Gulliver’s Kelly, Westminster’s Swindoll are the Miami-Dade Lacrosse Coaches of the Year

At Gulliver Prep, a first-year coach did not keep one of Miami-Dade County’s top programs from remaining at the top of the heap.

At Westminster Christian, a second-year coach helped the Warriors make some program history.

After leading their teams to the region playoffs, Gulliver’s Connor Kelly and Westminster Christian’s Spencer Swindoll are the Miami Herald’s Miami-Dade County Lacrosse Coaches of the Year.

Kelly is the Boys’ Coach of the Year after helping the Raiders advance in the region playoffs for the first time since 2019. Kelly arrived in Pinecrest ahead of the 2024 season and, as an assistant coach, helped Gulliver rebound from a rare .500 season in 2023 with 18 wins and a trip to the region playoffs in 2024. Kelly took over as coach this year and helped the Raiders again reach the region playoffs, even winning a game once they got there for the first time since 2019.

Kelly, who was a star at Maryland and a finalist for the Tewaaraton Award as the best player in men’s college lacrosse in 2018, is already upholding Gulliver’s tradition as the premier team in Dade County. He’s only the fifth coach in the program’s 33-year history.

Swindoll, the Girls’ Lacrosse Coach of the Year, took over as the Warriors’ coach ahead of the 2024 season in Miami and then made history in his second year, helping Westminster Christian win a district title for the first time in the program’s five-year history. With Swindoll at the helm, the Warriors were the only Miami-Dade team to reach the region playoffs.

Although the Warriors’ run ended with a loss to perennial powerhouse Delray Beach American Heritage in the Region 4-1A quarterfinals, Westminster Christian’s breakthrough season established the Warriors as one of the up-and-coming programs in South Florida.