Jason O’Keefe enters his second year at the helm of the Appalachian State University men’s soccer program.
During his first year leading the Mountaineers, O’Keefe led the Mountaineers at one point to six-straight unbeaten in a tough stretch of matches that included draws with No. 8 Charlotte and No. 23 Hartwick on the road. During the 2016 season, O’Keefe coached two-time, first team all-Sun Belt Stephen Chapman who, along with eight goals on the season, was named CoSIDA Academic All-America and NSCAA All-Region. The team was also honored with the NSCAA Academic Award for their efforts in the classroom.
A 17-year veteran, O’Keefe’s coaching experience includes stints with some of the nation’s most successful men’s soccer programs, including North Carolina, Saint Louis and Wake Forest.
O’Keefe spent the past two seasons (2014-15) at North Carolina, where he helped the Tar Heels to a pair of top-10 finishes (No. 5 and No. 9 in the final National Soccer Coaches Association of America polls in 2014 and 2015, respectively). UNC earned NCAA Tournament berths both seasons that O’Keefe was on the Heels’ coaching staff and fell just one win short of advancing to the 2014 College Cup, falling to No. 2 seed UCLA on penalty kicks in the national quarterfinals.
As North Carolina’s recruiting coordinator, O’Keefe helped the Tar Heels land back-to-back top-10 signing classes, including what is currently ranked as the nation’s No. 1 class for 2016, according to TopDrawerSoccer.com.
Prior to his two seasons at UNC, O’Keefe was an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at Saint Louis for four seasons (2010-13). With O’Keefe on staff, SLU won two Atlantic 10 Conference championships (2012 tournament, 2013 regular season), earned a No. 8 seed in the 2012 NCAA Tournament and were ranked No. 1 in the NSCAA Mid-Atlantic Region in both 2012 and 2013.
For his efforts at Saint Louis, O’Keefe was named the NSCAA’s Mid-Atlantic Assistant Coach of the Year in 2012 and, in 2013, he was tabbed as one of the nation’s top 15 assistant coaches by CollegeSoccerNews.com.
O’Keefe’s successful time at SLU was preceded by three seasons (2007-09) at Elon, where he coached in the same conference (Southern) as Appalachian State. He was an assistant coach for his first two seasons at Elon before being promoted to associate head coach for his final campaign with the Phoenix. His promotion to associate head coach came after he helped lead Elon to the first regular-season SoCon championship in school history in 2008.
During his three years at Elon, O’Keefe recruited and/or coached four SoCon Players of the Year, including 2009 SoCon Freshman of the Year and 2010 and 2012 SoCon Player of the Year Chris Thomas.
Prior to his three seasons at Elon, O’Keefe helped lead Cincinnati to the first Big East Conference championship in school history and an NCAA Tournament berth in his lone season with the Bearcats in 2006. During his time, he also coached the the 2006 Big East Offensive Player of the Year.
O’Keefe’s first opportunity as a Division I coach came at Wake Forest, where he helped lead the Demon Deacons to three NCAA Tournament appearances in three seasons (2003-05). WFU won the Atlantic Coast Conference regular-season championship and earned the No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament in 2004. All three of O’Keefe’s Demon Deacon squads won at least one game in the NCAA Tournament, advancing to the third round in both 2004 and 2005.
At Wake Forest, O’Keefe coached the ACC’s 2003 and 2004 Offensive Players of the Year and the 2004 Defensive Player of the Year.
O’Keefe’s began his coaching career with three seasons (2000-02) at his alma mater, Greensboro College. During his three-season coaching stint at Greensboro, the Pride won three-consecutive Dixie Intercollegiate Athletic Conference regular-season and tournament championships.
As a student-athlete at Greensboro, he helped the Pride to three NCAA Division III Tournament appearances, the 1996 South Region championship and the 1994 Dixie Conference title.
