McCaslin Radio Interview

Big Rapids, Mich. - Ferris State University has found its next women's soccer head coach as Andy McCaslin was appointed today (Jan. 30) to take over the FSU program in an announcement made by the Bulldogs.

McCaslin, who served as a volunteer assistant coach for Ferris State during the fall 2012 season, brings a wealth of previous coaching experience to the position and takes over for former head coach Matt Kellogg, who recently accepted the head coaching position at NCAA Division I North Dakota after three years at the helm.

"After an extensive and thorough search, we found that our best candidate was right in our own backyard," said FSU Associate Athletics Director Jon Coles, who coordinated the search process. "Andy knows the institution, our processes, the conference, and most importantly, our soccer student athletes.  He will hit the ground running and allow us to move forward is this transition period."

In his initial season on the Bulldog staff this past fall, McCaslin helped FSU to the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) Tournament semifinals for only the second time in school history.  Ferris State concluded the 2012 campaign with a 9-7-3 overall record and the program's first winning season and highest league finish since 2005.

"It's an exciting time for the program here at Ferris and I'm looking forward to building on the success from this past season and continuing to build a consistent contender in the GLIAC," McCaslin said. "I'd like to thank the search committee and staff for their diligence and quickness in this process. It will allow the team an opportunity to get together right away for training and really get a jump on the non-championship portion of the year.

"There's a great group of student-athletes returning who are energetic, love to train and want to improve every day so I'm certainly looking forward to helping them maximize their potential," he added.

McCaslin, who has more than eight years of experience coaching at the club, Olympic Development Program, high school and youth camp levels, also has five years of experience at various NCAA levels of competition.  In his previous positions, he's recruited at both national and regional events and been involved with budgeting, fundraising, scheduling, travel planning, film editing along with public relations and more.

Prior to joining the Ferris State staff, McCaslin served as an assistant women's soccer coach at NCAA Division I Western Michigan from April 2011 to August 2012.  The squad finished with a school-best 14-8 overall and was ranked regionally for the first since since 2003.  They also made a second-straight Mid-American Conference (MAC) Tournament appearance and placed third in regular-season action.

While at Western Michigan, McCaslin helped coach five all-conference players and three MAC All-Tournament Team selections.  Two were also honored as Academic All-Region selections with one chosen to the Academic All-America Team.  WMU also posted the nation's highest team grade point average in women's soccer with eight players honored as academic all-league selections.

Before his tenure at Western Michigan, McCaslin served as an assistant coach for a year at Division III Saint Mary's University in Winona, Minn.  The team was ranked regionally for the first time in 14 years while he was there and five players received all-league laurels.

He originally began his collegiate career as an assistant men's soccer coach at NCAA Division I Valaparaiso University from 2008 to 2010.  Eight players were tabbed to the All-Horizon League squad in his tenure and the team set school records for both wins and goals against average.  Three players went on to receive professional contracts and he also served as Valpo's camp director and created the curriculum.

A member of the United States Soccer Coaches Connection and the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA), McCaslin's currently a United States Soccer Federation (USSF) "A" license holder along with being certified by the United States Youth Soccer Association (USYSA) as a "Y" license holder.  In addition, he holds a NSCAA Premier Diploma.

McCaslin earned a bachelor's degree in english writing from DePauw (Ind.) University along with a master's degree in sports administration at Valparaiso.  He was a varsity soccer letterwinner at DePauw from 2000 to 2002 and claimed the team's Mental Attitude Award during his collegiate career.

With his appointment, McCaslin becomes the fifth head coach in Bulldog women's soccer history since the program's inception in 1999.

What They Are Saying About Andy McCaslin

"I'm excited that Andy is getting this opportunity and believe he will do a great job at Ferris State.  He's worked hard to prepare himself for this opportunity and is more than ready to continue to take the program to a new level."
Mike Avery, head men's soccer coach, Valparaiso University

"It was obvious this past fall what Andy's level of commitment was to the game of soccer in addition to his willingness to give back and continue to learn and grow as an individual while a volunteer at Ferris State.  It was invaluable for the FSU program and the student-athletes to have another resource and someone who was going to work as hard as the head coach.  Andy is a soccer junkie who watches and studies the game.  He's a great hire for FSU and will continue the upward expectations developing for the program after a successful year."
Dave DiIanni, head women's soccer coach, Grand Valley State University

"After an extensive and thorough search, we found that our best candidate was right in our own backyard. Andy knows the institution, our processes, the conference, and most importantly, our soccer student athletes.  Andy will hit the ground running."
Jon Coles, Associate Athletics Director, Ferris State University

"Andy came in this past fall and helped us achieve our best record since 2005.  It's outstanding to see him get the opportunity to take over a program that he was a big part of this past year and keep it moving forward."
Matt Kellogg, head women's soccer coach, University of North Dakota
Former Ferris State women's soccer head coach