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Kevin O'Brien
Kevin O’Brien enters his 12th season leading the women’s soccer program at Lipscomb University and the winningest head coach in program history. O’Brien has led the program to unprecedented success and has catapulted the Lady Bisons into the national spotlight.
O’Brien has led Lipscomb to six ASUN Championship game appearances, three ASUN Tournament titles, and five Regular Season ASUN titles and has guided the program to the NCAA tournament in three of the last four seasons. During his tenure at Lipscomb, O’Brien has coached 41 All-Conference performers, 14 All-Freshmen performers, 25 All-Academic honorees, and 30 players of the week.
In his first ten seasons at Lipscomb, O’Brien was named the ASUN Coach of the Year three times (2016, 2017, and 2021) and logged a record of 101-62-27. In a very prestigious honor, O’Brien’s staff was named the United Soccer Coaches South Region Staff of the Year in 2018.
Over the 2022 season, O’Brien’s squad put together a strong showing across the board. The Bisons collected an 11-5-3 record, boasting ten shutouts including an 8-0 victory over Alabama State. For their efforts, Shelby Craft, Logan McFadden, Kelli Beiler, and Kale’a Perry earned spots on United Soccer Coaches All-Region Teams with Beiler earning both the ASUN Player of the Year and the ASUN Scholar-Athlete of the Year titles. Alivia Carapazza joined Beiler on the ASUN All-Academic Team as well as earning her own ASUN All-Conference hnors. McFadden, Craft, and Perry also joined the duo as ASUN All-Conference selections. CJ Graham, Emily Patti, and Emanuela Schurch also claimed spots in the ASUN All-Conference awards.
In 2021, O’Brien led the Bisons to an ASUN Regular Season title with a record of 15-5-1, a dominating run to win the ASUN Tournament Championship, and another birth to the NCAA Tournament. Prior to the NCAA Tournament, the Lady Bisons beat two Power 5 teams in non-conference play (University of Miami and Mississippi State University) continuing a trend that has been consistent over the last several years. Lipscomb matched up against in-state rival No. 6 University of Tennessee, providing them with a hard-fought match in their NCAA Tournament first round loss. In 2021, Shelby Craft was named the ASUN Defensive Player of the Year, CJ Graham the ASUN Goalkeeper of the Year, Katia Hanger earned ASUN All-Conference First Team honors and O’Brien the ASUN Coach of the Year. Additionally, Cami Rogers and Molly Grant were named to the ASUN All-Conferece Second team. Furthermore, five Lady Bisons were recognized on one of the three United Soccer Coaches All-Region teams and the program finished the ranked No. 6 in the South Region Poll.
In the abbreviated 2020 season (played in the spring of 2021), O’Brien led the Bisons to another regular season title with a record of 7-3-2 before being knocked out of the ASUN Tournament by the eventual champion. Shelby Craft was named the ASUN Defensive Player of the Year, along with Kelli Beiler and Cami Rogers who earned spots on the ASUN All-Conference First Team. Emily Patti and Molly Grant were named to the ASUN All-Conference Second Team, while Evee Reeder was named to the ASUN All-Freshman Team.
In 2019, O’Brien led the Bisons to their third-straight ASUN Regular Season title with a record of 13-6-2, defeating Kennesaw State in the ASUN Championship final. The victory led to a second-consecutive appearance in the NCAA tournament, where the Bisons fell to No. 23 Louisville 1-0 in a tightly contested match. Senior Olivia Doak was named to the ASUN All-Conference First Team and was also named the Scholar Athlete of the Year. Joining her on the First Team was Maycie McKay, who also earned All-Academic Honors and was named to the COSIDA Academic All-District Team. Leah Cernicky and Katia Hanger were both named to the ASUN All-Conference Second Team, while Hanger and Molly Grant were also named to the All-Freshman Team.
In 2018, O’Brien led the Lady Bisons to an historic year by winning their first ever ASUN Tournament title. After knocking off perennial power FGCU 1-0 in the semi-final match, the Lady Bisons went on to win the ASUN final 3-2 over North Alabama. Lipscomb’s historic run continued in the first round of the NCAA Tournament by defeating No. 17 Mississippi State in overtime. With the win, the Lady Bisons became the first team in Lipscomb University history to win an NCAA Tournament game. The season ended with a hard-fought loss to No. 9 Duke in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
In 2016, Lipscomb nearly swept the ASUN Conference awards as O’Brien won ASUN Coach of the Year, Anna Buhigas won ASUN Goalkeeper of the Year for the third-consecutive season, Niamh Rawlins won ASUN Defensive Player of the Year, Olivia Doak won ASUN Freshman of the Year, and Natalie DuBoise was named ASUN Scholar-Athlete of the Year.
Prior to Lipscomb, O’Brien was the associate head coach and recruiting coordinator of the men’s soccer program at Davidson from 2009-2011. He assembled a top-notch recruiting class in 2011 that included three players ranked top-150 nationally by College Soccer News.
O’Brien was part of Davidson’s staff that led the Wildcats to upset three top-25 programs in three seasons including a victory against eventual National Champions, North Carolina, in 2011.
Both the 2009 and 2010 squads were ranked top-25 Nationally at one point in their respective seasons.
Prior to joining the staff at Davidson, O’Brien served as the top assistant and recruiting coordinator with another NCAA Top-25 program - the Charlotte 49ers. The 49ers were NCAA College Cup finalists in 2011, with seven of eleven starters being recruited by Coach O’Brien in his time with the program. O’Brien worked under and honed his coaching philosophy alongside four-time National Champion coach Jeremy Gunn (Head Coach, Stanford University).
At other coaching stops along the way, O’Brien served as an assistant at Creighton University, where he was on staff for two Elite Eight NCAA Tournament runs. He also spent time at Oregon State University and got his coaching start at Presbyterian College, where the team won the SAC Tournament Championship and advanced to the NCAA Tournament.
O’Brien holds a USSF “A” License and the NSCAA Advanced National Diploma. He spent several years serving in the North Carolina Olympic Development Program and coached his team to an ODP National Championship in 2006.
In his playing days, O’Brien captained the College of Charleston to two NCAA post season appearances, multiple top-20 rankings, an Elite 8 appearance and was a two-time All-Conference selection and All-South Region player. O’Brien holds the ASUN record for most games in a career (85) during his time at College of Charleston. Following his collegiate career, he played professionally (USL) for 8 years with the Charleston Battery and Charlotte Eagles.
Coach O’Brien lives in Nashville with his wife, Shannon, a former University of Arizona women’s soccer player and Lipscomb Women’s Golf Assistant Coach. They have a daughter (15), Keely and son Keegan (13).
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