Denison University

TJ Toivonen enters his second season with the Denison men's lacrosse team after coaching his first season in 2025.

In the 2025 season, the Big Red Lacrosse team finished 13-7 and 7-1 in conference play. The Big Red made their ninth-straight NCAC Tournament appearance, but would fall short in the title game to Ohio Wesleyan 13-10. Despite the loss, Toivonen and the team would get an NCAA tournament bid. Denison would fight, but would lose in the first round to eventual runner-up Dickinson College in overtime, 8-7. Toivonen had five players earn All-NCAC for their defensive efforts, those include Charlie Haight, AJ Boxler, Grant Larson, Charlie Pellegrino, and Khari Freeman. Both Larson and Freeman were honored with major conference awards, as Larson was named Specialist of the Year, and Freeman was Newcomer of the Year. Pellegrino and Larson were the only repeat selections, and Larson was a two-time first-team honoree. Boxler, Haight, and Larson were all named Honorable Mention All-Americans by the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (USILA). Boxler was also recognized by USA Lacrosse for his efforts. The Big Red defense was one of the best in the conference, as they ranked top-five defensively in ground balls (683), caused turnovers (166), turnovers (353), turnovers per game (18.58), and faceoff percentage (64.1%) . As a team, the Big Red had 719 total ground balls, 332 faceoffs won, and a 87.4% clear percentage.

Toivonen comes from Transylvania University after serving as an Assistant Coach with the Pioneers for the past three seasons. 

After completing a five-year playing career with the Pioneers which spanned from 2016-2021, Toivonen began his next chapter with the Transylvania men’s lacrosse program in a coaching capacity. The Pioneers won the HCLC and advanced to the NCAA Tournament in 2024. Transylvania had advanced to the CCIW Tournament Finals in the 2022 and 2023 seasons. 

Toivonen, the program’s all-time leader in caused turnovers and one of the first two Pioneer men’s lacrosse players to be selected to the USILA Senior All-Star game. 

In the spring of 2021, Toivonen completed an illustrious run with the Transylvania men’s lacrosse program as a student-athlete, serving as the foundation of the program’s first four appearances in the NCAA Tournament. As a defender and long-stick midfielder for the Pioneers, Toivonen was a three-time conference Defensive Player of the Year and completed his career ranked sixth all-time in NCAA Division III men’s lacrosse caused turnovers with 182.

Prior to graduation, Toivonen earned IMLCA All-Region Honorable Mention as a defender and was named the 2021 Pioneer Men’s Sport Athlete of the Year at the annual RAFY awards.

Toivonen held a variety of coaching roles in his career prior to joining TU, as he has worked with the Commonwealth Kings, and Lacrosse Northwest, a youth lacrosse travel club based in Portland, Oregon near his hometown of Sherwood, Oregon.