SPRINGFIELD — Missouri State University Director of Athletics Kyle Moats announced Monday afternoon (Dec. 6) that Kirk Nelson has been named as the new women’s soccer head coach for the Bears, effective January 1.
Nelson, who has been the team’s associate head coach the past eight seasons, will replace Rob Brewer who is retiring at year’s end after 26 seasons as head coach of the MSU women’s program he founded.
“I’m excited for Kirk and his family,” said Moats. “Kirk has invested many years into our program to have an opportunity to be the head coach. He has developed a comprehensive plan to transform our program into a conference contender and focus on the experience of our student-athletes. I endorse his plan and look forward to working with him to accomplish these goals.”
Nelson came to Missouri State in 2014 after four seasons at the University of Nevada where he guided the Wolf Pack to back-to-back Mountain West Conference Tournaments in his last two seasons. In 2013, Nelson was promoted to associate head coach after spending his first three years in Reno as an assistant coach.
Prior to joining the Nevada staff, Nelson spent a season as an assistant coach at Washington State University. While in Pullman, he served as the recruiting coordinator for the Cougars and helped secure the 37th-ranked recruiting class in the nation that season.
Nelson also excelled in the high school ranks with stints at Hamilton High School in Chandler, Ariz., as the head girls varsity soccer coach, and at Mountain Pointe High School in Phoenix where his teams competed for a pair of 5A state championships titles and recorded 175 wins.
“I am humbled and honored to be named the next Missouri State University head women’s soccer coach,” said Nelson. “I would like to thank Kyle Moats, Casey Hunt, and coach Rob Brewer for this opportunity. I appreciate their guidance and mentorship over the years. I am excited to continue coaching and supporting these exceptional student-athletes in achieving their goals here and beyond. I look forward to building a competitive program that performs at a high level both on and off the field. Go Bears!”
Nelson has been heavily involved with the U.S. Soccer Federation, serving as a lead “C” license instructor and a lead talent scout for the Youth National Teams. He has been published in the United Soccer Coaches Preseason Journal three times – 2019, 2020 and 2021.
Originally from Annapolis, Maryland, Nelson has acted as a coach for the Midwest Region Olympic Development Program (ODP), where in 2019, his ODP squad went undefeated and advanced to the national championship in Boca Raton, Fla. He has recently been invited to be a coach for the ODP National Team with the ’04 girls team for January of 2022.
He is certified as a USSF National “A” License coach, one of the highest coaching certifications given out by the federation, and holds both an NSCAA Premier Diploma and a Goalkeeping Diploma. He has served as the Lead USSF Coaching License Instructor for Nevada, Missouri and Kansas, where he instructed the “D” & “E” coaching license courses. In 2012, he was honored with the first-ever Nevada Coaching Educator of the Year Award.
Nelson played collegiately at Virginia Tech and earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of Maryland in 1993 with a degree in Finance. He also earned two post-graduate degrees, one in Secondary Education and one in Mathematics, both in 1997 from University of Phoenix.
Nelson’s career has also included stints as an assistant coach for the W-League’s Arizona Heatwave, the WPSL’s Cheetahs from 2004-08, and as the associate head and assistant women’s coach at Scottsdale Community College and Mesa Community College.
Nelson and his wife, Michele, have two children, Brock & Brynn.
His promotion is contingent upon final approval by the Missouri State University Board of Governors at its next scheduled meeting, Dec. 16.
