Men’s Soccer Coaching Staff Named Men’s NCAA Division I Southeast Region Staff of the Year
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Kentucky men’s soccer coaching staff was named Men’s NCAA Division I Southeast Region Staff of the Year, United Soccer Coaches announced on Friday.
The honor is a result of a vote by other coaches in the region who are also members of the United Soccer Coaches College Services program.
Following one of its most successful seasons in program history at the helm of Sun Belt Conference Coach of the Year Johan Cedergren, the Wildcats finished the 2022 campaign 15-1-5 (5-0-3 Sun Belt). Assistant coaches Josh Oldroyd and Ryan Zinkhan, along with volunteer assistant coach Sam Brooks, created the perfect team to lead the program.
The coaching staff led the Cats to its first ever undefeated regular season which resulted in the Sun Belt Conference Regular Season title followed by a strong conference tournament performance. Kentucky beat James Madison University to clinch the Sun Belt Conference Tournament title as well.
The Wildcats remained the only undefeated team in NCAA Division I men’s soccer up until falling to Pittsburgh in the Sweet 16. Kentucky received a No. 2 ranking for the first time in program history remaining in the two-spot for four consecutive weeks. Kentucky was picked as the No. 1 overall seed for the NCAA Tournament for the first time as well.
Since taking the head coaching position in 2012, Cedergren has seen 56 conference wins, 10 winning seasons and nine NCAA Tournament appearances. He has also coached the Cats to three conference championship wins and has made it at least to the Sweet 16 consecutively in the last four years.
The season earned Cedergren improved his overall Wildcat record to 133-56-38 (56-20-17 conference).
Since joining the staff in 2018, Oldroyd has played a major part in the success of the program. With the newest additions of Zinkhan and Brooks, Kentucky looks to continue its success as one of the strongest coaching staffs and programs in the nation.
The National Staff of the Year will be announced on Dec. 16 by United Soccer Coaches.
For the latest on Kentucky Men’s Soccer, follow @UKMensSoccer on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, as well as on the web at UKAthletics.com.
