This is a return to Milwaukee for Smistad, who was one of the 28 Golden Eagles that never played a game in 2012.
On Tuesday, Marquette men’s lacrosse head coach Jake Richard announced a change to his coaching staff. Andrew Smistad is the newest assistant coach for the Golden Eagles, taking over the job as offensive coordinator. He replaces Mark Bieda, who left to take the same job with Delaware, his alma mater.
It’s kind of fun that Richard elected to do the same thing to his staff that happened with Bieda heading to Delaware. Smistad is a Marquette lacrosse original, standing as one of the 28 players that then-head coach Joe Amplo assembled on campus for the 2011-12 school year when the team was merely a practice squad and did not play a single official Division 1 contest. After that, Smistad became one of the first three captains of the lacrosse team alongside Ben Dvorak and Matt Melnyk when the team began play in 2013, and then he served as the lone team captain in 2014.
Smistad played in nine career games for Marquette, all in the 2013 season, after transferring over from Presbyterian after the Blue Hose ended their program. His time as a defensive midfielder came to an end in the preseason of the 2014 season when he suffered a season ending injury.
His coaching career stared as an assistant for the Calgary Shamrocks in Canadian Junior box lacrosse, and he eventually rose to take the head coaching position in 2020. For the past three seasons, Smistad has been an assistant coach for Bates College, a Division 3 team in Maine.
Let’s go to the press release quotes!
First, Jake Richard on his former teammate:
“I know Coach Smistad will inspire our team to be the best version of themselves off the field while pushing them to new heights on the field,” Richard said. “Surrounding our athletes with men worth emulating is paramount to our mission. Throughout the interview process Coach Smistad showcased a specific vision for our offense. He’s excited to introduce new ideas while creating continuity and building off the momentum from last year.”
And then Smistad himself:
“I am unbelievably humbled and honored to have the opportunity to come back to Marquette and rejoin a program that means so much to me,” Smistad said. “I’m extremely grateful to Coach Richard for trusting in me to help continue building on the momentum and success he’s achieved in such a short time. Jake is an unbelievable coach and leader, an even better man, and I look forward to joining him and the rest of the staff. I can’t wait to start working with the guys on the team and developing a relationship with each and every one of them.”
“Marquette is not only a special place for me, but for my whole family as it’s where I met my wife, Courtney. Marquette is home for us and we are so blessed to have the opportunity to give back to such a special place and program, I don’t think words can encapsulate how excited and grateful we are to be coming back to Milwaukee,” Smistad said.
Courtney, by the way, is Courtney Mrotek, who played volleyball for Marquette from 2010 through 2013, participating in MU’s first ever NCAA tournament appearance in 2011 and the program’s first ever conference title in 2013.
Marquette went 7-7 in 2025, Richard’s first year as head coach. Smistad will be taking over an offensive unit that finished 38th in the country (out of 77 teams) in goals per game last season and 33rd in offensive efficiency, but excelled when they had a man advantage. Marquette converted 20 of their 36 man-up opportunities into a goal, and their 55.6% success rate ranked second in the country behind only Boston University and was one of just five teams to do better than 50%.
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