PEORIA, Ill. - Boasting 16 years of college coaching experience, including the last 11 as a head coach, Devin O'Neill has joined the Bradley Soccer coaching staff as an assistant to Jim DeRose. O'Neill replaces Jeff Gettler, who has returned to the head coaching ranks at NCAA Division III Husson College in Bangor, Maine.
"Having Devin join the staff is something I couldn't be more excited about," said DeRose. "What started as a long shot has come to fruition and our excitement to have Devin on our staff opens up great opportunities on many fronts. Obviously his experience as a head coach is fantastic, as was his assistant coaching record with Fresno and Ohio State. His recruiting base and success, on field and in-game experience, enthusiasm and his administrative and communication skills truly gives us an elite presence on our staff and will allow us to continue to move the program forward nationally."
O'Neill joins the Bradley staff following seven years as the head coach at NCAA Division III Gettysburg College, where he compiled a 68-46-18 overall record, including a 38-25-8 mark and two runner-up finishes in the highly-competitive Centennial Conference. He coached 27 all-conference and nine NSCAA All-East Region players at Gettysburg.
O'Neill also sports four years of NCAA Division I head coaching experience, having directed the program at East Carolina from 1999-2002. In his final three years with the Pirates, O'Neill led the team to its best 3-year winning percentage in the program's history and produced ECU's first-ever Major League Soccer and US National Team player, Clyde Simms.
"I am really excited to be joining the men's soccer staff at Bradley University," said O'Neill. "Coach DeRose has built a great program here and I look forward to working both with him and Coach (Brian) Barnett in trying to make even more progress on the national level.
"Many things made an immediate impact on me when I visited the campus," O'Neill added, "including the dynamic vision for athletics of both President (Joanne) Glasser and Dr. (Michael) Cross, the outstanding facilities and membership in the Missouri Valley Conference."
O'Neill and his wife, Mimi, are the proud parents of three children: daughter Brooke (12) and sons Sean (10) and Shay (6).
A three-sport athlete at Middlebury College, where he captained both the soccer and ski teams and also played golf, O'Neill earned All-New England Region honors on the soccer pitch as a senior in 1990 and he was a two-time (1989, 1990) All-American skier. He graduated from Middlebury in 1991 and received his master's degree from Springfield College in 1993.
Ironically, Bradley's newest assistant is replacing the man who gave him his first coaching job: O'Neill began his career as an assistant to Gettler at Lafayette College in 1994. After helping Lafayette to consecutive Patriot League titles in 1994 and 1995, O'Neill moved west and helped Fresno State to a Western Athletic Conference title and a NCAA Tournament quarterfinal appearance in his lone season with the Bulldogs in 1996. Before beginning his head coaching career, O'Neill also spent two years as an assistant at Ohio State from 1997-98 and helped the Buckeyes to a runner-up finish in the 1998 Big Ten Conference Tournament.
"Obviously this is a bittersweet moment, but we always knew that Coach Gettler would be highly sought after," said DeRose. "Jeff's enthusiasm, knowledge and experience is unparalleled, and the chance to return to New England, where his career began with longtime friend and former Rutgers Coach Bob Reasso as his athletic director, was the perfect job at this time in his career.
"The chance to be closer to his daughter and in-laws made it a perfect opportunity, and as a friend I am extremely happy for both Jeff and Lori," added DeRose. "To have a mentor and a friend such as Jeff as a colleague over the past 18 months has been a true highlight in my career."
