Brad Silvey

Brad Silvey has completed his fifth season as the head coach of the Illinois State soccer program after the fall 2021 season, compiling a 41-41-8 (19-15-3 MVC) in his five seasons.

In his first year at the helm of the program, the Redbirds finished 9-9-2 (3-4-0 MVC) while landing two student-athletes on the All-MVC First Team (Kate Del Fava, Kelli Zickert). Illinois State played a challenging non-conference schedule, picking up a 2-0 win at home versus in-state Big Ten rival Illinois, also hosting No. 23 Northwestern and playing No. 19 Marquette to a draw that season. Zickert would go on to play professionally in Sweden at the conclusion of the 2017 campaign.

Illinois State continued to improve in Silvey's second season, tallying a 10-9-2 (4-3-0 MVC) record and ending the season in the semifinals of the MVC Soccer Championships. ISU was the only MVC team to defeat top-ranked Loyola Chicago that year, downing them in a 3-2 overtime thriller during the regular season (Oct. 13) but the Ramblers would eventually knock the Redbirds out of postseason in the semifinals on their way to becoming 2018 MVC Tournament champions. Illinois State again boasted two All-MVC selections in midfielders Abby Basler and Del Fava at the conclusion of the season, also placing six total across all postseason all-conference teams. Del Fava was recognized as a CoSIDA Academic All-American following the end of the 2018 campaign and forward Angel Krell inked a contract to play professionally in France.

The soccer team took it a step further in Silvey's third year, with their season ending in the 2019 MVC Tournament championship after a 14-6 (6-1 MVC) record-breaking year. The 2019 Illinois State squad tied the program's record nine-game winning streaks set previously in 2013 and 2014, while also setting the record for most consecutive shutouts, not allowing a goal for a period of five games from Sept. 28 to Oct. 20. During that stretch, senior goalkeeper Haley Smith also became ISU's record holder with 26 career shutouts to her name.