Siena University men’s lacrosse coach Liam Gleason has died three days after suffering a head injury in a fall at his home, the university announced.
He was 41.
Gleason died on Wednesday at Albany Medical Center. In a statement, Siena said it was “profoundly saddened to share the tragic news”.
Siena president Chuck Seifert described his death as “a sudden, senseless loss” that “carries a kind of pain that defies understanding”.
“It’s hard to imagine anyone more universally loved and admired than Liam,” he said. “Our community was blessed by Coach Gleason’s life.”
Gleason, a 2007 graduate of the University at Albany, had led Siena for the past seven seasons and guided the Saints to the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) championship last May.
Members of the lacrosse community and alumni from both schools rallied around the family in recent days. A fundraising page created to support his wife, Jaclyn, and their three children had raised more than $450,000 by Wednesday afternoon.
A public Mass in his honour will be held at 11:00 on Saturday at the UHY Center on Siena’s campus.
According to police dispatch records, Gleason fell down stairs at his home in Halfmoon at around 16:00 on Sunday. State Police and paramedics responded, and he sustained a serious head injury. CPR was administered during his transport to hospital.
On Wednesday afternoon he was taken through Albany Medical Center in an “Honor Walk”, accompanied by his family. Around 250 people lined the hallways, including the Siena team in their jerseys, a number of University at Albany players, UAlbany coach Scott Marr, Seifert and athletic staff from both institutions.
Before Gleason’s arrival, Siena had endured four consecutive losing seasons. He led the programme to its first MAAC title in 11 years last spring.
“It’s why I came to Siena, was to try to win another MAAC championship,” he said at the time. “The Siena lacrosse family is strong and they’ve supported us so much over the last few years. To finally get that championship, especially with this senior class, means so much.”
Siena went on to play in the NCAA Tournament, losing to the University at Albany, coached by Marr. “Scott and I both really motivate through love and passion… I want lacrosse to be the best part of everybody’s day,” Gleason said during the spring.
He was named the Eastern College Athletic Conference 2025 Division I Men’s Lacrosse Coach of the Year.
A Long Island native, Gleason played defence for two seasons at the University at Albany after transferring from Adelphi, helping the Great Danes reach the NCAA quarterfinals in 2007.
After graduating, he served as a Siena assistant from 2008 to 2010, then spent a year as head coach at The College of Saint Rose before returning to UAlbany. As an assistant there, he was part of teams that reached six consecutive NCAA Tournaments, including a semifinal run in 2018.
Gleason is survived by his wife, Jaclyn, their children Kennedy, Penn and Tate, his parents Kevin and Susan, and his younger brother Brendan, an assistant coach at Saint Andrew’s School in Florida.