In addition to his collegiate coaching experience, O’Keefe has also served as a scout for the US Soccer Development Academy (2012-16), a head coach in the North Carolina Olympic Development program (2007-10), director of coaching for the Burlington Soccer Club in Burlington, N.C. (2007-10) and assistant director of coaching for the Twin City Soccer Association in Winston-Salem (2003-06).
A Dean’s List student, O’Keefe graduated from Greensboro College in 1997 with a B.A. in history. He holds a United States Soccer Federation (USSF) “A” license and a National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) advanced national diploma.
O'Keefe and his wife, Julie Isley O'Keefe, have one son Jonah Craig O'Keefe.
“I am humbled and honored to become the next head coach of the App State men’s soccer program,” O’Keefe said. “I am grateful to Dr. Sheri N. Everts and Doug Gillin for giving me this tremendous opportunity. I can’t wait to get started with the staff and team. We will work extremely hard every day to make everyone involved with App State — alumni, students, faculty, staff, community members and fans — proud of our program and our student-athletes on and off the field.”
O’KEEFE’S COACHING CAREER AT A GLANCE
2000-02 — Greensboro College (assistant coach – three USA South Championships, three NCAA tournaments)
2003-05 — Wake Forest (assistant coach — ACC championship, three NCAA Tournaments)
2006 — Cincinnati (assistant coach — Big East championship, NCAA Tournament)
2007-09 — Elon (assistant coach/associate head coach — Southern Conference championship)
2010-13 — Saint Louis (assistant coach — two Atlantic 10 championships, 2012 NCAA Tournament)
2014-15 — North Carolina (assistant coach — two NCAA Tournaments, 2014 Elite 8, 2015 ACC Coastal Division Champions)
2016- — Appalachian State (head coach)
HONORS AND AWARDS
2012 — Mid-Atlantic Region Assistant Coach of the Year - National Soccer Coaches Association of America
2013 — One of the nation’s top 15 assistant coaches - CollegeSoccerNews.com
2015 — Nation’s No. 7 recruiting class - TopDrawerSoccer.com
2016 — Nation’s No. 1 recruiting class - TopDrawerSoccer.com
WHAT THEY’RE SAYING ABOUT O’KEEFE
“First of all, I would like to thank Coach Jason O’Keefe for his contributions to UNC athletics and our soccer program. Also, congratulations to Appalachian for a great hire. Coach O’Keefe is ready and motivated for this opportunity and we wish him well in his next coaching challenge.”
— Carlos Somoano (head coach, University of North Carolina)
“I was fortunate to work with Jason here at Saint Louis University. He was instrumental in establishing a professional and winning culture. He is an excellent hire and I am sure he will do well at Appalachian State.”
— Mike McGinty (head coach, Saint Louis University)
“I was fortunate to get to work with Jason early on in our professional careers and even more fortunate to be able to call him a great friend. Jason is one of the best recruiters in the country and has a proven track record of success. He knows the North Carolina soccer landscape as good as anyone and will be a perfect fit for Appalachian State and its athletics department.”
— Bobby Muuss (head coach, Wake Forest University)
“I’m very excited to see Coach O’Keefe get a solid job at a great school. During my time under Coach O’Keefe, I learned quite a bit about the game but much more about myself as a player. He is a very player-oriented coach and looks for the growth of each player, holistically, both on and off the field. I’m forward to hearing about all the great things he will do at App State. Wishing you all the best, Coach O’Keefe!”
— Kingsley Bryce (Saint Louis student-athlete, 2011-15; Chicago Fire — Major League Soccer)
"App State has made a great hire. Coach O'Keefe is not only a great coach but a great person. He invests in the development of his players not only on the field but off of it. I can't wait to see what Coach O'Keefe accomplishes at Appalachian State."
— Clint Irwin (Elon student-athlete, 2007-10; Toronto FC, 2016 MLS Cup Runner Up)
“Jason is a guy who allows you to reach the next level and push your self to becoming better everyday. On those days when you feel too lazy or just not giving it your all, not only was Coach there to back me up but he pushed me past limits I didn’t even know I had. If it wasn’t for him there is no way our team would of been as successful as we were. On top of all that, he became more that just a coach to me but a mentor. It was a sad day to see him go from us to UNC but, with his resume, he deserves this more than anyone.”
