By FHSU SPORTS INFORMATION
Fort Hays State University announced Tyson John as its new head women’s soccer coach. John becomes the third coach in the program’s history, coming to Fort Hays State from University of South Carolina Upstate, where he served as the head women’s soccer coach for six years. He has 13 total years of collegiate head coaching experience at both the NCAA and NAIA levels, holding an overall coaching record of 121-86-16.
John coached at USC Upstate in NCAA Division I for six years from 2016 to 2021 where he led the team to 25 wins and a pair of seasons that set new program records for wins. The USC Upstate women’s program had never won more than four matches in a season prior to John’s arrival. In 2017 he guided the Spartans to six wins in just his second season at the helm, then in 2018 broke through with 11 wins to set a new program record for a season. The 11-9 mark in 2018 still stands as the program’s best season as the Spartans reached the semifinals of the Big South Conference Tournament. He coached four all-conference and two all-conference tournament selections in 2018.
Prior to his time at USC Upstate, John was the head women’s soccer coach at Martin Methodist College in Pulaski, Tennessee from 2011 to 2015. He guided the program to an impressive 74-22-4 record in his five seasons, producing at least 14 wins all five years. The program finished in the Top 15 of the NAIA national rankings all five years with No. 7 being its highest final ranking in John’s final season of 2015. Martin Methodist qualified for the NAIA National Tournament all five seasons with a pair of national quarterfinal appearances in 2014 and 2015 as the deepest runs under John. Martin Methodist had 17 All-America selections under John’s leadership, along with three conference player of the year and three conference freshman of the year selections. He also coached one conference defensive player of the year as well and led the team to two conference regular season championships and one conference tournament title. He was twice named the TranSouth Conference Coach of the Year.
John got his start as a head women’s coach in collegiate soccer at Lyon College in Batesville, Arkansas, where he spent two seasons from 2009 to 2010. He led the team to an overall mark of 22-6-3, winning at least 10 matches in each of his two seasons. His 2010 team finished second in the TranSouth Conference regular season standings and was the conference tournament runner-up.
John spent time in roles as a Club Director, Academy Director, and Camp Director from 2008 to 2016 alongside his head coaching duties. He worked with clubs in the states of Florida, Virginia, Arkansas, Tennessee, and South Carolina.
Prior to his coaching career John was a standout performer at Southern Wesleyan University in Central, South Carolina, where he was a three-time NSCAA All-America selection and a four-time all-conference team selection. He also received Southern Wesleyan University’s Male Athlete of the Year award, while setting school career, season, and single-game records in goals scored and points. He received a bachelor’s degree in Sport Management from Southern Wesleyan University in 2008.