Liam Gleason, Siena lacrosse coach and Shoreham-Wading River graduate, dies at 41 from injuries sustained in fall

Siena University men’s lacrosse coach and Wading River native Liam Gleason died on Wednesday, the university said, three days after suffering a serious injury in a fall at home. He had just turned 41 on Friday.

Friends said that Gleason suffered a traumatic brain injury in the fall. State police and paramedics were called to his home Sunday afternoon in Halfmoon, north of Albany.

"A sudden, senseless loss carries a kind of pain that defies understanding," Siena President Chuck Seifert said in a statement Wednesday. "It’s hard to imagine anyone more universally loved and admired than Liam. Our community was blessed by Coach Gleason’s life."

Gleason was known as a star lacrosse player at Shoreham-Wading River High School, where he led the team to a state championship in 2002 and graduated in 2003.

He graduated from the University of Albany in 2007, where he was also a conference champion before beginning his coaching career.

He went on to coach lacrosse as an assistant at Siena and University at Albany, where he served as defensive coordinator and associate head coach, helping to lead Albany to six straight NCAA Tournament appearances.

He was named head coach of the Siena Saints lacrosse team in 2018. He coached the team for seven seasons and was named coach of the year in May for the Eastern College Athletic Conference and the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference.

Siena University said Gleason led the men’s lacrosse team to its fourth MAAC Tournament title.

Gleason is survived by his wife of 12 years, Jaclyn, their three children: Kennedy, Penn and Tate; his parents, Kevin and Susan, and his brother, Brendan. 

Former Shoreham-Wading River lacrosse coach Tom Rotanz said even at 6-foot-5 and 240 pounds, he was one of the fastest players on the team.

"He was a runaway train when he got the ball from an attacker. He was like a '55 Buick with no brakes," Rotanz said in an interview. "The true greats step up at crunch time. He was a dominant defenseman who could fly — It was a rare combination."

A Siena spokesman said an honor walk was held for Gleason in which about 250 people, including doctors, nurses and lacrosse team members from Siena and University of Albany, dressed in their game jerseys, lined the hallway as he was wheeled through the Albany Medical Center to organ donation.

He said on Facebook he had thought Gleason was too nice of a player to go on to a coaching career, but he quickly saw how Gleason connected with players with gentle encouragement and quiet leadership.

"In my 38 years of coaching, only a handful of players ever made me think the world would be a better place if more people were like him," Rotanz said. "Liam was one of them."

By John Asbury

john.asbury@newsday.comJohnAsbury

John Asbury is a breaking news and general assignment reporter. He has been with Newsday since 2014 and previously worked at The Press-Enterprise in Riverside, California.