Men's Soccer

Wade Jean








second season

Wade Jean, the 2006 Northeast-10 Conference Coach of the Year, is in his second season as the Saint Michael's College men's soccer coach in 2007. An award-winning coach at Duquesne University, Jean was named the 10th Saint Michael's College men's head soccer coach on Jan. 31, 2006. Jean also serves as the College's athletic ticket manager and event supervisor.

"We are extremely fortunate to have someone of Wade's experience and accomplishments join the Saint Michael's athletics department and lead our men's soccer program," said Director of Athletics Geri Knortz. "He is a gifted coach and a great fit for Saint Michael's College."

In his first season with the Purple Knights in 2006, Jean guided Saint Michael's to an 11-5-4 record, the program's first winning season since 1988 and the second-most wins in program history. Picked to finish 11th in the NE-10 Preseason Coaches' Poll, Saint Michael's placed third, and advanced to the NE-10 Semifinals. For his efforts, Jean was also named the 2006-07 Saint Michael's Coach of the Year.

Jean brings a sparkling coaching resume to Saint Michael's. For the eight seasons prior to Saint Michael's, Jean served as men's soccer coach at Duquesne, an NCAA Division I university based in Pittsburgh, Pa. Jean was named the Atlantic-10 Conference Coach of the Year an unprecedented four times while at Duquesne (1999, 2002, 2004, 2005), and compiled an 82-54-14 record as head coach of the Dukes, including four consecutive 13-win seasons from 2002-05, the most victories in a season in program history. Jean led Duquesne to three straight Atlantic-10 Tournament championship games, two straight Atlantic-10 regular season titles, and in 2003 helped the Dukes earn a 25th ranking in the final national poll. Jean also had 10 of his former Duquesne student-athletes play soccer professionally.

Prior to his successful run at Duquesne, Jean was an assistant coach for three seasons at Division I Bowling Green (Ohio) State University. He helped guide the Falcons to a combined 52-13-3 record during his tenure and three appearances in the NCAA Tournament, as Bowling Green won the Mid-American Conference postseason tournament all three years.

Before his stint at Bowling Green, Jean worked at Illinois State University. Jean served as a volunteer assistant in 1993 and a graduate assistant in 1994, helping the Division I Redbirds tie for second place in the Missouri Valley Conference both seasons. Jean received his Master's degree in physical education, recreation and dance from Illinois State in 1996.

Jean returns to Vermont after a stellar four-year playing career at Johnson State College, where he graduated in 1990 with a bachelor of arts degree in elementary education. Jean started all four years for the Badgers as a defensive midfielder, serving as the team's co-captain as a senior. He helped lead Johnson State to three Mayflower Conference titles, and was named the recipient of the Bryan Wendall Award, given to the individual signifying the most dedication to the program. Jean also was a member of the varsity tennis and Nordic ski teams at Johnson State.

Following his playing career at Johnson State, Jean spent one season as an assistant coach at his alma mater, helping the Badgers compile a 16-4-1 record and a berth in the NAIA Tournament. The Badgers also won Mayflower Conference and North Atlantic regional championships during Jean's year as an assistant.

From there, Jean spent three seasons as the head coach at Champlain College in Burlington, building the Beavers into one of the top Division I National Junior College Athletic Association programs in the Northeast. Champlain won a program-record 12 games in Jean's final year with the school in 1992.

Jean, a native Vermonter, graduated from Bellows Free Academy-St. Albans in 1985, where he played soccer, ice hockey and tennis and was a teammate of current National Hockey League standout John LeClair.