UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.- Penn State men’s lacrosse head coach Jeff Tambroni announces Joe Bucci is promoted to associate head coach ahead of the 2025-26 academic year. Bucci enters his fourth season in Happy Valley working as the defensive coordinator.
“Coach Bucci has been key to our success over the past three seasons,” says Tambroni. “He’s a rising star and we’re fortunate to have him on the Penn State staff”.
Bucci has developed the Penn State defense over the last three campaigns, elevating the unit into the national rankings in several statistical categories. Penn State finished first in the Big Ten and fifth in the nation in caused turnovers per game (10.47) in 2025 and first in the conference and 21st in the country in ground balls per game (32.65). Bucci helped guide the team to a second Final Four appearance in his three seasons in Happy Valley, guiding the defense to hold Notre Dame scoreless for the final 20 minutes of the NCAA Quarterfinal enroute to an offensive comeback to punch their ticket to the national semifinal. He coached second team All-Big Ten and USILA All-American defenseman Alex Ross. His defense has also finished among the top five most efficient defenses according to Inside Lacrosse in 2023 (3rd), 2024 (2nd) and 2025 (5th).
He also mentored a 2025 fourth round PLL Draft pick Kevin Parnham as well as two other PLL players. In total, Bucci has developed five All-Americans at Penn State.