2017 Premier Development League Southern Conference Champions, Mississippi Brilla, are pleased to announce that Mark McKeever will return as Head Coach for the 2018 season.
McKeever, a native of Motherwell, Scotland, who has coached the men’s soccer team at Young Harris College for 13 seasons and turned the program into a NCAA Division II powerhouse, has coached Mississippi Brilla for the past three seasons.
At Young Harris, McKeever has led the Mountain Lions to a regular season record of 11-1-1 and guided the team to wins in the first two rounds of the NCAA DII National Tournament this year. His team will face Lander University (and 2017 Brilla standouts Rich Bryan, Sinclaire Sandy, and Jordan Skelton) in the 3rd round this Friday.
At Brilla, McKeever has amassed a 19-11-10 regular season record and led the Mississippi team to a Mid-South Division title in 2015 and a Southern Conference Championship and Final Four berth in 2017, the program’s most successful season yet.
Brilla Executive Director, Rusty Bryant, is thrilled to have Coach McKeever, saying, “Coach Mark understands that coaching at this level is more than just wins and losses. He is truly in this for the players. His goal is to prepare the college players for their next college season, and give opportunities to his players to move up to the next professional level. Most importantly, his desire is to make a lifelong impact on the players that he coaches.”
Coach McKeever has shown he can guide players to the next level. In the 2017 USL Championship match played November 13th, four McKeever-coached players lined up for Louisville City FC, who would go on the capture the USL Cup title 1-0.
Coach McKeever said, "I am really excited to be returning as head coach of Mississippi Brilla for the 2018 season. After spending the last three summers in Clinton. I now consider it my 2nd home. The challenge of building another successful team is one that I will embrace and enjoy. The opportunity to continue working with the staff at Mississippi Brilla is one that I am grateful for, and I look forward to seeing and working with everyone from the staff to the community, especially the Blue Battalion! The goal this year will be to reach or exceed the high expectations we have set for ourselves in recent years, and I would love to have many members from last years special group come back and do it all again!"
The team will kick off its season in May. Keep an eye on brillasoccer.org for more news about the 2018 season.