Joe Turner begins his first season at the helm of the men's lacrosse program as the second head coach in program history. Turner brings more than 14 years of collegiate coaching experience to Carthage, including three seasons at NCAA Division I Queens University of Charlotte, two seasons as the head coach at NCAA Division II Mars Hill University and four seasons at Wingate University.
Turner most recently served as the associate head coach and offensive coordinator at Queens, where he helped the Royals increase their win total in each of his three seasons. In 2026, Queens recorded its most wins at the Division I level with four. Turner oversaw the offense, recruiting efforts, extra-man offense, riding, clearing and substitution strategies while helping develop nine All-Conference players and three professional lacrosse draft selections.
Prior to Queens, Turner served as the head coach at Mars Hill from 2021-23. He guided the Lions to their most single-season wins in back-to-back seasons since 2016 while developing two All-Conference players and a USILA All-South Region selection. Turner also helped transform the program academically, raising the team's grade-point average from 1.86 to 2.97 during his four semesters.
Turner spent four seasons at Wingate from 2016-20, helping the Bulldogs win three consecutive South Atlantic Conference championships in 2017, 2018 and 2019. Wingate advanced to the NCAA Tournament twice during his tenure, while Turner helped develop five USILA All-Americans, 29 All-Conference selections and a South Atlantic Conference Player of the Year.
Turner's coaching career began at Dowling College, where he served as an assistant coach and offensive coordinator from 2014-16. He also spent two seasons as an offensive assistant at the University of St. Thomas from 2012-14, helping the Tommies win two conference championships and the 2013 MCLA Division II National Championship.
A four-year attackman and midfielder at Dowling, Turner helped lead the Golden Lions to the 2012 NCAA Division II National Championship while serving as team captain. He finished his playing career with a 43-13 team record and two NCAA Tournament appearances.
Turner graduated from Dowling College in 2012 with a bachelor's degree in business management and leadership.
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