs which have very solid recruiting pipelines with the MIAA, and have been quite successful because of it.

That said, the player in the spotlight right now is keeping that trend going strong.

UMBC Has a Strong Pipeline with Archbishop Spalding

For the second consecutive commitment announcement here, we feature a student-athlete who is headed to an institution in the University of Maryland system and will play his college ball for a head coach who was once an assistant at Navy. Not long before Christmas, 2027 Archbishop Spalding attackman Zach Gutierrez announced that he committed to the UMBC Retrievers and Coach Ryan Moran.

Coach Moran Now Has Four Former Cavaliers on His 2026 Roster

To show the strength of the pipeline between Spalding and UMBC, four former Cavaliers are on Coach Moran's 2026 roster. That includes Zach's older brother, Nick Gutierrez (a senior midfielder). In addition, fellow 2027 Cavalier Carson Blair (midfielder) will be a Retriever as well for his next scholastic lacrosse stop.

Navy's Coaching Tree Contiues Succeed

Moran, as mentioned above, is part of Navy's impressive coaching tree. He worked for Coach Richie Meade from 2006-2008. The Midshipmen did well during his run there, as they won two Patriot League titles and appeared in the postseason each of those three seasons. And, ironically, Moran followed that gig with stints on the staffs of two other former Navy assistants. He spent six years working under Coach John Tillman at Maryland, and he followed that with two seasons on Loyola coach Charley Toomey's staff.

A Decade of Success at UMBC

Heading to more recent times, Moran joins the list of college coaches now in double-digits for the amount of years leading a single program. He is about to start his tenth season as the main lacrosse face for UMBC. Throughout Moran's first nine years, the Retrievers had some successful seasons and moments. That includes multiple appearances in the America East Tournament. And, in 2019, UMBC reached their peak so far in his era by winning the conference tournament and beating Marist in an NCAA Tournament Play-In game. With several key players returning from a year ago, along with a bunch of solid newcomers, could the Retrievers and Moran surprise in 2026? 

Building on a Family Legacy

Gutierrez says he chose UMBC, primarily, because of his familiarity with many of the current players on the roser. In addition, he is looking forward to staying close to home and playing for a Division I Lacrosse program where his family can attend most of his games. Most importantly, he looks forward to playing with his brother Nick and building on the family lacrosse legacy.

Many congratulations and best of luck to Zach Gutierrez.