James Marcou has joined the men's hockey coaching staff in August of 2019 and enters his fifth year with the Crimson. He is responsible for coaching the team's forward group and power play, as well as recruiting.
Marcou helped guide Harvard to another standout season up front in 2022-23, as the Crimson finished 7th in the nation with an average of 3.68 goals per game, and had the No. 9 power play in the country at 24.3% on the season. Under his guidance, both Sean Farrell (First Team) and Matthew Coronato (Second Team) earned All-America honors.
In 2021-22, Marcou had another successful year coaching the forwards, as the Crimson were No. 11 in the nation in scoring (3.31 goals per game), featuring the nation's No. 1 (Sean Farrell) and No. 2 (Matthew Coronato) rookie scorers (points per game).
In his first season with Harvard, Marcou oversaw a Crimson power play that led all NCAA Division I programs in 2019-20 at 31.2% (34-for-109), recording a power play goal in 24 of 31 games. Harvard was No. 5 in the nation in scoring (3.74 goals per game), led by Second-Team All-American Nick Abruzzese (14 goals, 30 assists), who was tops among NCAA first-years in scoring.
Marcou previously worked as an assistant coach at Brown, where he helped the Bears record their first winning season since 2012-13. The Huntington, N.Y. native guided Brown to ECAC Hockey championship weekend for the first time since 2013.
Marcou, an All-American and the career assists leader at the University of Massachusetts (2007-10), began his collegiate coaching career in 2016 as a graduate assistant at UMass, where he aided the coaching staff in all aspects of the program over the course of two seasons.
Marcou put together a standout collegiate career at UMass. He earned AHCA Second-Team honors following his sophomore season in 2008-09, when he racked up 47 points on 15 goals and 32 assists, and tied for the Hockey East scoring title that season. A two-time All-Hockey East performer and New England Hockey Writers All-Star, Marcou broke his own school record for single-season assists (40) as a junior in 2009-10. He finished with 130 career points (34g, 96a) in 111 games played.
After his junior season, Marcou signed a free agent contract with the San Jose Sharks of the National Hockey League. He played for two and a half seasons before medically retiring. Marcou returned to UMass, completing his degree as a 2015 graduate of the Isenberg School of Management. He later served on the varsity boys’ hockey staff for Milton Academy during the 2015-16 season, where he helped lead the program to a Co-ISL Championship.
