Navy men’s lacrosse coach Rick Sowell was fired Thursday.

The news — which was first reported by College Crosse’s Chris Jastrzembski, confirmed by Inside Lacrosse and then by Sowell himself when reached by the Baltimore Sun — came as “a total surprise,” Sowell wrote in a message to the team’s supporters.

“For you returning players, please make the transition for the next coach easier than I had it,” he wrote.

Navy signed Sowell to a five-year contract extension after he led the team to the NCAA quarterfinals in 2016, which should have kept him in Annapolis through the 2021 season. He led the Midshipmen to a 54-56 record in eight seasons, including a 6-7 mark this year, when they were left out of the Patriot League tournament due to a tiebreaker.

Sowell previously coached at Dartmouth, St. John’s and Stony Brook. He’s one of just three coaches to guide three different Division I programs to the NCAA tournament.

UPDATE: The school sent out this press release on Friday afternoon.

ANNAPOLIS, Md. —  Naval Academy Director of Athletics Chet Gladchuk announced today that Rick Sowell will not continue as head coach following eight years of leading the Navy men's lacrosse program. A national search for Navy's next head coach will begin immediately with Ryan Wellner serving as interim head coach.

"We remain especially grateful for the devoted commitment Rick has made to our lacrosse program over the past eight years," expressed Gladchuk. "He has proven on many occasions that his leadership and coaching expertise were the deciding factors in fielding a number of very competitive and successful teams. He is a gentleman, family man, an accomplished professional and a role model to our midshipmen. We have been fortunate to have him as a member of the Navy lacrosse family.

"In the circles of coaching, change is sometimes appropriate, and that direction presents the opportunity to introduce new philosophies, organization and structure. With our gratitude for almost a decade under his direction, it is now time to change course and introduce new program perspectives and a renewed slate of ambitions."

"I am grateful for the opportunity to have worked at the United States Naval Academy over the past eight years," said Sowell. "During my time in Annapolis, I was blessed to work with great people both within the athletic department and the Academy at-large, as well as some incredible student-athletes. I would also like to thank my long-time assistant coach Ryan Wellner for his unwavering support and dedication to the programs we have led over the last 12 years. My family and I are looking forward to moving on to the next chapter in our lives."

Sowell, who guided the Midshipmen to a 6-7 record in 2019, closed out his Navy career with a 54-56 record, including a 35-25 mark in Patriot League action. One of just three lacrosse coaches (Jack Emmer, Tony Seaman) in the sport's history to lead three different Div. I programs to the NCAA Tournament, he was twice named the Patriot League Coach of the Year (2015, 2016).

Under Sowell's leadership, Navy captured at least a share of three Patriot League regular-season titles (2015, 2016, 2018) and played in the Patriot League Tournament semifinals three times (2015, 2016, 2018). Thirty-one players garnered All-Patriot League honors during his tenure at Navy, including Chris Fennell who became the first player in Patriot League history to be named the Patriot League Defensive Player of the Year three times (2015, 2016, 2017). Additionally, John Connors was named the 2016 Patriot League Goalkeeper of the Year and Joe Varello was named the 2018 Patriot League Faceoff Specialist of the Year. Eight players also garnered All-America citations over his eight seasons.

He coached the Mids to an NCAA Tournament quarterfinals appearance in 2016, Navy's first appearance in the NCAA Tournament since 2009 and its first quarterfinals appearance since 2008. Patriot League Regular-Season Co-Champions, Navy earned an at-large bid to compete in the 2016 NCAA Tournament where the Mids upset third-ranked Yale (13-10) in the opening round of the tournament. They would bow out the following weekend in an 11-10 loss against fourth-ranked Brown in Providence in the quarters.

He directed Navy to four consecutive Star Game victories over Army from 2015-18, while his stay in Annapolis was also highlighted by an 8-2 win over #6 Johns Hopkins in his first season (2012), marking Navy's largest margin of victory in the series since 1965 when it scored a 15-6 win over the Blue Jays on their home field. Meanwhile, in 2018, Navy scored two goals in the final minute, including the game-winner with two-tenths of a second remaining in the game, to capture a 13-12 victory against #9 Syracuse at the Carrier Dome. It was the program's first win in the series since March 20, 1982.