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Todd Yelton
Head Coach Todd Yelton enters his 22nd year at the helm of the Samford University soccer team, having propelled the Bulldogs to national prominence and an unprecedented nine-consecutive SoCon championships.
The winningest coach in program history, Yelton has now led his team to 14 regular-season conference titles, seven NCAA Tournament appearances and six conference tournament championships. His career record now stands at an impressive 304-140-60, including a 264-108-56 mark with Samford.
The 2022 season saw Yelton earn his 300th career victory, as the Bulldogs earned a ninth-consecutive SoCon regular season title and won the SoCon Tournament and an NCAA Tournament bid for the third time in four seasons. The Bulldogs also made history by cracking the Top 25 rankings for the first time ever.
In the fall of 2021, Yelton led his team to a record of 16-3-3 overall and a perfect 9-0 mark in Southern Conference play. The team won its eighth-straight SoCon regular season title while also winning the SoCon Tournament championship. In the NCAA Tournament, Samford earned the program’s first outright NCAA Tournament win, defeating Auburn, 2-0, in the first round. The team battled with St. John's for 110 minutes in the Round of 32 before falling on penalty kicks.
At the conclusion of the fall season, six Bulldogs were named All-SoCon, and one earned All-Freshman team honors. Yelton was also named the SoCon’s Coach of the Year.
In the 2020-21 season that was held in the spring due to COVID, Samford finished with an overall record of 8-2-3 and a 7-0-2 mark in the SoCon. The team captured the regular season title after locking in a 2-0 victory over UNCG on the Spartans home turf. Yelton also had five players earn First Team All-SoCon honors and one make Second Team All-SoCon.
In 2019, the Bulldogs went 7-1-1 in SoCon play, earning the SoCon regular-season title for a league-record sixth-straight season. The team then won the SoCon Tournament with a 1-0 win over Furman. Goalkeeper Morgan McAslan was named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player after allowing just one goal in three tournament games. Additionally, Taylore Miller was named the SoCon’s Defensive Player of the Year.
The 2019 team advanced to the program’s fifth NCAA Tournament appearance, playing at fifth-ranked South Carolina.
Following the 2018 season, Yelton was named a conference Coach of the Year for the seventh time, having been named the OVC Coach of the Year twice and the SoCon Coach of the Year five times.
His 2018 team went 8-0-1 in SoCon play, winning the league’s regular-season title. The league record marked Samford’s second-straight season of going undefeated in SoCon play.
The 2017 squad posted an impressive 8-0-1 record in Southern Conference matches. Under Yelton’s leadership, forward Jermaine Seoposenwe earned her second-straight SoCon Player of the Year honor, and Allie Lourie was named the league’s Defensive Player of the Year.
In 2016, Yelton led the Bulldogs to a 15-4-2 overall record, including an 8-1 record in Southern Conference play. Samford earned the regular-season championship, the SoCon Tournament title and advanced to the NCAA Tournament for a fourth time in school history.
For his efforts, Yelton received his sixth conference Coach of the Year honor, including his third straight in the SoCon.
The Bulldogs advanced to face Florida State in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament.
Never one to shy away from tough competition, Yelton once compiled a four-match winning streak against Southeastern Conference opponents, including a trio of victories in 2013 against Tennessee, 1-0, Auburn, 1-0, and Vanderbilt, 3-2. All three of the Bulldogs’ aforementioned triumphs occurred at the state-of-the-art Samford Track and Soccer Stadium.
In 2015, the Yelton-led Bulldogs continued to build upon their growing list of impressive victories as Samford toppled Wake Forest of the Atlantic Coast Conference, 2-1, in a home contest held in Birmingham, Ala.
In 2014, Yelton’s Bulldogs traveled to Auburn, Ala., and knocked off the 18th-ranked Auburn Tigers, 2-1, in a match broadcast live to the nation on the SEC Network. His squad went on to register a 7-2 Southern Conference record and earn the regular-season championship. Since 2014, the Bulldogs boast a dominant 46-5-3 record in SoCon regular-season contests.
