Brett Parker

Brett Parker begins his eighth year as head coach of men's soccer at Fort Hays State University in 2018 after becoming the first coach in program history prior to the 2011 season. Parker has built a nationally competitive program at FHSU in its first seven years of existence, guiding the team to six consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances, including three consecutive Central Region Championships and Elite Eight appearances from 2014 to 2016.

Parker holds a 83-38-16 (.664) record in seven years at FHSU and has seen his Tigers ranked in the United Soccer Coaches National Poll at some point during all seven seasons, reaching as high as No. 9 in the nation during the 2012 season. Parker’s players have earned seven All-American awards, 41 All-Region picks, two Regional Player of the Year accolades (Mauricio Castorino, 2015 and Derick Gonzalez, 2017) and 53 All-MIAA selections, including a trio of MIAA Player of the Year honors (Tanner Brock, 2014, Mauricio Castorino, 2015, and Derick Gonzalez, 2017). Parker enters his 11th year as a head coach at the collegiate level with an impressive record of 109-59-19 in ten seasons.
Leading the program in its first year of competition in 2011, Parker coached FHSU to a record of 11-5-2 (.667), including a 10-game unbeaten streak. The Tigers were not eligible for postseason play, but saw two players each All-Region honors and one player, Diego Cabral, picked as an All-American.
Parker’s 2012 squad earned the No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament and advanced to the Round of 16, matching their win today from a year before with an 11-6-2 (.632) record. FHSU reached the semifinals of the MIAATournament, and had seven All-MIAA (three First Team) and All-Region (four First Team) selections.
The Tigers again returned to the NCAA Tournament (Round of 16) in 2013, posting a program most 12 wins while finishing 12-5-3 (.653), falling in the MIAA Tournament finals. The Tigers had eight selections on the All-MIAAteam (three First Team and the Freshman of the Year, Jason Babyak) and seven All-Region picks, while Cabral and Ricardo Yeverino were each named All-Americans.
In 2014, FHSU went 11-6-4 and reached the national quarterfinals of the NCAA Tournament, advancing past the Round of 16 for the first time in program history. The Tigers reached the MIAA Tournament semifinals as the second seed, put together an 11-match unbeaten streak, and posted a nine-game winning streak during the season (both school records). FHSU made its third straight NCAA Tournament and earned its first Central Regional Championship after a 1-1 draw with Northeastern State, advancing on penalty kicks, 3-2. The Tigers had nine All-MIAA selections, including nine First Team picks and the MIAA Player of the Year (Brock) and Freshman of the Year (Mauricio Castorino). On the national scale, seven Tigers were picked All-Central Region and Brock was an All-American selection.
The 2015 season saw the Tigers advance to the National Quarterfinals in the NCAA Tournament for the second-straight season, reaching the Elite Eight after finishing with 13 wins (13-5-2). After falling to Upper Iowa in a de facto MIAA Championship game two weeks prior, FHSU knocked off the Peacocks in thrilling fashion, 4-2, to capture the Central Region title once again. The Tigers saw eight players listed on the All-MIAA (four first team) teams with sophomore Mauricio Castorino earning the program's second consecutive MIAA Player of the Year honor. 12 members of the squad were listed on the MIAA Academic Honor Roll, while goalie Michael Yantz earned Scholor Athlete accolades. Five Tigers were chosen as All-Central Region performers (four first team) and Castorino earned All-American honors.
In 2016 Fort Hays State claimed its third consecutive NCAA Central Regional Championship. The Tigers earned the No. 1 seed in the region and hosted the regional finals and national quarterfinal round of the NCAA Tournament. FHSU knocked off Lindenwood in a thrilling 1-0 overtime decision to claim the regional title, but fell to Rockhurst for the second straight year in the national quarterfinal by the same score. The Tigers set a new program record for wins in a season, going 14-5-1 overall. The Tigers saw 12 players named to the All-MIAA Team (seven first team selections) and Luis Mendez was named the conference's Freshman of the Year. All six Tigers named All-Central Region performers were first team selections, while defender Luis Torres earned All-America honors.
In 2017, Fort Hays State entered the NCAA tournament for the sixth-consecutive season. The Tigers earned the No. 2 seed in the Central Region. FHSU fell to fellow-MIAA rival Northeastern State in a defensive 1-0 battle as the RiverHawks connected on the game-winning goal in the final minute of regulation. The Tigers saw their second consecutive D2CCA All-America selection (Derick Gonzalez). Gonzalez also was named Central Region player of the year and MIAA Player of the Year. The Tigers saw nine players named to the All-MIAA Team (six first team selections) and Parker was named the MIAA Coach of the Year, for guiding the Tigers to their first conference championship in program history. Six Tigers were named to the All-Central Region team (three first team selections).
Parker came to Fort Hays State University from Lyon College in Arkansas, where he was head coach for two years. In his two years at Lyon College, a member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), he led the program to consecutive record-setting seasons for wins, going 10-6-1 in 2009 and 11-5-2 in 2010. He helped the Scots to consecutive appearances in the TranSouth Conference Tournament and recorded the first two wins over NAIA Top 25 opponents in school history. His teams received votes for the national rankings in each season. All four all-conference selections for Lyon College in 2010 were recruited by Parker in his first two years.
Prior to his time at Lyon College, Parker was the head men's soccer coach at the College of Santa Fe, another affiliate of NAIA, where he led the school in its first year of competition in men's soccer (5-10). However, the school's entire athletics program was eliminated following that season in December of 2008 due to school budget constraints.
Parker spent one year as the assistant men's and women's soccer coach at Ottawa University, his alma mater, in 2007. He helped recruit three all-conference players for the women and two all-conference players for the men. He worked with current FHSU head women's soccer coach Craig Shaw when Shaw was head women's coach at Ottawa. Parker also spent a year as assistant women's coach at Carroll College in Montana in 2006, helping the team to a NAIA regional final, a No. 12 national ranking, and the school's first-ever national tournament appearance.
Parker played soccer at Ottawa University in Ottawa, Kan. He was a two-year captain and starter, garnering 2005 Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Year honors and an All-KCAC First Team selection as a senior. He was also tabbed as an all-region first team selection and earned an NAIA All-American Honorable Mention selection that year. He was a member of the school's first-ever KCAC Tournament championship team and helped the team reach its first-ever NAIA Regional Tournament. He also played at Santa Rosa Junior College, where he was a member of the NSCAA Junior College National Championship Team and California Community College Championship Team in 2001.
Parker, a native of Bozeman, Mont., earned his bachelor's degree in Biology from Ottawa University in 2006 and a master's degree in Health and Human Performance in 2016 from Fort Hays State University.