ST. JOSEPH, Minn. – Patrick Crandall, one of the top high school and club lacrosse coaches in the state of Minnesota, has been announced as the first head coach of the College of Saint Benedict lacrosse team, Athletic Director Kelly Anderson Diercks announced.
 
Since 2011, Crandall has served as the head girls lacrosse coach at Lakeville South High School, where he led the team to two Minnesota state runner-up finishes and two Minnesota state consolation championships.  
 
In 2015, Crandall was selected as the Minnesota Coaches Association Coach of the Year. He has coached a Ms. Lacrosse Minnesota honoree as well as numerous student-athletes that have gone on to compete at the NCAA Division I, II and III levels.  
 
"I'm very grateful to Kelly Anderson Diercks and everyone involved in the selection process for the opportunity to serve as the inaugural head coach for the women's lacrosse team at Saint Benedict. I recognize the opportunity in front of me, and I am honored to be entrusted to lay the cornerstones for the lacrosse program here at CSB," stated Crandall. "I am most looking forward to working with the student-athletes, developing relationships, and a culture that can take the program to a high level of competition and relevance immediately. It was a very difficult decision to leave Lakeville South and the program that I started there, however, I am looking forward to bringing highly competitive lacrosse to CSB and the surrounding community. Go Bennies!"
 
In addition to his high school coaching, Crandall also led the creation and growth of the True Minnesota Lacrosse club into one of the top ranked club programs in the country. Crandall currently serves as the Director of the Premier Team for True Minnesota. He also formerly served as the Minnesota Youth Lacrosse Association Director of Player Development. Crandall holds his Minnesota Teaching License as an Educational Speech Language Pathologist.  
 
"We couldn't be more excited to have Patrick Crandall join our athletic department staff," said Anderson Diercks. "Patrick has proven he can build high-caliber programs both at the high school and club level and he demonstrated during the interview process that he has the experience and vision to build CSB lacrosse into a top program." 

Crandall becomes the first head coach in Saint Benedict lacrosse history after the College announced the addition of the program on October 13, 2021. Earlier this month, the Bennies were accepted for membership into the Midwest Women's Lacrosse Conference (MWLC) where they will become the eighth league member joining Minnesota schools Augsburg, Hamline and Northwestern, Iowa schools Cornell and Wartburg, and Illinois schools Lake Forest and Monmouth. The MWLC was formed in 2010 and began play in the spring of 2011. The Bennie lacrosse team will practice and play on the turf field at the Outdoor Athletic Complex, and will have a locker room in the Sister Lois Wedl Athletic Center.