Casey Wilson enters his 16th season in 2022 as the only head coach the program has known. Wilson is the architect of an Abilene Christian University women’s soccer team that has more than proved its worth at both the NCAA Division I and II levels.

Shortly before the school announced its intentions to move into the DI ranks of the Southland Conference, Wilson guided a four-year old program to its first Lone Star Conference Championship and first of two appearances at the NCAA Championship. Then in 2011, the team reached the heights of its DII prowess by winning 20 matches en route to reaching the national quarterfinals.

Sophomore Andrea Carpenter was one of two All-Americas on that squad, and it was through her efforts as the program’s all-time leading point scorer (126) that the Wildcats made a successful transition into the DI Southland Conference. Carpenter was a senior on ACU’s first DI team in 2013 and in a comeback season of sorts she scored 13 goals to receive both all-region and all-conference honors.

The Wildcats finished fourth in the Southland standings at 7-5, and seven years into this transition they’ve yet to experience a losing in-conference season. ACU finished sixth (6-5) in 2017, fifth in 2014 and third at the conclusion of the 2015 (7-2-2) and 2016 seasons (8-2-1). The Wildcats finished fourth (7-3-1) in 2018 and third in 2019 (8-2-1).

The 2017 Wildcats competed at their first Southland Conference Championship tournament as the No. 6 seed and advanced past McNeese on penalty kicks following a scoreless draw. All five Wildcats connected on their PKs, but the team only hit three a day later in their semifinal match vs. SFA, which also ended in a 0-0 deadlock.

Attackers Christina Arteaga and Dylan Owens received their First Team All-Southland Conference plaques at the tournament, and Arteaga additionally was voted Freshman of the Year. She is the third Wildcat to receive this honor, joining Andrea Carpenter (2010) and Shay Johnson (2016).

ACU’s winning campaigns have resulted in a flood of individual honors. Twenty two players have received all-Southland Conference citations for an average of 4.4 per season, while Academic All-America honors have been presented to both Brie Buschman and Kelsie Roberts.

Roberts graduated in the spring of 2017 as the most decorated of Wilson’s first-year DI recruits. She attained all-region honors in the fall of 2016 in addition to the title of Southland Conference Defender of the Year. Three times Roberts made both the all-conference and academic all-conference team, and just prior to graduation she was voted Wildcat Club Student-Athlete of the Year.

The 2018 season was one for the ages, as the program finished 15-6-1 and 7-3-1 in the Southland Conference. The squad reached the Southland Tournament for the second straight year, earning the No. 5 seed, and won three straight in Beaumont, Texas to win the program’s first-ever Southland Tournament Championship. ACU defeated No. 4 McNeese, 3-1, before blanking the nation’s top offense and No. 1 seed Central Arkansas in the semifinals. In the championship match, the Wildcats bested No. 7 SFA, 3-1, to claim the title, and earn the first NCAA Division I Tournament appearance by any program in ACU’s history. The Wildcats would then head to Waco, Texas for the opening round of the NCAA Tournament, falling to the Baylor Bears, 2-0, to end a remarkable campaign.

Eight Wildcats earned All-Southland honors, including a third-straight and fourth-ever Freshman of the Year in Alyssia Anuat. Christina Arteaga, Shay Johnson, and Michelle Mulrooney were named to the first team, while Rachel Johnson and Sophie Standifer were tabbed to the second team. Brooke Lenz and Dylan Owens rounded out the teams with spots on the honorable mention list. In addition, Owens and Mulrooney were named to the All-Academic First Team, while Standifer and Johnson joined Caity Acosta on the All-Academic Second Team.

2019 was a fun season for the Wildcats as well. ACU followed up a championship season with a 12-5-2 record and an 8-2-1 mark in the Southland Conference. ACU finished tied for third overall in the league standings, and earned the No. 3 seed in the conference tournament. A couple injuries and odd timing caused a loss to No. 6 McNeese in the opening round of the tournament, but the season was full of fun moments. It was one of the top scoring teams in the country, scoring 2.4 points a game, ranking in the top 15 in America. The defense was once again stellar, allowing 1.3 goals per game, the third-best mark in the conference. It was a wonderful year that featured the fourth straight Southland Conference Freshman of the Year in Natalie Jones. Fellow rookie Caylen Wright had her own argument for the award; in fact, the two split votes for the honor. Shay Johnson was named the Midfielder of the Year in the league too. ACU placed eight on the all-conference teams, and had three all-region players too.

