University of Nebraska Omaha

University of Nebraska Omaha Athletics
6001 Dodge Street Omaha, NE 68182

Division 1 Nebraska Midwest

Public Large National competitor

I'm interested in this program!

Coaches

Email coach

Donovan Dowling

Donovan Dowling was announced as the men's soccer head coach in June 2022. He is the third head coach in the program’s history.

In 2022 Dowling led the Mavericks to a 8-6-2 overall record. With their 5-2-1 conference record, Dowling and the Mavericks finished third in the Summit League.

Dowling coached the Mavericks to two big wins at the last two home matches of the 2022 season. Omaha shutout Lindenwood 5-0 then shutout Eastern Illinois 4-0.

All told, the Mavericks collected eight postseason accolades and three Peak Performers of the Week. The postseason honors include All-Summit League First Team awarded to Gonzalo Cuevas, Kenji Mboma Dem, Lute Lillo Portero, and Tevin Rochester. Theo Klein and Cuevas both earned a spot on the All-Summit Newcomer team and Cuevas notched a spot on the United Soccer Coaches All-West Region Third Team. Aside from the success on the pitch, Lute Lillo Portero was honored on the Academic All-Summit League Team. The team as a whole posted a 3.49 gpa and was honored by the United Soccer Coaches for their excellence in the classroom.

Dowling comes to Omaha after a four-year stint with the Cardinals serving as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator. He helped lead the program to 36 wins, three NCAA tournament appearances, and a Sweet 16 finish.

Louisville made the NCAA tournament in three of Dowling’s four seasons with the program. Last season, the Cardinals earned a share of the regular season title en route to a NCAA tournament appearance. In 2019, Louisville made a run to the Sweet 16 with wins over USF and UC Davis.

In his first season, the Cardinals clinched the program’s first ever ACC title after defeating No. 18 Notre Dame, No. 1 Wake Forest, and No. 4 North Carolina. They advanced to the second round of the NCAA tournament that season.

Dowling also led the charge for Louisville recruiting and is recognized as one of the nation’s top recruiters. In three consecutive seasons, he brought in recruiting classes ranked in the national top-20. The 2020 recruiting class ranked sixth, the 2021 recruiting class ranked eighth, and the 2019 recruiting class ranked 20th. Twelve of Dowling’s players went on to be drafted or signed by MLS or USL Championship teams.

While at Louisville, Dowling helped Cardinal student-athletes achieve a 3.2 team GPA to go with an APR over 975. He led the squad in community service efforts posting the most community service hours of any male sport at the university. He also served as chair of the Louisville Assistant Coach Academy and participated in the ACC Coaching the Whole Athlete Winter Cohort.

Prior to Louisville, Dowling served a three-year stint with UTRGV. He helped restart the NCAA Division I program in 2015, serving as the team’s top assistant coach. With UTRGV, he was the lead recruiting coordinator overseeing all recruiting efforts and managing scholarship offers.

Among his other duties, Dowling was responsible for opponent scouts, scheduling on-field training, team periodization and sports science, compliance, team academic, admissions and financial aid support, equipment oversight, and team travel.

While coaching at UTRGV, Dowling simultaneously served as the goalkeeper coach for Rio Grande Valley FC. He spent the 2016 and 2017 MLS preseasons training with the Houston Dynamo.

From 2013-14, Dowling served as the head men’s and women’s soccer coach at Northeast Texas Community College. He helped the men achieve a 2014 DI NJCAA National Tournament appearance and was named a finalist for the NSCAA Junior College National Coach of the Year award. He coached both teams to the most wins in program history after his arrival.

Dowling’s collegiate coaching career began in 2011. He served as an assistant coach with Fort Hays State in Kansas through the 2012 season. There, Dowling helped start the soccer program, eventually leading the squad to a NCAA Division II Sweet 16 appearance in 2012.

Dowling played four years of college soccer. He closed his career with two seasons at Fort Wayne earning All-Summit League recognition. There, he holds the all-time record for goals against average and shutouts in a season.

He played his first two collegiate seasons at Barton County Community College, where he was a Third Team All-American and First Team NSCAA All-Region and All-Conference honoree, leading his team to the No. 2 ranking in the nation while serving as the sophomore captain. A two-year starter, Dowling compiled a 39-4-2 record during his career.

A native of Olathe, Kansas, Dowling earned his bachelor of general studies from Indiana and added a master of science in sports and human performance from Fort Hays State.

Email coach

Josh McReynolds

Josh McReynolds was named an assistant coach for Omaha men's soccer in July 2022.

McReynolds spent the last four seasons as the head men's soccer coach at LSU Eunice after helping start the program in 2018.

During his four years at LSUE, McReynolds helped establish one of the top junior college programs in the country ranking as high as fourth in the nation in the 2019 and 2020 seasons.

In fall 2021, McReynolds coached two NJCAA DI All-Americans and helped the team to their second straight NJCAA National Tournament. The Bengals ranked 12th nationally at the start of the postseason and finished the year with an 8-6-2 overall record. The Bengals also excelled in the classroom, earning the program's first NJCAA Academic Teams of the Year honor while placing 4 student-athletes on the NJCAA All-Academic Team.

The Bengals made their first trip to the NJCAA DI National Tournament in spring 2021 playing in Region 14 and finishing with the best regular season record at 10-5-1. During that season, McReynolds saw two players receive All-American recognition.

McReynolds was a two-time Region 23 Coach of the Year after amassing 24 total wins in his first two years at the helm. In 2019, the Bengals posted a 16-2-0 record and were the Gulf South District runner-up. In the first year of the program, McReynolds helped LSUE to an 8-3-3 record. The team saw one All-American and six All-Region selections over those two seasons.

Prior to LSUE, McReynolds held coaching positions at Catholic High-Baton Rouge, Baton Rouge Soccer Club, and Albion College. McReynolds is currently completing his USSF A-Senior License.

A native of Zachary, Louisiana, McReynolds played collegiately at Freed-Hardeman where he earned his bachelor of science degree in exercise science. He completed his MBA in global entrepreneurship at LSU in 2014 while working as a graduate assistant with LSU Soccer.

Email coach

Cesar Herrera

Head men's soccer coach Donovan Dowling announced Cesar Herrera as the program's assistant coach Tuesday morning. Herrera spent the last two seasons as the assistant men's soccer coach at Iowa Western Community College.

During his three seasons at Iowa Western, Herrera helped the Reivers capture the 2021 NJCAA Division I National Championship, finishing with a final record of 20-1-1. In 2020, Iowa Western finished as the NJCAA Division I National Runner-Up, finishing with a 16-1-2 record. This past fall, Iowa Western finished 17-3-1 advancing to the NJCAA national tournament.

Prior to Iowa Western, Herrera spent two years at Hastings College. At Hastings, Herrera helped the Broncos to a 2019 NAIA National Runner-Up finish, ending the year with a 20-3-3 record.

As a player, Herrera began his college career at Northern Iowa Area Community College where he was named First Team All-Region. After NIACC, Herrera transferred to Hasting College where he helped them to back-to-back GPAC titles, along with winning the 2016 NAIA National Championship.

"Omaha soccer got better today," said Dowling. "Cesar has found success everywhere he's been, coaching in three national championship games and playing in another. Aside from Cesar's ability as a coach, his values perfectly align with the ethos of our program. We are excited to integrate Cesar quickly into our program this spring as we prepare for what should be an exciting fall season."