Current and Future Men’s College Soccer Head Coach Legends – College Soccer News

Photo: Head Coaches Zach Haines (left) and Chris Grassie (Credit: Tim Cowie/Tim Cowie Photography)

Over the last several decades, many college teams have amassed tremendous success in the Men’s College Soccer record books. These goals, records, and trophies were won with great leadership both on and off the field. The structures and disciplines necessary to accomplish the many goals set throughout a college soccer season are established by head coaches. Sustained high levels of success are what turn a head coach from a manager capable of helping their team win to a legend that defines a generation of an entire program.

Here is a look at four legendary coaches who have been setting the standard for men’s college soccer at a single program since the 1990s, all of whom have maintained a top-30 winning percentage among active Division I coaches.

We also took time to find coaches we think could be on the rise as the next generation of college soccer coaching legends. These coaches have maintained a winning percentage among the top 30 Division I men’s college coaches and achieved consistent, high-level success for several years, primarily as head coach of one program.

Active Men’s College Soccer Head Coach Legends

Dr. Dave Masur – Coaching tenure At Saint John’s began in 1991-92

Masur has the second-most wins (463) by an active Division I men’s college soccer head coach. He has led Saint John’s to 22 NCAA tournament appearances (including 15 straight from 1992-2006). Those appearances included four NCAA College Cup runs and a national championship in 1996.

Doug Allison – Coaching tenure At Furman began in 1995-96

Allison has led Furman to 353 wins, 11 Southern Conference regular season titles, and 10 SoCon Tournament Championships. He also coached USMNT legend Clint Dempsey, who played for the Paladins from 2001-2003. Dempsey had his jersey retired at Furman on Aug 31, 2025. Allison coached other notable professionals, including USMNT players Ricardo Clark and Walker Zimmerman.

Photo: Jeremy Fleming

George Gelnovatch – Coaching tenure At Virginia began in 1996-97

Gelnovatch has helped lead Virginia to two NCAA National Championships (2009 and 2014). He also led the Cavaliers to 24 straight NCAA tournament appearances from 1996 to 2019 (an NCAA men’s soccer record). Gelnovatch currently has the fifth most wins (387) among active Division I men’s soccer coaches.

Photo: Matt Riley/UVA Athletics

Tim Vom Steeg – Coaching tenure At UCSB began in 1999-00

Vom Steeg has 319 career wins with University of California, Santa Barbara, where he has spent his entire college head coaching career. Vom Steeg has led UCSB to two College Cups, winning a National Championship in 2006. Vom Steeg’s former player Manu Duah was drafted first overall by MLS expansion side San Diego FC in the 2025 MLS SuperDraft. It was the first UCSB player to get drafted first overall in any sport.

Photo: Jeff Liang

Active Men’s College Soccer Coaches Who Look to be Next Generation Legends

Jamie Franks – Coaching tenure At Denver began 2015-16

Franks has spent his entire head coaching career at Denver. In 11 years as the Pioneers’ Head Coach, he has an impressive 71.2% winning percentage. Franks has led Denver to the College Cup twice and has earned five Summit League Coach of the Year Awards, and has qualified for the NCAA tournament in nine of ten seasons.

Kevin Hudson – Coaching Tenure At SMU Began 2015-16

Hudson has a 69% winning percentage as SMU’s head coach (11th among active Division I men’s soccer coaches) and has led them to the Elite Eight in the NCAA tournament twice (2019 and 2024). He has coached two MAC Hermann semifinalists and had three players drafted in the 2024 MLS SuperDraft (Nikola Djordjevic, Bailey Sparks, and Cesar Ruvalcaba).

Nick Carlin-Voigt – Coaching tenure At Portland began 2016-17

Carlin-Voigt has a 65% winning percentage as Portland’s head coach and has led the program to five NCAA Tournament appearances, going as far as the Elite Eight in 2022. Carlin-Voigt had two players drafted in the 2025 MLS SuperDraft (Efetobo Aror and Nick Fernandez).

Chris Grassie – Coaching tenure At Marshall began 2017-18

Grassie has led Marshall to six consecutive NCAA Tournaments, winning the Championship in 2021. They also advanced to the College Cup Final in 2024, losing to Vermont. He is currently third amongst active Division I head coaches with a 74.6% winning percentage. Three of his players were selected in the 2025 MLS SuperDraft (Lineker Rodrigues dos Santos, Takahiro Fujita, and Aleksander Vukovic).

Photo: Ben Powell

Rob Dow – Coaching tenure At Vermont began 2017-18

Dow earned his 100th win as Vermont’s head coach earlier this week against Hofstra and has a career head coach winning percentage of 68.9%, which is in the top 15 among active Division I men’s soccer coaches. In eight seasons, Dow has three America East regular season titles, two Conference Championships, and is currently the defending National Champion after beating Marshall in 2024.

Zach Haines – Coaching tenure At High Point began 2019-20

Haines has a career 67.4% winning percentage as High Point’s head coach and has led the Panthers to six straight Big South Final appearances (including three Big South Championships). Haines has also won three Big South Regular Season Titles and has beaten three top ranked teams in his last four seasons (#7 Maryland, #1 Pittsburgh, and CSN’s #8 Georgetown). He has also developed a MAC Hermann semifinalist (MD Myers).

Photo: Tim Cowie/Tim Cowie Photography

Dan Stratford – Coaching tenure At West Virginia began 2020-21

Stratford currently leads all active Division I men’s soccer coaches with a 78.4% winning percentage. Last year, Stratford led West Virginia to their first Sun Belt double (Regular Season and Championship Titles) in program history. He has also had four players selected in the First Round of the MLS SuperDraft in the last two years (Marcus Caldeira, Yutaro Tsukada, Jackson Lee, and Ryan Baer).