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Scot Wieland
Scot Wieland is entering his 13th season as the head coach of the Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns soccer program, one that has seen their success grow over recent years, not only on the pitch, but in the classroom as well.
In his first 12 years, Wieland has led the Cajuns to their first double-digit winning season in school history, and helped over 70 student-athletes receive degrees from the University of Louisiana. His teams have posted a cumulative GPA of over 3.0 in 21-of-23 semesters since Wieland came to Louisiana, and 12 semesters with a team GPA higher than 3.25.
The 2016 season saw Wieland continue the Cajuns streak of at least eight wins or more for the sixth straight season, finishing with a record of 8-9-2 while improving the conference record from the previous season to 4-4-2.
Finishing fourth in the 2016 conference standings, the Cajuns were paired off with fifth-seed Appalachian State, having been seeded fourth. Unfortunately the Cajuns were defeated in their first round match up with App State, 3-0 in Foley, Ga.
For the 2015 season, Wieland helped lead the Ragin' Cajuns to a 8-10-2 record and 2-6-1 in conference action.
The Cajuns earned the No. 8 seed in the Sun Belt Conference Tournament and faced No. 1 seed South Alabama in the first round. South Alabama defeated Louisiana 7-1 in Atlanta, Ga.
During the 2014 campaign, Wieland guided the Ragin’ Cajuns to one of their most successful season in program history, finishing 9-8-2 and 4-4-1 in conference action. The nine wins were tied for second-most in Ragin’ Cajuns history, seven of them coming at the Cajuns Soccer Complex, one shy of matching a program record. UL’s offense established new program records with 47 goals and 121 points, while matching a single-game record with 10 goals against Alcorn State on September 21.
The Cajuns entered the postseason as the No. 7 seed in the Sun Belt Conference Tournament before falling in a tight 1-0 first round battle against Troy in Mobile, Ala.
Louisiana had two players garner All-Sun Belt Conference honors in defender Grace Howell-Harries (first-team) and midfielder Kimberly Grasso (second team). The duo also earned NSCAA All-South Region Team, the second for Howell-Harries and the first for Grasso.
Howell-Harries (first team) Grasso (first team) and Yazmin Montoya (honorable mention) were showered with All-Louisiana honors from the Louisiana Sports Writers Association.
The 2013 season was a year to remember for Louisiana with its best finish in program history by posting an 8-7-3 record and a 5-2-1 mark in Sun Belt play. The Ragin’ Cajuns tied for second in league play and entered the conference championships as the No. 3 seed, the highest in program history.
Louisiana saw a program-best three Ragin’ Cajuns earn all-Sun Belt Conference honors in 2013 with Yazmin Montoya (First Team), Grace Howell-Harries (First Team, Defensive Player of the Year) and Annika Schmidt (Second Team) getting nods. The trio also earned All-Louisiana accolades from the Louisiana Sports Writers Association, while Howell-Harries (second team) and Schmidt (third team) added NSCAA All-South Region awards.
Records fell for Wieland’s Ragin’ Cajuns in 2013 as the freshman duo of Yazmin Montoya and Annika Schmidt quickly announced their presence on the collegiate stage. Montoya set single-season program records for goals (13), points (31), shots (86) and shots on goal (38) that propelled her into the top 10 for a career in those categories. Schmidt’s season included becoming the first player in Louisiana history to record multiple hat tricks, and the fastest to reach 20 points in a season, doing so in just ten matches.
Wieland took over the reigns as head coach in July 2005, replacing program-founder Dave Poggi, and becoming the second head coach in school history.
In his first season, Wieland ushered in a new era with the opening of the Ragin’ Cajuns Soccer/Track Facility, marking the first on-campus facility dedicated to soccer.
He earned his first win as head coach of the Cajuns in just his third match. Wieland led UL to a 1-0 home victory over in-state rival Northwestern State on Sept. 2, 2005.
Under Wieland in 2005, Louisiana took in-state foe LSU into overtime for the first time in school history, allowing just one goal - the least amount of goals scored by the Tigers against the Cajuns in school history.
