Randy Mearns
Randy Mearns (born May 28, 1969) is a former lacrosse player.
| Born | May 28, 1969 St. Catharines, Ontario |
|---|---|
| Nationality | Canada |
| Height | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) |
| Weight | 170 pounds (77 kg) |
| Position | Forward |
| NLL teams | Buffalo Bandits Rochester Knighthawks |
| team | St. Bonaventure University |
| Pro career | 1993–2002 |
| Coach | Canisius College, 1999-2017; St. Bonaventure, 2018-present |
| Canadian Lacrosse Hall of Fame, 2013 | |
Mearns, along with the entire 2006 Canadian National lacrosse team, was inducted into the Canadian Lacrosse Hall of Fame, following a lengthy career in the Ontario Lacrosse Association, Major Series Lacrosse and Western Lacrosse Association Canadian professional box lacrosse leagues as a player.[1]
Canadian Box Career
Mearns played for the St. Catharines Athletics for 5 years. In 1990, Mearns led the team to their first Minto Cup championship since 1950, and was awarded the "Jim McConaghy Memorial Cup" for Minto Cup M.V.P. He was later given the "B.W. Evans Award" for Top Graduating Player.[2] Mearns ranked 36th all time in Canadian Junior A lacrosse assists (regular season and playoffs combined) with 348.[3]
With the Brampton Excelsiors, Mearns won Mann Cup championships in 1992 and 1993, and also won three with the Six Nation Chiefs (’94, ‘95’ ’96).
College career
Mearns was an All-American NCAA lacrosse player at Canisius College from 1990 to 1992 who is currently 20th all-time in Division I career points-per-game (PPG), having scored 95 goals and 95 assists for 190 career points in 39 games. He is also the all-time leading scorer at Canisius.[4]
Professional career
Mearns played professionally for the NLL's Buffalo Bandits and Rochester Knighthawks, acting as captain of the 1997 NLL champion Knighthawk team. Rochester also played in the 1995, 1999 and 2000 finals.[5] Since his retirement from professional lacrosse, he has served as the color commentator for the Bandits' radio broadcasts alongside play-by-play man John Gurtler.
Coaching career
He coached the Canisius men's lacrosse team through 2017, and also was an assistant coach on the Canadian national team that won the gold medal at the 2006 World Lacrosse Championship. Mearns won 94 games in his 18 years of coaching at Canisius, and led the Griffins to their first ever NCAA tournament bid in 2008 where they lost to Syracuse in the first round, and second in 2012 where they lost against Loyola in the first round.[6] Mearns has provided development for his players towards the professional ranks, including Mark Miyashita who graduated from Canisius in 2003 and was the first overall selection in the 2003 National Lacrosse League draft. In a preseason coaches poll, Canisius was picked to repeat in 2009 as MAAC champions. However after a rough start to the season where they lost six straight including 3 one-goal losses, the Griffs ended 2009 on a 4 and 3 run.
Mearns was Head Coach of the Canadian national team that won the gold medal at the 2014 World Lacrosse Championship.
Mearns was named the initial head coach for the St. Bonaventure men's Division I lacrosse team, in June 2017.