— Robert Kristo (Saint Louis student-athlete, 2011-15; Spezia Calcio FC - Serie B)
Sarah Strickland enters her seventh season at the helm of the Appalachian State University women’s soccer program. To date - she has amassed over 17 years of coaching experience at the club, collegiate and national levels.
The Mountaineers finished 10-6-4 (5-3-1 Sun Belt) in their second year in the the Sun Belt Conference. After an 8-11 season, Appalachian found its footing and finished the season by winning its first Sun Belt tournament victory by defeating Little Rock in the quartfinals 2-1. The Mountaineers then took then-first ranked and No. 1 Sun Belt offense South Alabama to PKs after tying them through two overtimes 2-2. App State unfortunately fell 10-9 in PKs, but it was certainly a pivotal accomplishment for the program.
In the 2014, the Mountaineers finished 8-11 overall and 5-4 in the Sun Belt Conference last season - their inaugural season in the league. Appalachian put together five quality conference wins, including a 3-2 double-overtime comeback win over Troy. Since Strickland’s hiring in 2011, the Mountaineers have gotten a good result in 49 matches. In what has been a program that Strickland has built from the ground up, the Mountaineers have earned five all-conference nominees.
The final Southern Conference year in 2013 saw the Mountaineers garner eight wins and finished 8-7-4 and a 4-2-4 mark in the Southern Conference, which was good for a tie for fifth, earning a spot in the conference tournament. Strickland coached both Sam Childress and Julia Holz to second-team all-conference honors and two freshman, Jane Cline and Jackie Nieradka, to the all-freshman team.
Strickland spent her first two seasons building the foundation for program success and earned a result in 18 of 32 games, including 11 wins.
Before coming to App State, Strickland was an assistant coach at Mississippi State, where she served as the program’s recruiting coordinator and goalkeepers’ coach for two seasons. She was instrumental in MSU’s turnaround from four-consecutive losing seasons to a 9-8-2 record in 2009, the program’s first winning season in six years.
During the successful ‘09 campaign, the Bulldogs set program records for consecutive wins (eight) and shutouts (four) and achieved the highest RPI ranking in school history (No. 41). Under Strickland’s tutelage, goalkeeper Taryn Holland ranked second in the Southeastern Conference history with 368 career saves and set MSU records for saves and shutouts.
Prior to her stint in the SEC, Strickland was a well-respected club soccer coach and administrator in Alabama for eight years. During that time, she served as the director of coaching for the Montgomery YMCA Capital City Streaks (2000-04), Girls’ Director for Coaching for the American Soccer Club (2004-06) and Staff Director for the Birmingham United Soccer Association (2006-07).
She began her coaching career on the collegiate level as an assistant coach at Troy University in 1998 and served as the program’s interim head coach during the 1999 offseason. From there, she moved on to Auburn University at Montgomery, where she was an assistant on the men’s and women’s staffs from 1999-2000.
On the national level, Strickland is a United States Soccer Federation “B” licensed coach and served on the staff of the U-14 national program in 2001. She also coached for the Alabama Olympics Development Program boys’ and girls’ programs from 1998-2002 and the Mississippi ODP girls’ in 2009.
The former Sarah Churchill was a three-year letterwinner at George Mason, where she helped lead the Patriots to back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances in 1996 and 1997, making it as far as the Sweet 16 in ‘97.
Strickland was a three-time Colonial Athletic Association Commissioner’s Academic Award winner and graduated from GMU with a B.A. in psychology in 1998. She earned a M.S. in foundations of education from Troy in 1999.
Coach Strickland and her husband, Jimmy (an athletic trainer for field hockey and wrestling at Appalachian) have three children: Kelsey, Bo and Will.