In his second year at the helm, Wieland directed Louisiana to an 8-8-4 record, including a 5-4-2 conference mark. Eight wins in a season marked an all-time best for the Cajuns, while five conference wins was the most SBC victories in a season. The .500 record was the first time in Cajuns’ history that the soccer team finished the year with a non-losing record.
In 2007, Wieland directed the Ragin’ Cajuns soccer team to a 9-8-4 season, capturing the most wins and first winning season in program history.
During the 2006 and 2007 seasons combined, Wieland led the Cajuns to 17 total wins, which included 10 wins in Sun Belt Conference play. Seventeen wins over the two years remains the most victories for the Cajuns in a two-year span in program history.
For the 2008 season, the Cajuns posted an overall record of 5-12-2 and had two players earn All-Louisiana accolades as Taunya Geelhoed and Callie Oliver were named to the 2008 Louisiana Sports Writers Association All-Louisiana Women’s Soccer Collegiate Team.
Injuries and setbacks plagued the squad in the 2009 season as the Cajuns limped to a 2-16-1 record after losing four starters early in the season.
He followed up the rough 2009 season with the best season in Louisiana’s young history, going 10-11-0 in 2010, and advancing to the Sun Belt Conference Tournament for the first time since 2007. The eight-win turnaround was the best in school history, and led the conference.
The departures of several seniors left Wieland with a young roster in 2011, causing them to miss the postseason yet again and finish with a 6-12-2 record. Despite missing the postseason, the Cajuns saw Grace Howell-Harries become the fifth Cajun and first since 2007 to be named to an All-Sun Belt team.
Wieland’s Cajuns finished 8-10-2 in 2012, one spot out of the Sun Belt Conference Tournament. In the classroom, the squad boasted two 4.0 student-athletes and five more with a 3.5 or higher GPA, continuing a trend of exemplary marks in the classroom.
The program was nationally recognized by the NCAA APR Award, given annually to teams earning multiyear Academic Progress Rates in the top 10 percent of all teams per sport. The squad posted a perfect 1,000 APR score during the 2010-11 season, and compiled a multi-year rate of 997, with all athletes remaining eligible in the 2010-11 season.
Members of the soccer team have also been active in the student-athlete community, with three going on to be Student-Athlete Advisory Committee president, Melissa Minton in 2012-13, Carleigh Martin from 2009-11 and Bridgette Adorno in the 2007-08 school year. Minton was also the Sun Belt Conference SAAC president and the Community Service Liaison for the NCAA D-I SAAC.
Before Louisiana
Prior to arriving in Lafayette, Wieland spent six years as the head coach at Belmont Abbey College in Belmont, N.C., compiling an 86-38-3 overall record from 1999-2004. His teams posted double-digit wins in every season, including a 58-4-2 conference record and two NCAA Tournament berths (1999 and 2001).
A powerhouse in NCAA Division II’s Carolinas-Virginia Athletic Conference (now Conference Carolinas), Wieland led the Crusaders to three undefeated conference schedules (1999, 2003 & 2004), and left Belmont Abbey with a 26-game CVAC winning streak.
He was named CVAC Coach of the Year twice, in 1999 and 2003 after winning both the regular season and tournament conference crowns in both years.
Wieland coached two CVAC Freshman of the Year recipients, four CVAC Players of the Year and three All-Americans.
Prior to coaching at Belmont Abbey, Wieland spent one season as the assistant coach at Middle Tennessee (1998), when they were members of the Ohio Valley Conference.
His coaching career started in 1993, when he took over the helm at Bishop Verot High School in Fort Myers, Fla. In five years, he led BVHS to a 64-15-5 record, through 1997.
In addition to his collegiate experience, Wieland headed the North Carolina U-19 girl’s ODP program from 1999-2001 and the North Carolina U-16 girl’s ODP program from 2000-2003. In 2003, he led the North Carolina ODP U-15 team to the National Final Four.
Personal
Wieland played collegiately for Bethany College (W.V.) from 1987-1991, and served double duty, spending time as the Bethany football team’s place kicker.
He received a bachelor’s in fine arts from Bethany College in 1991.
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