Statistics
NLL
| Regular Season | Playoffs | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | GP | G | A | Pts | LB | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | LB | PIM | ||
| 1993 | Buffalo | 8 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 27 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 2 | ||
| 1995 | Rochester | 8 | 2 | 9 | 11 | 29 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 10 | 2 | ||
| 1996 | Rochester | 10 | 10 | 24 | 34 | 63 | 8 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 0 | ||
| 1997 | Rochester | 10 | 9 | 17 | 26 | 55 | 18 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 6 | 16 | 0 | ||
| 1998 | Rochester | 11 | 7 | 20 | 27 | 44 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | ||
| 1999 | Rochester | 10 | 9 | 18 | 27 | 50 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 6 | 18 | 0 | ||
| 2000 | Rochester | 11 | 6 | 20 | 26 | 89 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 19 | 2 | ||
| 2001 | Rochester | 12 | 2 | 17 | 19 | 75 | 12 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 0 | ||
| 2002 | Buffalo | 15 | 14 | 24 | 38 | 66 | 4 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| NLL Totals | 95 | 62 | 152 | 214 | 498 | 70 | 13 | 4 | 26 | 30 | 84 | 8 | |||
__________________________________________________________________________
OLA
| Regular Season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1985 | Niagara Warriors | OLA Jr B | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 1985 | St. Catharines Athletics | OLA Jr A | 4 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 0 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 1986 | St. Catharines Athletics | OLA Jr A | 20 | 15 | 25 | 40 | 8 | 10 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 2 | ||
| 1987 | St. Catharines Athletics | OLA Jr A | 25 | 33 | 70 | 103 | 23 | 9 | 10 | 20 | 30 | 8 | ||
| 1988 | St. Catharines Athletics | OLA Jr A | 15 | 28 | 33 | 61 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 13 | 20 | 2 | ||
| 1989 | St. Catharines Athletics | OLA Jr A | 24 | 31 | 61 | 92 | 17 | 11 | 7 | 18 | 25 | 2 | ||
| 1990 | St. Catharines Athletics | OLA Jr A | 18 | 39 | 62 | 101 | 11 | 9 | 16 | 39 | 55 | 8 | ||
| 1991 | Brampton Excelsiors | MSL | 13 | 14 | 14 | 28 | 2 | 6 | -- | 6 | 6 | -- | ||
| 1992 | Brampton Excelsiors | MSL | 14 | 12 | 12 | 24 | 2 | 12 | 14 | 11 | 25 | 6 | ||
| 1993 | Brampton Excelsiors | MSL | 15 | 22 | 31 | 53 | 10 | 9 | 7 | 10 | 17 | 6 | ||
| 1994 | Six Nations Chiefs | MSL | 20 | 15 | 33 | 48 | 43 | 18 | 7 | 24 | 31 | 31 | ||
| 1995 | Six Nations Chiefs | MSL | 18 | 15 | 33 | 48 | 29 | 14 | 4 | 20 | 24 | 19 | ||
| 1996 | Six Nations Chiefs | MSL | 18 | 12 | 22 | 34 | 33 | 6 | 1 | 9 | 10 | -- | ||
| 1997 | Niagara Falls Gamblers | MSL | 15 | 12 | 29 | 41 | 12 | 16 | 16 | 15 | 31 | 24 | ||
| 1998 | Buffalo | MSL | 10 | 7 | 11 | 18 | 4 | 9 | 5 | 13 | 18 | 4 | ||
| 1999 | Brampton Excelsiors | MSL | 2 | 1 | 3 | 4 | -- | 19 | 9 | 26 | 35 | 2 | ||
| Junior A Totals | 106 | 148 | 253 | 401 | 65 | 45 | 43 | 95 | 138 | 22 | ||||
| Senior A Totals | 125 | 110 | 188 | 298 | 135 | 109 | 63 | 134 | 197 | 92 | ||||
__________________________________________________________________________
Canisius College
| Season | GP | G | A | Pts | PPG | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 16 | 45 | 49 | 94 | 5.58 | |
| 1991 | 13 | 30 | 18 | 48 | 3.69 | |
| 1992 | 10 | 20 | 28 | 48 | 4.80 | |
| Totals | 39 | 95 | 95 | 190 | 4.87 (a) |
- (a) 20th in NCAA career points-per-game
Accomplishments
- 2014 World Lacrosse Championship Champions (Canada)
- 2012 NCAA Division I Men's Lacrosse Tournament
- 2008 NCAA Division I Men's Lacrosse Tournament
- 2006 World Lacrosse Championship Champions (Canada)
- 1997 NLL Champions Cup Champion (Rochester Knighthawks)
- 1996 Mann Cup Champion (Six Nations Chiefs)
- 1995 Mann Cup Champion (Six Nations Chiefs)
- 1994 Mann Cup Champion (Six Nations Chiefs)
- 1993 Mann Cup Champion (Brampton Excelsiors)
- 1992 Mann Cup Champion (Brampton Excelsiors)
- 1990 Minto Cup Champion (St. Catharines Athletics)
See also
- NCAA Men's Division I Lacrosse Records
- World Lacrosse Championship
References
- "Power's bible of Lacrosse Stats". Power's Bible of Lacrosse. Archived from the original on 2007-10-13.
- "O.L.A. Junior A Trophy Winners". wampsbibleoflacrosse.com.
- "Top 100 Career Leaders For Goals, Assists, And Points In Canadian Junior A Lacrosse". wampsbibleoflacrosse.com.
- "Canisius Griffins Coach Bio". Canisius University.
- "Rochester Knighthawks History". Rochester Knighthawks website.
- "Canisius Defeats VMI to Claim Its First MAAC Title". LaxPower.com. May 4, 2008.