Completed Event: Men's Lacrosse versus Georgetown on May 10, 2025 , Loss , 12, to, 16
/
Final
Men's Lacrosse
12
vs Georgetown
16
Men's Lacrosse
Caputo, Ron
Ron Caputo
- Title:
- Assistant Coach
- Email:
- ronald.caputo@duke.edu
- Phone:
- (919) 668-5791
One of the great minds in collegiate lacrosse, Ron Caputo is in his 17th season as an assistant coach at Duke. Caputo currently works closely with the Duke defense and faceoff specialists after spending 10 seasons as the leader of the midfielders and faceoff specialists.
In his 16 seasons with the Blue Devils, Duke has posted a 223-71 record, captured five ACC titles, advanced to the NCAA Semifinals 11 times and ultimately won the 2010, 2013 and 2014 national championships.
Under Caputo Duke's offense and defense has flourished. Since Caputo took over the reins of the Duke defense in 2018, the Blue Devils have ranked in the top three in scoring defense in the high-powered ACC five times. Five Blue Devil defensemen have earned first team All-Americans since 2018 and JT Giles-Harris captured the USILA Defenseman of the Year award in 2021.
Working with the midfield and offensive unites from 2008-17, the Blue Devils turned in some of the best midfield performances in NCAA lacrosse history. Duke had eight first team All-American midfielders in that span and 22 overall All-America honors. The Blue Devils were among the top 10 nationally in scoring for five straight seasons (2013-17), while seven of the midfielders he mentored finished his career with at least 100 career points.
Working closely with the faceoff specialists, Duke has had great success at the X under Caputo's watch with All-Americans CJ Costabile and Brendan Fowler, Kyle Rowe and currently Jake Naso. In 2012, Caputo helped mentor Costabile and Fowler to above .500 faceoff percentages as they finished with .526 and .604 win percentages at the X, respectively. In 2013, Fowler took it one step further as he established a NCAA single season record for faceoffs won with 339. He picked up the ACC Defensive Player of the Year honor as well as being named the NCAA Championship Most Outstanding player after winning 20-of-28 faceoffs in the title game. Naso emerged as one of the premier specialists in 2023 and is on pace to break Fowler's career wins record.
In 2023, the Blue Devils featured the ACC’s second-ranked scoring defense at 10.89 goals allowed per game. Close defensemen Wilson Stephenson and Kenny Brower all ranked in the top 10 in the ACC in caused turnovers per game with Carpenter coming in 14th. Brower garnered All-ACC and First Team All-America honors. Junior Jake Naso had a career year, leading the ACC in ground balls per game (8.63/gm) and faceoff percentage (.620) en route to First Team All-America honors. His 315 faceoff victories rank fifth in NCAA single-season history and second at Duke. He took 508 faceoffs - the fourth most in a season in NCAA history.
In 2021, the Blue Devils ranked second in the ACC and 19th nationally at 10.24 goals allowed per game. With Caputo as the leader of the defensive corps, JT Giles-Harris won the William C. Schmeisser Defensive Player of the Year award. Brower also had a breakout sophomore season, drawing the opponent’s top attackman in games. Carpenter garnered USILA All-America third team after leading non-faceoff specialists in ground balls and helping lead the defensive effort away from the goal.
Additionally, Naso shined at the faceoff dot in 2021 with a .629 win percentage en route to honorable mention All-America recognition.
In the shortened 2020 season, Caputo mentored Duke’s youngest defensive corps in his tenure. The Blue Devils finished 6-2 overall as Caputo’s close defense featured a pair of first-time starters. The group, along with a young collection of longstick midfielders and a veteran group of short stick defenseman, steadily improved to finish with a goals against average of 10.97.
In 2019, his second season working with the defense, Caputo mentored the dynamic duo of JT Giles-Harris and Cade Van Raaphorst to first team All-America honors and Giles-Harris to the ACC Defensive Player of the Year award. As a defensive unit, Duke led the ACC and ranked seventh nationally in allowing 9.61 goals per game.
Caputo transitioned to working with the defense in 2018 and the Blue Devils proceeded to post their best performance since 2009. They ranked 12th nationally with an 8.39 goals against average, the lowest by a Duke squad since 2009. Sophomore Cade Van Raaphorst garnered All-America third team recognition under his watch, while goalkeeper Danny Fowler was honorable All-America.
In his nine seasons with the Duke midfield, the Blue Devils ranked among the top 11 in scoring offense in every year and was among the top six in eight of those, including the No. 4 spot in 2015 and 2016. Caputo mentored many of Duke’s talented midfield units, including the trio of Deemer Class, Myles Jones and Christian Walsh that set the Duke record for goals by a midfield unit.
