​​Forrest MacConnell

Forrest MacConnell is in his second season as head coach of the men's lacrosse program at Young Harris College.

MacConnell led the Mountain Lions to 13 straight victories and the inaugural Great Lakes Valley Conference regular season title and to the conference tournament championship in the 2018 season. The 13 wins in a season are the most ever for Young Harris.

MacConnell served as the interim coach in 2017 and led the Mountain Lions to a 7-8 record. Four of the Mountain Lions' losses came to nationally ranked programs.

Prior to becoming the interim head coach, MacConnell served three years as an assistant coach and defensive coordinator for the Mountain Lions.

The Cary, North Carolina, native attended Lees-McRae College where he studied Sports Management and was a four-year starter as a defensive midfielder. MacConnell earned the team's Most Improved Player Award as a Freshman and in his senior year helped guide his team to one of the best records in the history of the program.

After Lees-McRae College, MacConnell served as an assistant coach and offensive coordinator at NCAA Division III Bethany College for a season and then as an assistant and defensive coordinator with Cary Academy for two years working with both the Middle School and High School teams.

MacConnell, who earned his Eagle Scout award in 2006, played lacrosse and football at Cary High School where he was named to the all-conference first team and a team captain for both sports. He was named the team's MVP for lacrosse as a junior and received the Coaches' Award for football as a senior.

MacConnell and his wife, Caroline Tucker MacConnell, reside in Blairsville, where she is an eighth grade language arts teacher at the local middle school.