The Kenston High School Athletic Department has announced the hiring of Brian Stepanek as its next varsity boys lacrosse head coach. The announcement was made by Athletic Director Reid Guarnieri following the approval of Stepanek’s hire by the Kenston Board of Education at Monday’s monthly meeting (July 20).

Guarnieri said, “To attract as seasoned and successful a coach as Brian is a testament to how far the Kenston lacrosse program has come and how hard our student-athletes have worked to make this a premier destination in the area.”

Stepanek brings a well-rounded lacrosse experience, including success coaching and playing both box and field lacrosse, at public and private, small and large schools and owns a successful track record as a club coach at the youth, middle school and high school levels. He has spent the last several years as the Associate Head Coach at St. Edward High School in Lakewood after a long tenure leading Westlake High School.

He is excited to return to head coaching, stating, "Mr. Guarnieri and the Kenston community clearly love lacrosse; I am so grateful to them for this opportunity and could not be more excited to get to work with our players. I have a great appreciation for Kenston's lacrosse program and believe this to be one of the best places to coach high school lacrosse in Northeast Ohio. I am eager to get going and look forward to what the future holds for this group.”

A Hudson native, Stepanek began his playing career in the Hudson youth lacrosse system before going on to play at Western Reserve Academy. He parlayed an impressive high school playing career into four more years of lacrosse at Dickinson College in Pennsylvania.

Stepanek's teams in both high school and college raised their level of play and achieved unprecedented success, in the form of an MSLA "A" Bracket championship at WRA in 2006, as well as a Centennial Conference championship in 2011 and two NCAA tournament runs at Dickinson.

During his time in college, Stepanek also spent a semester abroad playing field and box lacrosse for the Bremen Likedeeler in the German Bundesliga, leading the team to several upset victories en route to its highest win total to date.

Stepanek began his coaching career at Westlake High School in 2014, and was elected the Ohio High School Lacrosse Coaches' Association Division II Coach of the Year that season as his Demons advanced to the State quarterfinal for the first time. He enjoyed continued success during a tenure that spanned nine seasons.

His players went on to play at the NCAA Division I, II and III levels as well as the MCLA. Coach Stepanek was honored by the Morning Journal with another Coach of the Year award in 2018, and boasted an undefeated record in three appearances coaching the North team in the Ohio High School All-Star Game.

At St. Ed's, Coach Stepanek served as Defensive Coordinator and Associate Head Coach. Players under his tutelage once again matriculated to the NCAA Division I, II and III levels as the Eagle defense developed a reputation for its stinginess and team-oriented style of play.

At the club level, Coach Stepanek has worked for Xcelerate, Burning River, and currently works for Resolute Cleveland as a youth lacrosse coach in the summer, and high school box lacrosse coach in the winter. He spent the summers of 2022-2025 leading the 2026 cohort at Resolute Cleveland, which developed over 20 players now going on to play at the NCAA level.

Guarnieri added, “Coach Stepanek stresses a balanced approach to the game, always finishing every practice with two questions – did we get better and did we have fun? That philosophy stood out to us as a program that is always prioritizing the student-athlete experience. We agree that if, in addition to working hard, we approach things positively and carry ourselves with respect, then success will ensue.”

Stepanek concluded, “Our goals are simple: to learn how to be the best team we can be, and have as much fun as we possibly can while working toward our first goal. Lacrosse is meant to be fun, and it is meant to be a conduit to help us discover and share the gifts with which each of us are endowed. If we honor the spirit of the game in that respect, I have faith that the results will take care of themselves.”

Kenston is coming off of one of its most successful seasons ever, having won 16 games and earning 11 All-Region player honors. It will open its 2027 regular season at home versus Olmsted Falls on March 16.