April 14, 2015 – Fifteen difference makers who are making an impact. College Soccer News annually seeks to recognize assistant coaches across the country who are excelling at their work. Our selections for 2014 include some who have been listed in the past as well as some not previously recognized. In making these selections we state up-front that we know some very deserving assistant coaches will be left out as is always the case when individuals are singled out for recognition. The current selections continue our trend in the past several seasons of placing additional weight on team success on the field of play in the selection criteria.
There are many very good assistant coaches in the collegiate ranks across the nation who have had and will continue to have a very positive impact on college soccer. The very best are effective teachers, communicators, motivators, and recruiters. They relate well to the players they coach while maintaining their respect. Successful head coaches will be the first to emphasize the role that their assistants play in the level of success that a program achieves. The very best assistance coaches are soccer and people savvy mentors who understand their role and are totally aligned with the direction of the head coach.
Assistant coaches recognized in past years by College Soccer News who are now head coaches include Kevin Grimes at California, Cameron Rast at Santa Clara, Bill Irwin at Portland, Robert McCourt at Monmouth, Bobby Muus at Wake Forest, Mike Jacobs formerly at Evansville, Todd Yeagley at Indiana, Jesse Comier at Vermont, Kelly Findley at North Carolina State, Erik Ronning at Colgate, Brian Wiese at Georgetown, Darren Powell at Elon, Damon Rensing at Michigan State, Jamie Clark at Washington, Kevin Anderson at Columbia, Sean Phillips at UIC, Eric Pogue at Oakland, Ralph Polson at Wofford, Scott Calabrese at FIU, Brad Ruzzo at Mercer, Andy Fleming at Xavier, Carlos Somoano at North Carolina, Ryan Anatol at Stony Brook, Johan Cedergren at Kentucky, Jared Embick at Akron, Chris Volk at UC Irvine, Kylie Stannard at Yale and Mario Sanchez at SIUE.
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Anthony Adams – UMBC | Adams has been recognized in the past on multiple occassions by College Soccer News for his efforts as a long time member of the UMBC coaching staff under the direction of head coach Pete Caringi, Jr. The 2015 season will be Adams' 19th as a Retriever Assistant Coach and his fifth as the associate head coach. He also has been a successful coach with the USSF Development Academy's Baltimore Bays and is now coaching with the Baltimore Celtic SC. UMBC had a banner season in 2014 in which they advanced to the College Cup for the first time in the history of the program. |
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John Mark Andrade – Providence | Andrade is among the reasons that great things are happening at Providence. He will enter is seventh season as an assistant coach at Providence and third as the associate head coach under head coach Craig Stewart. Prior to coming to Providence in 2009 he was the head coach at Dean College for a year. The Friars won their first ever Big East Championship in 2014, secured a program record sixteen wins, and played their way into the College Cup for the first time in the history of the program. |
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Kris Bertsch – Louisville | Bertsch joined the Louisville staff this year under head coach Ken Lolla after five very productive seasons as an assistant coach at Xavier under head coach Andy Fleming. During Bertsch's tenure at Xavier the Musketeers made four NCAA Tourney appearances and had five consecutive ten-plus win seasons. The Musketeers had a program record fifteen wins in 2014 and advanced to the Sweet Sixteen for the first time in the history of the program. Before coming to Xavier Bertsch served as an assistant coach at Syracuse and was the director of soccer operations at Connecticut for four seasons. |
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Stephen Bode – Marquette | Bode will begin his 8th season as an assistant coach at Marquette University in 2015 under head coach Louis Bennett. As a collegiate player Bode was a lock down defender at the Univeristy of Wisconsin-Milwaukee where he displayed the work ethic, focus, and dedication as a player that he continues to display as a coach. He is a valuable member of the Marquette coaching staff who continues to grow as a coach. Bode has also been active in youth soccer. |
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Nick Carlin-Voigt – UCLA | Carlin-Voigt enters his fourth season as the top assistant coach at UCLA under head coach Jorge Salcedo. His success on the recruiting trail is reflected in the fact that the Bruins annually have one of the top ranked recruiting classes in the country. He is actively involved in all aspects of the program including player development, training, conditioning, scouting, and recruiting. Before coming to Westwood, Carlin-Voigt was the top assistant coach at George Mason. He was an NSCAA All-American as a player at Kalamazoo. UCLA advanced to the Final Four in 2014 for the 14th time in the storied history of the program and advanced to their 9th College Cup final. |
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Matt Chulis – Virginia | Chulis knows what it takes to compete and win at the highest level. He will enter his tenth season as an asssitant coach at Virginia in 2015 including his fifth as the associate head coach under head coach George Gelnovatch. Chulis was a three-time All-American as a player at Virginia and has been a part of nine NCAA Tourney teams while a member of the coaching staff including trips to the College Cup in 2006, 2009, 2013 and 2014 and National Championship teams in 2009 and 2014. |
