Gill Conners was named to the St. Bonaventure men's lacrosse coaching staff in September 2018 and enters his fifth season with the program in 2022-23. He was elevated to the role of Associate Head Coach in July 2022.
Conners serves as St. Bonaventure's Offensive Coordinator, working with a talented unit that showed great improvement during the 2021 season as the Bonnies reached the MAAC semifinals. Sophomore Jake Rosa led the league in scoring and was named the program's first MAAC Offensive Player of the Year after scoring 17 goals and adding 22 assists for a MAAC-best 39 points in the 10-game season. Midfielder Austin Blumbergs also picked up MAAC First Team All-Conference accolades after posting 15 goals. Sean Westley finished the year as the MAAC's top goal-scorer, posting 23 goals during the season.Â
Conners' offense continued to improve in 2022, ranking atop the MAAC at nearly 11 goals per game as the Bonnies won 11 games and reached the MAAC Championship Game. Westley captured MAAC Co-Offensive Player of the Year honors after leading the league in scoring and surpassing 100 career points while Jackson Rose set the school record and led all MAAC players with 40 goals to earn all-conference honors as well. In addition, Rosa and Blumbergs were named All-MAAC while standing among the league's offensive leaders.
A goalie during his collegiate career, Conners has also served as Bona's goalies coach and helped Brett Dobson to MAAC Defensive Player of the Year honors while leading the nation in save percentage in both 2021 and 2022 before being selected in the 2022 PLL Draft.
Conners joined St. Bonaventure after working the previous three years at MAACÂ member Siena College. At Siena, Conners worked as an assistant coach assisting with the development of defensive and goalie units. Along with his game day and player development duties, he was also responsible for organizing team travel arrangements as well as the Saints' camps.
Prior to his time in Albany, Conners began his collegiate coaching career with a season at Brown University where he was a volunteer assistant coach. He worked with Brown's goalies and defensive players while also organizing the program's camps and assisted in recruiting for a staff that helped Brown to an Ivy League Championship and spot in the 2015 NCAA Tournament. Under Conners' assistance, Bears' goalie Jack Kelly ranked 11th nationally in saves per game and the Brown defense ranked second in the nation in caused turnovers per game.
As a player, Conners was a goaltender for Quinnipiac from 2012-14 after transferring from Onondaga Community College. At Quinnipiac, he finished in the top five in NCAA Division I saves per game in both of his seasons with the program and also ranked seventh in the nation in save percentage as a senior. Named a team captain, he was also an All-NEC First Team selection and earned the distinction of being named his team's most valuable player. During his first two collegiate seasons, he helped lead Onondaga to the NJCAA National Championship in back-to-back years, earning First Team All-America honors both years. He earned a degree in communications from Quinnipiac.
