Brian Barnett was named the sixth head coach in the history of the men's soccer program in August 2016. The Peoria, Ill.-native came to IUPUI from Bradley University, where he spent seven years on staff, ascending to Associate Head Coach for the Braves.
After taking over a program that had won just one match in the year prior to his taking over, Barnett continued to turn the culture and advance the rebuild with a promising 2018 campaign. The Jaguars finished fourth in the Horizon League standings with a 4-3-1 regular season mark and later won the program's first conference tournament game since a semifinals win in 2007. Three of the Jaguars' wins came via golden goal, including the thrilling 3-2 overtime win at Green Bay to open Horizon League Tournament play.
In four seasons with IUPUI, he's coached an Academic All-American, six Academic All-League and two Academic All-Region 5 selections. In addition, freshman goalkeeper Quinn McCallion ranked among the Horizon League's elite in 2018, earning a spot on the league's All-Freshman Team. His teams have been recognized by the United Soccer Coaches with a team academic award in each of his four seasons.
In changing the culture, Barnett's team has been increasingly involved in community and campus initiatives. His team has established deep partnerships with the Indianapolis Public School (IPS) system, participating in the "Real Men Read" program as his student-athletes visited local schools and provided mentorship for elementary aged students. Additionally, his program added Fishers-native Tyler Harris through a partnership with Team IMPACT. Harris, who entered sixth grade in Fall 2018, has cystic fibrosis (CF), an illness that causes a thick, sticky buildup of mucus in the lungs, pancreas, and other organs.
Barnett is widely considered a rising star in the coaching ranks, having been named among the inaugural "30-Under-30" Class by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) in 2013.
Hired just prior to the start of preseason training in 2016, Barnett was tasked with a major rebuild after the Jaguars had won just eight matches in the previous three seasons combined. His first season saw the Jags capture a pair of victories, including a season ending league win over Eastern Illinois. He has since spearheaded a recruiting effort that has seen his program ink standouts from across the Midwest, while focusing on Central Indiana.
While at Bradley, he helped the Braves to two Missouri Valley Conference titles and three NCAA Tournament (2010, 2011 and 2013) appearances in a four-year span. The Braves collected a pair of NCAA Tournament victories during that stretch and knocked off the nation's top-ranked team on the road in 2013 (1-0 win at UConn). In 2011, the Braves finished 15-6-2 which included a first round tournament win before falling to No. 14 Louisville in double overtime. Two years later, Barnett helped BU to a 3-2 opening round win at No. 3 Northwestern in the NCAA Tournament before ultimately falling to No. 6 California.
All total, Bradley collected seven wins over nationally ranked foes in a four-year stretch and closed the 2011 season with a No. 25 national ranking of its own.
Barnett was a standout player at Division III Aurora (Ill.) University where he was a four-year starter in the defensive third. He helped the Spartans to the 2006 NCAA Tournament and captained the 2008 squad to a 14-8-1 record while earning first team All-Northern Athletics Conference honors. He earned 66 career starts among his 73 appearances, helping the Spartans to a 44-21-11 record.
He graduated from Aurora in 2009 with his bachelor's degree in business administration, maintaining a 3.5 grade point average throughout. He was a three-time Northern Athletics Conference Scholar Athlete and earned Aurora's Ivy Leaf Award in 2006 and 2007. He also served as president of Aurora's Student-Athlete Advisor Committee (SAAC) during his final two academic years.
Barnett got his start in coaching at the club level for the Strikers Fox Valley Soccer Club, where he began as a staff head coach in 2005. In addition, Barnett began working current Bradley head coach Jim DeRose's Central Illinois Soccer Academy summer camps in 2006.
Barnett was a standout player at Peoria Notre Dame High School and holds a United Soccer Coaches Premier Diploma.
In February 2017, he launched the Square Mile Soccer Academy, geared towards helping players enhance their development in the game.
He and his wife, Brittany, are proud parents of three young children, Blake, Kate and Connor.
|
|
Overall |
|
Conference |
|
|
| Year |
School |
W |
L |
T |
Pct. |
|
W |
L |
T |
Pct. |
|
Conference Place / Postseason |
| 2016 |
IUPUI |
2 |
15 |
1 |
.138 |
|
1 |
5 |
0 |
.167 |
|
7th / none |
| 2017 |
IUPUI |
0 |
15 |
2 |
.059 |
|
0 |
9 |
0 |
.000 |
|
10th / none |
| 2018 |
IUPUI |
5 |
10 |
4 |
.368 |
|
4 |
3 |
1 |
.563 |
|
t-4th / HL Semis |
| 2019 |
IUPUI |
4 |
10 |
3 |
.324 |
|
2 |
5 |
1 |
.313 |
|
9th / none |
| 2020 |
IUPUI |
0 |
6 |
0 |
.000 |
|
0 |
6 |
0 |
.000 |
|
11th / none |
| 2021 |
IUPUI |
3 |
12 |
1 |
.219 |
|
2 |
8 |
0 |
.200 |
|
10th / none |
|
Career Totals |
14 |
68 |
11 |
.210 |
|
9 |
36 |
2 |
.213 |
|
|