For his efforts in both 2014 and 2015, Yelton earned his fourth and fifth Coach of the Year honors, including his second and third since joining the SoCon in 2008.
In 2011, Yelton led the Bulldogs to a stellar 14-6-2 overall record and an undefeated 9-0-2 mark in SoCon play. The Bulldogs cruised to the 2011 SoCon regular-season title and earned its first SoCon Tournament championship with key shutout victories against Furman and College of Charleston.
Yelton’s 2011 squad squared off against the sixth-ranked Florida State Seminoles in the first round of the NCAA Tournament and fought to a tough 2-0 loss in Tallahassee, Fla.
In 2010, despite a number of season-ending injuries to key players on both the offensive and defensive sides of the field, Yelton helped guide the Bulldogs to a second-place finish in the SoCon standings and a trip to the championship match of the 2010 SoCon Tournament. Samford concluded the season with a 13-6-3 overall record and a stellar 8-2-1 mark against conference opponents. In the SoCon Tournament final, Yelton’s squad fell just short of another trip to the NCAA Tournament in a hard-fought 1-0 loss to No. 14-ranked UNC Greensboro.
In 2009, Yelton also led the Bulldogs to a second-place finish in the talent-laden SoCon, as well as semifinal-round appearance in the league’s postseason tournament for a second straight year. Not only did Samford excel in SoCon play, but the Bulldogs registered a school-record 12-1-5 overall record. Their only loss in 2009 was a hard-fought 1-0 decision against College of Charleston.
Samford opened the 2009 season with a 0-0 draw against No. 25-ranked Auburn and then compiled a six-match winning streak, including a historic 3-0 victory over in-state rival Alabama.
In 2008, Samford’s inaugural season as a member of the SoCon, the Bulldogs compiled an 8-1-2 record in league play, earning a third-place finish in the conference standings.
Yelton’s team earned the right to host a first-round match in the 2008 SoCon Tournament and advanced past the College of Charleston with a 4-1 victory in a penalty-kick shootout at Bulldog Soccer Field. Samford advanced to the semifinal round of the SoCon Tournament and owns a 15-3-5 all-time record against SoCon opponents.
Immediately following Samford’s inaugural season in the SoCon, Theresa Henry, Alyssa Whitehead and Sarah Wilkinson were named to the league’s All-Freshman team in 2008. They all played key roles in leading Samford to its 8-1-2 conference record.
In 2007, Yelton’s team became the first squad in Samford history to receive an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament. The Bulldogs qualified for the Field of 64 for the second time in three seasons and nearly pulled off an upset of LSU in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament.
In 2007, the eight-player freshman class was ranked 68th in the nation by Soccer Buzz magazine. Seven Bulldogs received All-Ohio Valley Conference honors. Birdsell and Cress were named to the conference’s first team, while Winters and Cindy Spiker garnered second-team accolades. True freshmen Lauren Cook, Colette Nammour and Hilary Samuels were named to the All-Newcomer Team.
Soccer Buzz ranked Samford’s 2006 recruits 85th in the nation. The Bulldogs registered the first undefeated conference record in school history and finished the year with an 11-4-3 overall mark. With the team’s 6-0-3 OVC record, Samford earned its fourth-straight regular-season conference title.
Samford continued to dominate postseason honors in 2006. Five players earned All-OVC accolades. Senior Sharon Young received Player of the Year honors, while Amber Cress was named Freshman of the Year and Paige Lanter earned All-Newcomer honors. Junior Heather Birdsell was named to the conference’s first team, while Bohler received second-team accolades.
In 2005, Yelton’s squad advanced past 19th-ranked Vanderbilt in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament and became the first Ohio Valley Conference team to reach the second round of the postseason competition.
The 2005 recruiting class consisted of seven talented prep stars. It was ranked 16th in the Southeast and 91st in the nation by Soccer Buzz.
