Keith Simons was named head coach of the Connecticut College women’s soccer program in May 2026.
Simons is the fifth head coach in the history of the program. He spent the past five seasons as head coach of the women’s soccer program at Vassar College, and prior to that served as associate head coach at Wesleyan University.
Simons took Vassar to new heights during his time in Poughkeepsie, which culminated in a historic 2025 season. He led the Brewers to a 16-4 overall record—a single season record for wins—and their first Liberty League regular season title. Vassar went on to win the Liberty League Championship for the first time in school history, earning a second consecutive trip to the NCAA Championship. For their efforts, Simons and his staff were tabbed Liberty League and USC Region III Coaching Staff of the Year.
In five years at Vassar, Simons posted a 53-24-16 overall record and a 23-10-12 mark in Liberty League play. The Brewers made back-to-back NCAA appearances and recorded the program’s first-ever NCAA victory, a 1-0 decision over St. Mary’s College of Maryland in 2024. During his tenure he mentored 27 All-Liberty League selections, 12 All-Region picks, two All-Americans and 19 Academic All-District selections.
Simons spent two seasons as associate head coach and recruiting coordinator at Wesleyan. In 2019 he helped the Cardinals to a 9-4-2 overall record and a 4-4-2 NESCAC mark, as well as a program record for the longest unbeaten streak in a season (6-0-2). Wesleyan also won its first Little Three title since 1982, defeated defending national champion and No. 1 ranked Williams College, and reached as high as No. 21 in the national rankings.
Simons previously served as the head men's soccer coach at The Sage Colleges from 2016-18. In his first season he guided the program back to the Skyline Conference Championship game, and the following year the team posted a 10-6-2 overall record en route to the Empire 8 Conference Championship game.
Prior to his time at Sage, Simons was an assistant men's soccer coach at Skidmore College for three seasons, where he helped lead the Thoroughbreds to a 32-18-6 overall record. He also served as an assistant coach at Elmira College for two seasons (2011, 2012).
A 2010 graduate of Manhattanville College, Simons was co-captain his senior year and received the college's Male Scholar Athlete of the Year award. He was a three-time Middle Athletic Conference All-Academic selection and was NSCAA Scholar All-East Region Honorable Mention in 2009. He earned his master's degree in general management from Elmira in 2013.
Simons currently holds an NSCAA Premier Diploma, NSCAA Goalkeeping Level III Diploma and USSF National D License.
