MIAMI (Apr. 19, 2022) - FIU Athletics Director Scott Carr announced the contract extension of head men's soccer coach Kyle Russell on Wednesday afternoon, with a deal that will keep Russell at the helm of the program through the 2026 season.
"We are thrilled to have Kyle Russell as a member of the Panther Family for the next five seasons," said Carr. "Coach Russell and I share an aligned vision of building FIU soccer into a perennial national power, and we're excited to continue the momentum of last season's 2021 Conference USA title. Coach Russell is extremely devoted to the development of our student-athletes and bringing an NCAA championship to FIU. He also feels a great sense of pride and responsibility in upholding the program's rich history and tradition. I am confident that our men's soccer program is in great hands with Kyle at the helm."
Russell, the reigning 2021 Conference USA Coach of the Year, is fresh off guiding the Panthers through a magical season that included winning the 2021 C-USA regular-season title and the program's 11th berth to the NCAA Tournament.
"I'd like to sincerely thank Director of Athletics Scott Carr for giving me the opportunity to lead the FIU men's soccer team for five more years," said Coach Russell. "The vision Scott Carr has explained to me is something that I am very excited about and want to be a part of. I am so grateful that God opened up this opportunity to work at such great university, alongside so many incredible people. The support from my family, the community, alumni, administration, and student body has been awesome. FIU men's soccer has a rich history of success and I look forward to continuing to build upon that. I love FIU and I truly believe that this is only the beginning."
In only his second year with the program, Coach Russell guided the Panthers to a 12-2-2 regular-season record an undefeated 7-0-1 mark in C-USA play, while the Panthers secured the most points ever (22) in the league standings since joining C-USA.
FIU capped the regular season by defeating No. 1 ranked and defending NCAA Champion Marshall to claim the C-USA Regular Season Championship, marking the first time in program history that FIU has defeated a No. 1 nationally ranked opponent.
Under Russell, the Panthers earned an at-large bid as the No. 13 seed in the 2021 NCAA Tournament and secured a First Round bye, marking only the third time in history that FIU has advanced automatically to the Round of 32. Coach Russell also stood as the youngest head coach in the 2021 NCAA Tournament field as well as the youngest in the formidable C-USA.
FIU rose as high as No. 12 in the national rankings during the 2021 season while being Top-25 in national polls for 10 consecutive weeks. The Panthers also achieved their highest RPI ranking (No. 13) since the 2003 season after playing six nationally ranked teams and two additional squads that received votes.
The Panthers posted a perfect 7-0 record at home in 2021, including a dominating 4-1 victory over No. 1 Marshall, a shutout 1-0 win over No. 12 VCU, and a 4-0 clean sheet victory over #RV Charlotte - a team FIU had never beaten since joining C-USA. The Blue & Gold earned the No. 1 seed in the C-USA Tournament after battling in a league field that went on to produce four NCAA Tournament teams (FIU, Kentucky, Marshall, Charlotte), which stood second nationally behind only the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC).
Coach Russell helped FIU secure seven shutouts during the 2021 season, marking the program's most clean sheets since the 2003 campaign. FIU also led the country in shot-attempts (17.62) along the way, while also ranking second nationally in shots-on-goal per game (7.75) and Top-25 in several other offensive and defensive categories.
In a season that saw 15 Panther newcomers on only a 30-man roster, Russell developed talent that garnered 25 individual player awards throughout the season. Russell recruited the 2021 C-USA Freshman of the Year Bernardo Dos Santos Monteiro, while FIU also saw 10 All-Conference awards, 4 First Team All C-USA honorees, two C-USA All-Tournament Team members, six C-USA Player of the Week honors, three National Player of the Week honors (Top Drawer Soccer and CollegeSoccerNews.com), and four United Soccer Coaches All-Southeast Region Team members.
Since arriving at FIU in 2020, Russell has hauled in two top-ranked recruiting classes, including the No. 16 ranked class in 2020 (Top Drawer Soccer) and the No. 30 class in 2021. In the 2021 season, TopDrawerSoccer.com ranked three of FIU's newcomers in its Men's Top-100 Freshman list including Dos Santos Monteiro (No. 23), Julian Hodek (No. 69), and Edgar Aguilar (No. 76).
Coach Russell owns a 16-8-3 overall record since joining FIU after posting a 4-4-1 mark in his first season at the helm amidst a global pandemic.
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