Greg Raymond, whose maturity and work ethic made him a universally liked and respected member of the Princeton men's lacrosse program for three seasons, is returning to the team where he began his coaching career. Raymond will be joining the staff of new Princeton head coach Chris Bates. Raymond left Princeton before the start of the 2009 season to work with Bates at Drexel.

"Greg is one of the brightest young coaches in the game," says Bates. "He has wonderful experience as a player and leader at the highest levels of our game. As a coach, he has great knowledge and an ability to communicate and motivate both individuals and a defensive unit to perform at their best. With that said, Greg is an even better person and mentor to young men. He represents everything we want Princeton lacrosse to stand for now and in the future."

The 2010 Tigers will have 26 players whom Raymond has already coached and 14 others he helped recruit.

Raymond worked with the Princeton defense under Bill Tierney from 2006-08. The 2007 Tigers led Division I in scoring defense at 6.2 goals per game, and the 2006 team finished fifth in Division I. Raymond coached a first-team All-America goalie in Alex Hewit and a first-team All-America defenseman in Dan Cocoziello during his time with the Tigers.

He also handled much of the administration and worked extensively with the English national team during Princeton's trip to Spain and Ireland in 2008.

A 2005 graduate of Johns Hopkins, Raymond was part of the Blue Jay's NCAA championship team his senior year, when the team went 16-0 and won its first national title in 18 years. Raymond, a longstick midfielder, and the rest of the Hopkins defense shut out Duke for the last 27 minutes of the 9-8 win in the final.

Raymond, who grew up in Corning, N.Y., has played professionally in Major League Lacrosse.

2009-07-29