BOONE, N.C. - Appalachian State University men's soccer head coach
Jason O'Keefe has agreed to a three-year extension that runs through 2021, Director of Athletics Doug Gillin announced Tuesday. The extension was approved by Sheri Everts and the Appalachian State Board of Trustees.
"I would like to thank Doug, Chancellor Everts and the Board of Trustees for believing in myself and our staff," O'Keefe said. "We're thrilled about the extension and pleased with the program we're building. I am delighted to know I'll be here to see things through and achieve our goals. There are a lot of exciting things going on with the University as well
as with men's soccer. I'm looking forward to the next three years with our program."
O'Keefe is coming off his third year at the helm in which the Mountaineers posted their best season since he took over in 2016. The Apps finished 8-6-3 for their first winning campaign since 2012, while placing third in the Sun Belt for their highest standing since joining the conference. App State went 2-1-1 in league play highlighted by a come-from-behind 2-1 triumph over then-No. 22 Coastal Carolina for the Black and Gold's first win over a ranked opponent since 2009. Appalachian was one of 19 undefeated teams in the country at one point with a 4-0 start to the campaign and its best start since 2008. In App State's first three seasons with O'Keefe, the Mountaineers have increased their win percentage each season.
"We are excited to have Jason continue to lead our men's soccer program," said Senior Associate Athletics Director
Brittney Whiteside. "Since arriving in Boone, Jason and his staff have established a strong culture of excellence that is helping the team compete at higher levels. In addition to success on the field, the program has continued to excel academically and socially in the community. There is a lot of optimism for this upcoming season as we host the Sun Belt Men's Soccer Conference Tournament."
Appalachian boasted the best defense in the Sun Belt in 2018, as its 15 goals allowed were the best in the league and its goals-against average of .844 topped the conference and ranked 29th in the country. The offense also had quite the turnaround, increasing its scoring total by eight goals from 2017.
Mountaineer student-athletes raked in the awards for their stellar season. Seven Mountaineers were named all-conference, which led the Sun Belt and was the highest number of players for App to receive all-conference honors since 1980 when it landed seven players on the All-Southern Conference team.
Jake Chasteen was the first player for the Black and Gold since 1989 (Carlos Lee) to be named Conference Player of the Year after he was named Co-Sun Belt Player of the Year. Chasteen was also named to the Google Cloud Academic All-District First Team and later named to the Academic All-American Second Team for his efforts off the field.
Under O'Keefe's tutelage, freshman
Camden Holbrook made a splash, where he was the only first-year player in the Sun Belt to lead his team in goals (six) and points (13). Holbrook led the team with 17 shots on goal and a solid shot-on-goal percentage of .739. He was named one of the top 100 freshmen according to TopDrawerSoccer.com, joining players from such
schools as Stanford, Notre Dame, Wake Forest, Pitt, Virginia and Washington. During the season, Holbrook was mentioned on the weekly freshman top 10 list with players from Northwestern, Syracuse and NC State.
App State returns 20 of 27 players from last season, including four of seven all-Sun Belt selections in
Zeiko Harris,
Austin Hill, Holbrook and
Alex McGrath.