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B.J. Craig – Notre Dame | Craig is among the reasons that good things coninue to happen at Notre Dame. He will enter his eighth season on the Notre Dame staff in 2015 under Bobby Clark. He was named the associate head coach in 2013. Prior to coming to Notre Dame he served as an assistant coach at Louisville for one season, he was the head coach at Saint Francis for four years, and served as an assistant coach at Dartmouth for six seasons. During his tenure to date at Notre Dame the Irish are 88-36-25 overall. The Irish have been a top-three seed in the NCAA Tournament for the past three seasons and won the National Championship in 2013. |
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Brian Gill – Georgetown | Gill will enter his sixth season as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at Georgetown under head coach Brian Wiese. Credit Gill for playing a role in the emergence of the Georgetown program as a power on the national scene and for being a part of what many consider a coaching staff that is among the best in the country. It all began with the 2012 season during which the Hoyas advanced to the national championship game and secured a program best 19 wins. In 2014 Georgetown advanced to the Elite Eight and finished the year with a 14-4-5 record. |
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Ian Gordona – Ohio State | Gordona has an eye for talent and is a player's coach. He joined the Ohio State coaching staff in 2014 under head coach John Bluem and helpled the Buckeyes earn an at-large berth in the NCAA Tourney. Prior to that he was an assistant coach at Michigan for two seasons and had a four year tenure as a recruiting liaison and academy coach with the MLS's Columbia Crew Youth Development Program. He also honed his coaching skills after graduating from Ohio State as an assistant coach at Manchester Community College for five seasons. Gordona also servers as a scout for the U.S. National Team. |
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Philip Jones – Clemson | Jones begins his fifth season as an assistant coach at Clemson in 2015 and his fourth as the associate head coach under head coach Mike Noonan. Prior to that he was an assistant coach at Brown under Noonan. As a collegiate player Jones was a four-time All-Florida Sun Conference selection at Embry-Riddle. Jones is a part of a Clemson program for which the trend lines continues upward. In 2014 the Tigers won the ACC Championship for the first time since the 2001 season and advanced to the Sweet Sixteen in the NCAA Tourney for the first time since 2006. |
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Brian Maisonneuve – Indiana | Maisonneuve was a winner as a player and now as a coach at Indiana. He will enter his sixth season as an assistant coach at Indiana and third as as the associate head coach in 2015 under head coach Todd Yeagley. Prior to that he was an assistant coach at Louisville for two seasons and served as an assistant coach for the U.S. U-20 National Team for four years. Maisonneuve knows the game. He is a former All-American and Hermann Trophy winner as a player at Indiana. |
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Hugh MacDonald – Monmouth | Head coach Robert McCourt would be the first to point out the value that MacDonald brings to the program at Monmouth. MacDonald, who had a stellar career as a defender at Monmouth, will begin his ninth season as an assistant coach and second as the associate head coach under McCourt's direction in 2015. He is actively involved in all aspects of the program including practice and conditioning, recruiting, game operations and community service projects. |
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Jeff Rowland – Washington | Rowland is among the reasons why Washington is now a legitimate contender for the Pac-12 title and a force on the national scene. He will enter his fifth season as an assistant coach at Washington under head coach Jamie Clark. Washington has earned a berth in the NCAA Tourney for three out of the past four seasons including a number two seed in the NCAA Tourney in 2013 and a number fourteen seed in 2014. During the four seasons Rowland has been on the coaching staff at Washington the Huskies have gone 63-16-12 overall. Rowland was an All-American as a player at New Mexico. |
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John Smith – Stanford | Smith enters his fourth season as an assistant coach and second as associate head coach under head coach Jeremy Gunn at Stanford. Prior to coming to Stanford he was the head coach at then Division II Incarnate Word for six seasons. Smith was a two-time All-American as a collegiate player at Rollins College where he netted fifty carrear goals and fifty carrear assists. Smith has been part of the recent resurgance at Stanford that included a return to the NCAA Tourney field in 2013 for the first time since 2009 and the program's first Pac-12 Championship in 2014 since 2001. |
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Johnny Torres – Creighton | Torres has been associated with Creighton soccer and the success the program has enjoyed for a long time. He will begin his ninth season as an assistant coach at Creighton in 2015 where he serves as a key member of head coach Elmar Bolowich's staff. The former two-time National Player of the Year at Creighton helped the Jays go 16-3-3 last year and claim their first Big East regular season title with a 7-1-1 mark in league play. Creighton finished the 2014 season ranked as the numer five team in the College Soccer News season ending poll. |
