Jason Tapp completed his 11th season as a member of the Union College men's hockey coaching staff in 2019-20.
Tapp joined the staff as a volunteer coach in 2009-10 before earning a full-time spot on staff in 2011-12. He was promoted to Associate Head Coach for the 2016-17 season and leads Union's on- and off-campus recruiting efforts.
The team's defensive/goaltending coach, Tapp has consistently developed top-level talent in front of the Union net, including five All-Americans (defensemen Mat Bodie and Shayne Gostisbehere, and goaltenders Troy Grosenick, Keith Kinkaid and Colin Stevens) and two Hobey Baker finalists.
In terms of ECAC Hockey award winners, Tapp has produced three Goaltenders of the Year (Stevens, Grosenick, Kinkaid), a Best Defensive Defenseman (Gostisbehere), 13 All-ECAC Hockey selections and three ECAC Hockey All-Rookie Team members.
Tapp has also sent several players to the National Hockey League, with Grosenick landing in San Jose and Kinkaid in New Jersey. Jeff Taylor (PIT) and Gostisbehere (PHI) were both selected in the NHL Entry draft, while Stevens (FLA) and Mat Bodie (NYR) both signed NHL contracts after college.
Under Tapp's direction, Union has ranked first (2011-12), fourth (2013-14) and seventh (2012-13) nationally in scoring defense.  The 2011-12 squad allowed only 1.83 goals per game.  During his time in the Electric City, Tapp seen seven goaltenders record a total of 29 shutouts.  The 2016-17 squad also seven short-handed goals.
In 2016-17 senior goaltender Alex Sakellaropoulos and senior defenseman Jeff Taylor were both named All-ECAC Hockey Second Team. Sakellaropoulos was 14-2-2 in ECAC Hockey competition, while Taylor finished tied for first among the nation's defensemen in game-winning goals (4), tied for sixth in points (33), and tied for seventh in goals (9).
In 2014-15, Tapp worked with All-ECAC Third Team defenseman Jeff Taylor, and saw Colin Stevens finish as the school's career leader in wins (53) and co-leader in shutouts (11).
In 2013-14, Tapp was a member of the NCAA Championship team.  That season Union goaltenders won seven weekly conference awards and were twice named goaltenders of the month. On two occasions, Union had multiple goaltenders honored in the same week.
A native of Kelowna, British Columbia, Tapp played four seasons (1998-2002) in goal at Boston University. Â He graduated in 2002 with a bachelor's degree in United States history.
Tapp’s pro career began in Europe with the Nijmegen Tigers of the Dutch Superliga. He moved back to the United States for a seven-year pro career that included stints with the Columbus Cottonmouths (ECHL), Quad City Mallards (UHL), Corpus Christi Rayz (CHL), Knoxville Ice Bears (SEHL/ACHL) and Kalamazoo Wings (IHL).
Tapp was twice named to the UHL All-Star Team as a member of the Quad City Mallards. He set Quad City records for minutes played in a season and consecutive starts (33). He also established a single-season record for games played with Corpus Christi and was named team MVP.
Jason is married to Nicol Lally, a news anchor at News10Â ABC in Albany. Â The couple have two daughters, Ella and Avery, and a son, Kellen. The Tapps reside in North Greenbush, N.Y.
