A native of Worthington, Ohio, Coach Harnett played his college lacrosse at Hofstra University under current Duke University Head Coach John Danowski and current United States Naval Academy Head Coach Joe Amplo. Coach Harnett is passionate about being an educator and has extensive experience as a player and coach at all levels of the game.
In 2009, Coach Harnett joined Florida’s very first NCAA Division I Men’s Lacrosse staff as an inaugural staff member of the Jacksonville University Men’s Lacrosse Program. Harnett served for three years as an assistant coach at Jacksonville University under the leadership of former Cornell University Head Coach and current IMG Academy Director of Lacrosse, Matthew Kerwick.
In 2012, Coach Harnett became the Director of Boys’ Lacrosse for Episcopal School of Jacksonville where he also served as Head Coach for Varsity Boys’ Lacrosse. Harnett led the Episcopal Eagles to 3 consecutive District Championships and 3 consecutive FHSAA State Tournament Final Round of 16 appearances, including a Final Round of 8 appearance in 2013. In 4 seasons as a Varsity Head Coach on Florida’s first coast, Harnett posted 48 wins and 22 loses, including 4 consecutive District Championship births.
From 2008 to 2015, Coach Harnett had the great pleasure to coach at every level of the game, including professional box lacrosse, and to be a positive ambassador for the growth of lacrosse in the sunshine state. During this time, he founded four area athletic association lacrosse organizations in North Florida, two of Florida’s original elite club programs, and a family of statewide competitive tournaments. Coach Harnett has represented the Southeast as a director, coach, and talent evaluator for national recruiting programs including Jake Reed’s 3D Blue Chip Feeder Series, Prep Lacrosse Showcase, and the National Lacrosse Classic.
Since returning home to Columbus in 2016 Coach Harnett has enjoyed actively coaching the game at the youth, middle school, and high school levels. In 2017, Harnett stepped into his first ever middle school head coach role leading his 7/8th grade New Albany Eagles to earn the programs best state tournament seed (prior to 2017), its first appearance in the DIII State Tournament, and a OMSLA DIII State Champion Runner-up result.
Harnett would then go on to lead the St. Charles Preparatory School Cardinal’s for two seasons in 2018 and 2019. As head coach at St. Charles Prep, Harnett posted a record of 22 wins and 18 loses advancing his Cardinals from a knockout in the first round of the 2018 OHSAA State Tournament to a birth into the 2019 OHSAA State Tournament final round of 16 one year later. Under Coach Harnett’s leadership, the 2019 St. Charles Cardinals finished 12-9 overall including overtime losses to perrenial powerhouse programs Archbishop Moeller and Dublin Jerome, and a 3-6 loss to Upper Arlington in the state tournament final round of 16 to conclude the program’s best post season result at division one. In 6 seasons as a head coach at the private school level, Coach Harnett has posted 70 Wins and 40 Losses.