During the 2005 campaign, Yelton helped Samford to a school-record 15-4-4 overall mark and a 7-2 conference record. He was named the OVC Coach of the Year, his second such honor in three years.
One of the nation’s top women’s soccer coaches, Yelton became the school’s all-time winningest coach Sept. 9, 2005, picking up the ground-breaking victory with a 1-0 win on the road against North Carolina State. The triumph also was Samford’s first victory against a team from the ACC.
Honors continued to roll in during the 2005 campaign. Rebecca Bohler, Heather Birdsell and Cayley Winters were awarded Soccer Buzz Southeast Regional honors, and seven players earned All-OVC accolades. Sophomore forward Bohler was named the 2005 OVC Player of the Year.
In 2004, Yelton brought in eight new players. The freshman class was named the 14th-best recruiting class in the Southeast by Soccer Buzz and was ranked 79th in the nation.
After winning a second-straight OVC regular-season title in 2004, Samford had six players earn All-OVC honors, with four Bulldogs receiving first-team accolades and two players notching second-team awards. Senior goalkeeper Royall was the first player in conference history to be named both OVC Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year. In eight league matches, she earned five shutouts and tallied a 7-1 record as a starter.
The 2003 roster featured six freshmen and was named the 19th-best recruiting class in the Southeast by Soccer Buzz, the first Samford freshman class to be recognized in that fashion. Five of Samford’s last six recruiting classes have been ranked among the top 100 teams in the nation.
Samford had a school-record eight players earn berths on OVC All-Conference teams in 2003. Kim Matthews was named the OVC Freshman of the Year. Goalkeeper Crystal Royall set six school records, earning Soccer Buzz third-team All-Southeast Region honors. Six team records were set during 2003, including marks for shutouts in a season (13) and team goals-against average (0.66), and 15 individual records were either set or tied.
Since joining the OVC in 2003, the Bulldogs reached the championship match of the OVC Tournament four times. Yelton was named the OVC Coach of the Year in 2003 and led Samford to its initial Soccer Buzz Southeast Regional ranking before the 2004 season.
Yelton was hired as Samford’s second soccer coach Jan. 11, 2002. He immediately helped the Bulldogs become contenders in the Atlantic Sun Conference. A native of Piney Flats, Tenn., Yelton began a youth-based resurgence in the soccer program by bringing in 10 freshmen in 2002. Samford won its first eight matches of the 2002 season and opened the campaign with a school-record 9-0-1 start. ?
Since 2002, Yelton’s Bulldogs have knocked off SEC opponents Alabama, Auburn, Tennessee, Vanderbilt and Mississippi State, Conference USA foes Memphis, UAB and Southern Mississippi, and ACC powerhouses Wake Forest and North Carolina State.
Yelton served as the top assistant at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) during 2000–01, where he helped turn around a Blazer team that went 3-14-2 in 2000. In 2001, UAB posted an 11-9 record, including a 7-3 C-USA mark.
Before coaching at UAB, Yelton served four years as head coach at Parkview High School in Atlanta, Ga. During that time, his teams posted a 59-11-3 overall mark and captured 4A state championships in 1997 and 1999. His teams received national rankings in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America poll three of his four years.
Yelton’s first collegiate head coaching position was at Oglethorpe University in Atlanta, Ga., where he coached for four seasons and posted a 40-32-4 mark.
Yelton has been a multi-year member of the prestigious Region III Olympic Developmental Program staff. His playing career began when he was a freshman at Tennessee Tech University. He then transferred to King College (Tenn.), where he was a two-year starter on defense. He earned his bachelor’s degree in history from King College in 1991.
In November of 2015, Yelton’s wife, Shauna, passed away following an arduous battle with cervical cancer. Her memorial service was held in front of a standing-room-only crowd at Dawson Memorial Baptist Church in Homewood, Ala. Since her passing, Yelton has established the Shauna’s House project that raises funds to build houses for orphans in Ukraine, a cause that was close to Shauna’s heart.
The couple has two children, a daughter, MacKenzie, and a son, Colin.
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