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Knox College Hires Former Bates and Knox Head Coach Tyler Sheikh as Men's Soccer Head Coach

Justin Newell, the Vice President and Director of Athletics at Knox College, today announced the hiring of Tyler Sheikh as the head coach for the Prairie Fire men's soccer program. This is Sheikh's second stint helming the program, having served in this role for the three seasons from 2015-17 while leading the team to an overall record of 39-10-9 and a mark of 22-2-4 in the Midwest Conference.

"We are thrilled to welcome Tyler, his wife Alea and their family back to Knox College," Newell said. "A key architect in building the foundation of excellence within our program during his previous tenure, Tyler returns with a deep passion for Knox and a clear vision for the future. With experience coaching at the highest levels of NCAA Division III, he is a proven recruiter and a consistent winner. We are excited to have him lead our program once again and continue the proud tradition of Prairie Fire men's soccer."

For the past three years, Sheikh has been the associate director of college counseling at The Frederick Gunn School in Washington, Connecticut, while serving as the head coach of the boys' varsity soccer team as well as the girls' varsity tennis squad. Under his leadership, the boys' soccer team enjoyed its first winning season this past fall in over 15 years (7-6-4) and girls' tennis enjoyed its best season in program history.

Sheikh spent four years as the head men's soccer coach at Bates College (2018-21), amassing an overall record of 23-22-1. In 2019, he guided the Bobcats to their first winning record in the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) since 2005 as the team received votes in the national poll during the season and finished the campaign with a 9-6-1 overall record.

During his first stint in Galesburg, Sheikh enjoyed great success, winning the Midwest Conference regular-season title in 2017 and setting a conference record with 12 shutouts, after finishing second in each of his first two seasons. In both 2016 and 2017, his Prairie Fire squad went undefeated in league play, a feat not accomplished at Knox since 1988. Sheikh mentored 11 all-conference performers in his three seasons — eight on the first team — as well as the MWC Defensive Player of the Year in every campaign and the 2017 Newcomer of the Year. Five of his players also earned all-region honors during his tenure.

Prior to his arrival at Knox, Sheikh spent one year (2014) as the head coach at Illinois College, securing the Blueboys' first MWC Tournament appearance in over 20 years while posting a record of 10-7-2. He also served two seasons as the head coach of both men's and women's soccer at Mount Aloysius College in Cresson, Pennsylvania. Not only did he guide the men to their first-ever postseason appearance and victory in the postseason in 2013, he also was named the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference Coach of the Year.

Sheikh, a Connecticut native, earned his bachelor's degree in history from Quinnipiac University in 2008, followed by his master's of education in 2010 from the University of Connecticut.

[EnmoreCat]

I wasn't familiar with Knox and did some basic research.  By D3 standards (and I am aware there are other examples of this) they have a big international presence on their roster.  I counted as many as 25!

[Another Mom]

My son was recruited by Sheikh when he was at Bates, and liked him.