PULASKI, Tenn. – A prestigious program record was surpassed recently. UT Southern women's soccer Head Coach, Will Austin became the all-time coaching wins leader in the 28-year history of the women's soccer program. Austin completed this feat in his eighth season at the helm of the program with the squad's 11-nil victory over Brewton-Parker on October 14th.
With win number 137, Austin surpassed his mentor Gerry Cleary who held the record since 2010. Cleary was the leader of the program from 2003-2010 bringing two Red Banners back to Pulaski. Cleary transitioned to the helm of the men's squad and won a third NAIA National Championship in his third year.
"First and foremost: players win games, not coaches, so all credit goes to every player I've been lucky enough to coach," Austin said. "I don't think anyone will ever achieve what Coach Cleary did: winning 3 National Championships in 9 years with 2 different programs. He is, in my opinion, the most successful small college soccer coach ever. I am grateful to him for building a program that is a perennial National Championship contender and to Coach John for maintaining those high standards. I am grateful to Coach John for taking a chance on me by hiring me, trusting me with a lot of responsibility as an assistant and for teaching me how to be a head coach in every aspect of the job. I learned so much from both of these great coaches.
I'm thankful to have worked under two quality Athletic Directors, Coach Bain and Coach Paul, who have both fully supported our program relentlessly and mentored me to a high level. Our Athletic Trainer, Grant Fairchild, is the hardest working man on campus who works diligently year-round to keep our players healthy. We could not win Championships without him. I have also been blessed with so many quality assistant coaches and every single one of them are RedHawk/Firehawk soccer alums so having talented coaches who care deeply about our program has been crucial to our success: huge thank you to Zach, Gabby, Craig, Jenn, Stroebs, Emily and Anna!"
Austin, currently owns a 140-20-13 record. Before the 2023 season, he ranks 33rd on the NAIA Active Coaches' Win List and boasts the highest win percentage on the list of 0.855. To add to the impressive dossier, Austin is the only active coach on the list with under 10 seasons at the helm. His squads have made the final site of the NAIA National Tournament in each of his eight seasons with a best finish in 2023 defeating William Carey in a 3-3 match that was decided in a penalty showdown to win the title.
Austin's squads have won numerous conference titles both in the Southern States and Mid-South Conferences. The Firehawks/RedHawks won four regular-season crowns (2016, 2017, 2020, and 2021) as well as three conference tournament titles (2017, 2018, 2021). His squads have not been ranked lower than #14 in the National Coaches' Poll since 2016.
Austin's squads have earned national recognition in many ways. He has coached 32 NAIA All-Americans, 14 United Soccer Coaches All-Americans, 42 All-Conference selections, seven Conference Players of the Year, four Conference Freshmen of the Year, and one NAIA National Player of the Year. Austin was named NAIA Coach of the Year in 2021, and his staff was honored as the United Soccer Coaches National Staff on the year for 2021. The 2021 team was also honored as the Tennessee Sport Hall of Fame Female Amateur Team of the Year for their magical season.
Under his guidance, many national records have been claimed by the Firehawks/RedHawks. Millene Cabral set and held the NAIA record for goals scored with 53 in 2017. Riko Sagara holds the NAIA assist record with 36 in 2017. The 2021 National Championship team shattered a host of records in the NAIA National Tournament including most goals scored both as a team and by an individual player by Keito Ido and Estelle Badoedana Ekada. In his eight seasons, 14 former players have moved on to sign professional football contracts.
Teams under Austin' leadership have excelled in the classroom as well. His teams have held a team grade point average (GPA) above 3.0 in each season, and he has coached 55 All-Academic honorees.
SSAC CHAMPIONSHIP
The Firehawks will begin their postseason quest to another NAIA Final Site, on November 2nd, hosting Blue Mountain Christian at Grissom Pitch. UT Southern earned the second seed in the SSAC Championship, while the Toppers earned the seventh seed. The SSAC Quarterfinal match is scheduled to kickoff at 3:30 p.m.
