FORT WORTH, Texas -- The Texas Christian men's lacrosse program, a member of the Lone Star Alliance in MCLA Division I, is pleased to introduce the coaching staff for the upcoming 2021 season.

Mark Purcell
Head Coach – Offensive Coordinator
Purcell grew up in Farmington Hills, Mich., and graduated from Michigan State with a Bachelor’s degree in Marketing and attended Washington University in St. Louis where he earned his MBA.

While at Michigan State, Purcell was a four-year D1 letterman in lacrosse and was also appointed as a captain during his junior and senior years. While in Baltimore, he coached lacrosse for four years in the Severna Park youth association.

Purcell was also associated with the Plano West Senior High School lacrosse program for three years where he was the head coach of the Division I team. Mark was also the head coach of the University of Oklahoma’s men’s lacrosse team for three years, building a competitive and playoff program.

He joined TCU as the head coach in 2015.

Richard Schwartz
Assistant Coach - Defensive Coordinator
Schwartz, a University of Maryland graduate, takes over the defensive coordinator duties for TCU with over 25 years of coaching experience.

He's held numerous coaching positions in Baltimore County and has since made his way to Texas and brought a solid lacrosse background with him. Schwartz has coached in Texas for eight years and was most recently the head coach at UT-Dallas.

Prior to UTD, he was the varsity head coach at Lovejoy High School in Dallas as well as serving as the executive director of Plano East Lacrosse, Wrangler Lacrosse and Plano United Lacrosse. He brings with him a high-intensity style.

Matt Patyk
Assistant Coach – Defense/Goalie & Alumni Relations
Patyk grew up in Houston and has played lacrosse since he was eight years old. He graduated from TCU in 2008 with a Bachelor’s degree in Environmental Science.

In 2004, Patyk graduated from Kinkaid High School, where he played a mixture of midfield and goalie for the Division I varsity lacrosse team. Matt was a member of the TCU men’s lacrosse team from 2004-08, and was involved with various officer positions, and instrumental in helping rebuild the program.

In 2008, he was elected captain by his teammates and has been involved with the program as a coach ever since graduating.

Ethan Hepding
Assistant Coach – FOM/Goalie
Hepding is a Chicago product and has played lacrosse since seventh grade. He was a student-athlete at TCU, playing lacrosse for four years as a goalie and is graduating from TCU in December 2020 with a bachelor’s degree in Economics.

We are pleased to have Hepding on our TCU coaching staff.