Ouachita Baptist University Director of Athletics David Sharp has announced the hiring of Wes Holifield as the head coach for the men’s soccer program.
Holifield has coached at the NCAA Division I, II, and club levels since 2018. Most recently, he has been an assistant coach at Queens University of Charlotte, North Carolina since February of 2023. He was the goalkeepers coach in addition to other administrative duties within the program. Holifield played at Queens to start his collegiate career before ending at Belmont Abbey College in North Carolina, where he graduated in 2018 with a bachelor’s degree in business management.
The Searcy, Arkansas native began his collegiate coaching career as a player-coach at Belmont Abbey in 2018 and continued as an assistant coach from 2019-22, coaching both the men’s and women’s teams. He helped the Crusaders men’s team capture the Conference Carolinas championship in the pandemic year of 2020-21. The team finished second in 2018 and 2019, and advanced to the final four of the conference in 2021. The Belmont Abbey women’s teams finished in the top four of the conference each year. Combined between the men’s and women’s teams, the goalkeepers under Holifield’s leadership earned all-conference honors five times and all-region honors twice.
Holifield moved up to the NCAA Division I level for the 2022 season as an assistant coach for the men’s team at the University of Evansville in Indiana. During that year, the Aces finished third in the regular season and made the finals of the Missouri Valley Conference tournament. Under Holifield’s coaching, goalkeeper Alex Vidizzoni earned all-conference and all-region honors.
“I’m excited to get back home to Arkansas, but I’m even more excited to help Ouachita men’s soccer get back to where it’s been in the past,” said Holifield. “There will be a culture shift here that will set the foundation for what I believe will make the Ouachita community proud. I’m so thankful to Mr. Sharp for the confidence he has in in me to take over this program.”
“Wes is a wonderful addition to our university and community, and he is a great person to lead our men’s soccer program,” said Ouachita Director of Athletics David Sharp. “His professionalism, his coaching experience, his reputation, and his alignment with the mission and values of our university set him up for success here at Ouachita.
At the club level, Holifield was the competitive division head coach for the U12-U15 team for the Charlotte Independence Soccer Club from 2018-22. He has also worked with the Charlotte Eagles Soccer Club as the director of goalkeeping (2023), head coach of the U15 Boys Academy Team (2023), assistant coach for the USL2 men’s team (2022-23), and assistant coach for the U19 Boys USL Academy Team (2021).
In addition to his bachelor’s degree in business management from Belmont Abbey, Holifield is currently pursuing a master’s degree in leadership from Evansville.
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