The 2015 and 2016 seasons featured the dynamic duo of Myles Jones and Deemer Class at midfield. One season after a record-breaking performance from the 2014 midfield line, the tandem picked up right where they left off in 2014.
In 2015, Jones broke the career and single-season records for points by a Duke midfielder and earned the national Midfielder of the Year award from the USILA. Class ranked fourth on the team in points en route to earning second team All-America recognition.
Jones and Class followed that up in 2016 by climbing both the Duke and NCAA records book. Jones became the first midfielder in NCAA history to record 100 career goals and 100 career assists, finishing with 231 career points. Class became the first midfielder in Duke history and ninth in NCAA history to record 50 goals in a season. He joined Jones as the only two midfielders at Duke to record 100 career goals and 200 career points. On the awards circuit, Jones captured his second midfielder of the year honor and Class earned his second first-team All-America accolade.
In 2014, Caputo mentored arguably the most talented midfield group in Duke’s history. The trio of Class, Jones and Christian Walsh combined for 97 goals and 79 assists for a midfield record 176 points. Class’ and Jones’ 65 and 63 respective points both were a program-best. Class went on to earn first team All-America honors. Overall, Duke ranked second nationally in scoring offense with 14.85 goals per game.
Perhaps even more impressive in 2013 was the play of Duke’s midfield. The Blue Devils’ two midfield lines combined for 223 of Duke’s 464 points and 132 of the 295 goals in 2013. Senior David Lawson flourished in his final season, earning All-ACC and first team All-American, while Jake Tripucka and Josh Offit also both garnered All-American accolades.
In 2012 with Caputo guiding the group again, midfielder Robert Rotanz had a record-setting season, registering 40 goals and earning USILA All-America first team honors. His 40 tallies are the most by a Duke midfielder in program history. In addition, Justin Turri earned USILA All-America honorable mention honors after netting 19 goals and 32 points overall.
Coming off the national championship in 2010 and returning just 48 percent of its scoring, Duke finished 2011 ranked sixth in scoring offense with 12.2 goals per game and had three midfielders with at least 25 points on the year. Turri earned USILA All-America second team honors, while Rotanz captured an honorable mention nod.
In 2010, the Blue Devils won 54.5 percent of their restarts to rank 13th nationally, while senior Sam Payton was 14th individually. Offensively, Duke ranked second in scoring offense with 13.45 goals per game. The Blue Devils also ranked second in assists per game (8.35) and points per game (21.8) under Caputo’s watch.
In Caputo’s inaugural season with the Blue Devils, Duke led the nation in scoring offense with 15.2 goals per game. The squad won an NCAA record 18 games and advanced to the NCAA Semifinals for the second consecutive season under his assistance as the Blue Devils featured the top two individual scorers in NCAA history in Matt Danowski and Zack Greer.
Prior to his arrival at Duke, Caputo spent four seasons (2003-06) on the Hofstra University men’s lacrosse staff as an assistant coach. He joined the Pride in 2004 as a volunteer assistant coach for current Blue Devil head coach John Danowski, who served as the head coach at Hofstra from 1986-2006, as the Pride compiled an overall record of 35-28 and a 14-9 mark in Colonial Athletic Conference play, during his tenure.
In 2006, Caputo worked alongside Danowski to help lead Hofstra to an overall record of 17-2, a mark that included a perfect 6-0 mark versus CAA opponents, and a final national ranking of No. 2. The Pride won the CAA Championship and reached the NCAA Quarterfinals, while setting a school record for wins and winning percentage (.895).
Before his stint at Hofstra, Caputo served as a varsity assistant lacrosse coach from 1997-2003 at Syosset (N.Y.) High School, where he coached Blue Devil teammates and brothers Dan and Chris Loftus. A 1991 graduate of the University of Scranton, Caputo led Syosset to three county semifinal appearances and one Nassau County Championship game berth.
Caputo is married to the former Randi Heller of Farmingdale, N.Y., and the couple has four children, Samantha, Owen, Jake and Jayme. Owen played five seasons in the midfield with the Blue Devils, while Jake is a current member of the Duke men’s lacrosse team, while Samantha played women's lacrosse at East Carolina. The family resides in Holly Springs, N.C.
Duke Men's Lacrosse: Excellence on and off the field defined
Friday, August 29
Duke Men's Lacrosse Recruiting Video
Friday, August 29
Andrew McAdorey Media Availability 5-7
Wednesday, May 07
John Danowski Media Availability 5-7
Wednesday, May 07
