FIU Panthers men’s soccer coach Kyle Russell poised to take program into higher level
Kyle Russell is an Illinois native, and he has spent nearly his entire adult life in South Carolina at Coastal Carolina University. Yet when he was hired last month as FIU’s new men’s soccer coach, it was a homecoming.
That’s because Russell, 32, married his wife, Monica, in Coral Gables in 2013, and she has family in Broward County. Russell also proposed to Monica while they were visiting Miami’s Vizcaya Museum and Gardens.
At FIU, Russell has found a program that’s in good shape. The Panthers went 29-15-9 in the past three years under coach Kevin Nylen, who in January returned to his home state of Massachusetts to become Boston University’s coach.
Five FIU players were drafted by Major League Soccer during Nylen’s reign, the most in any three-year period in Panthers history.
“This is by no means a flip job, not by a long shot,” Russell said of the Panthers, who made the second round of the NCAA tournament in 2017 before losing to 14th-ranked Duke. “FIU has a rich history of soccer success and an administration that wants to win and is open to being creative to making things as professional as possible.
“We have a team that is ready to run. You don’t have to teach them to walk.”
Russell joked that he now uses a lot of “little kids” references because he and his wife have two young sons, Cruz, 3, and Ezra, two months.
If everything works out, those boys can stay in Miami for their entire childhoods as their dad takes the FIU program to the next level.
As a player, Russell was a four-year starter at defender, and he still ranks eighth in Coastal Carolina history with 74 starts.
Russell competed at the 2009 MLS Combine, and he played a few games of pro soccer at the USL level before breaking his foot.
During his four-month rehab, which he spent with friends in Key West, Russell got a call from Shaun Docking, his former coach at Coastal Carolina.
Docking wanted to know if Russell would be interested in coaching. Russell, still focused on rehabbing and playing, had never thought about coaching at the time. But the job was attractive because it was his alma mater and because his younger brothers, Alex and Joey, were on the roster.
When Russell accepted the job at 22, he became the youngest assistant coach in Coastal history.
“[Docking] was very humble, allowing me a lot of influence,” Russell said. “I had been the team captain my junior and senior years, and that allowed me to be blunt. I told [Docking] that we needed more discipline and that our standards and expectations were too low.”
Russell, who doubled as Coastal Carolina’s recruiting director, brought in three All-Americans during his tenure there and helped his program reach the NCAA Tournament nine times in 10 years.
That phenomenal record is what helped convince FIU to bring in Russell, who is excited about the opportunity.
“Miami is a vibrant city, and there’s a big soccer community here,” Russell said. “There are so many good players in this state. When I was at Coastal, I was always trying to bring in players from Florida. Now that will be a lot easier at FIU.”
THIS AND THAT
▪ FIU’s men’s basketball team (18-13, 9-9 Conference USA) had a disappointing week, losing both its games, including one at home where the Panthers have been so strong. The Panthers finished the regular season 11-3 at home.
Next up is a trip to Frisco, Texas for the C-USA tournament, which begins for fifth-seeded FIU on Wednesday night at 7:30 against 12th-seeded Rice (15-16, 7-11). Rice beat visiting FIU 92-78 on Jan. 11 in their only prior meeting this season. FIU is just 7-10 away from home this season.
The top four teams in the league got a first-round bye. Since FIU just missed a bye, the Panthers will have to win four games in four days to take the title and earn an automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament, a feat that has only been accomplished once in program history.