The Wildcats won four straight games before the conference tournament, and capped off the first-ever undefeated home slate in team history. ACU finished 6-0-2 at Elmer Gray Stadium, with one of the ties coming against No. 22 Baylor, 1-1, in September.

The 2020-21 campaign was unlike anything we have seen in recent memory (or long-term memory for that matter), as ACU dealt with the COVID-19 pandemic. And yet through it all, the Wildcats pressed through. ACU played in both the fall and the spring, and made another trip to the Southland Conference Tournament, and appeared in the semifinal round yet again after completing a 12-6-2 campaign and a 7-3-1 Southland season.

Wilson has guided four-time first team all-Southland forward Christina Arteaga, and coached five total players who made all-league honors in 2020-21. Natalie Jones, Megan Paul, and Gabby Symmank all grabbed post-season honors, and the Wildcats captured another No. 3 seed in the Southland Tournament, defeating UIW in the first round before falling to Sam Houston in the semifinal.

ACU capped its time in the Southland with eight winning seasons, winning 55 games, and qualifying for the postseason tournament each year it was eligible.

The Wildcats then made the jump to the Western Athletic Conference in the fall of 2021, and the league proved to be as tough as ever. ACU finished 4-5-1 in league play and did not qualify for the WAC Tournament; however, the program was the host site for the 2021 WAC Tournament, with Grand Canyon beating Utah Valley in the title match. Natalie Jones was named second team all-WAC in her first season in the new league.

Wilson has led his 15 previous squads to 163 victories in addition to 13 consecutive conference tournament qualifications that came to an end in 2021. Wilson has led ACU to three NCAA Championship appearances, one league title, and one conference tournament title. His overall winning percentage stands at .554 (163-107-24).

In terms of individual accolades, Wilson’s student-athletes have earned seven all-America citations, 23 all-region honors, and 94 all-conference awards. The Wildcats also have gotten the job done in the classroom as evidenced by five Academic All-America plaques and 52 academic all-conference certificates.

Wilson’s winningest season as a head coach remains 2011 as his Wildcats reached the national quarterfinals behind an overall record of 20-2-1 (.891) and finished with a No. 7 national ranking. ACU’s winning percentage was the fifth-best in NCAA Division II and its scoring offense ranked 40th with 2.13 goals per match. The Wildcats were equally impressive on defense with the 22nd best goals-against average (.638) and sixth highest save percentage (.887), while its 11 shutouts served as a program record.

Eight different players that season combined to win 11 Lone Star Conference Player of the Week awards, and then the Wildcats walked away with three major awards (Coach, Goalkeeper and Offensive Player of the Year) at the conference’s postseason banquet. They also had nine starters make the all-conference first or second team.

At season’s end Wilson was named NSCAA Head Coach of the Year for the South Central Region.

A three-sport (soccer, football and baseball) standout at Canyon High School in Anaheim Hills, Calif., Wilson attended both Santa Ana College and Central Michigan University before transferring to ACU in 1998. Wilson graduated the following year with B.B.A. in marketing and later received his M.B.A. with an emphasis in entrepreneurship from Concordia University in California. He earned a National Diploma from the NSCAA in the summer of 2011 and an Advanced National Diploma in the summer of 2015.

Wilson was a standout club and high school soccer player while growing up in southern California. He played for the Western Regional championship club team in 1989, a squad that finished with a 50-8 record.

Wilson’s high school soccer coach was Ali Khosroshahin, who later guided the USC women’s soccer team to the NCAA Division I national championship in 2007.

An All-America placekicker in football for Santa Ana, Wilson would finish his gridiron career at Central Michigan where in 1996 he set the school record formPATs in a season (45), a record that stood until 2006 when Rick Albreski hit 48.

Wilson transferred to ACU in 1998 and played baseball for head coach Britt Bonneau for two seasons. He hit .300 in 1998 for the Wildcats.

Wilson was hired as ACU’s assistant softball coach in 2005, and served as the program’s recruiting coordinator and hitting coach. During his six-year tenure in that position the Wildcats amassed an overall record of 193-138, which included four trips to the national tournament (2005, 2006, 2008 and 2009), three LSC Tournament championship game appearances, and two LSC South Division titles (2006, 2009).

Wilson simultaneously served as ACU’s head soccer coach and assistant softball coach from 2007 to 2010.

Wilson is the father to twin sons, Hayden and Tanner, and daughters, Mary Collins and June. He and his wife, Julie, reside in Abilene.