Tom Anagnost Named Mississippi State Head Soccer Coach

STARKVILLE, Miss. – Mississippi State University Director of Athletics John Cohen announced on Thursday the hiring of Tom Anagnost as the soccer program's new head coach. Anagnost (uh-Nag-Nist) comes to MSU from North Carolina State, where he spent the past season as an assistant coach, aiding the Wolfpack to a NCAA Sweet 16 berth.

"We are excited to welcome Tom to the Mississippi State family," Cohen said. "He has shown the ability to turn around programs in a short period of time and has had tremendous success at each stop during his coaching career. He's coming off a great run with NC State after a Sweet 16 appearance and we are thrilled to name him as our new soccer head coach."

Anagnost will be formally introduced at a 1 p.m. CT press conference on Wednesday, Dec. 14 in the Babe McCarthy Media Room in the Humphrey Coliseum.

"I am incredibly blessed and extremely grateful to be the head soccer coach at Mississippi State," Anagnost said. "I want to especially thank John Cohen, Scott Wetherbee and the rest of the search committee for this incredible opportunity. Mississippi State is a special place that I truly believe in and I just loved everyone I met."

Anagnost, who becomes the Bulldogs' fifth soccer head coach in program history, has spent the last two seasons as an assistant coach, first with the Michigan Wolverines in 2015 before joining NC State.

"I'm extremely excited and can't wait to meet and build relationships with the players and entire support staff," Anagnost said. "I'm looking forward to serving our student-athletes and increasing their commitment level to get better every day in everything they do and build a championship culture of excellence at this wonderful place."

Prior to his assistant coaching jobs, Anagnost was the head coach of the University of Miami (Fla.) women's soccer program for two seasons from 2011-12. He led the Hurricanes to a combined 19-15-5 record on the pitch and two consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances, including the program's first trip to the NCAA second round in 2011. The Hurricanes also qualified for the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament in 2012, while earning two wins over top-10 teams for the first time in school history.

Before his time in Coral Gables, Fla., Anagnost was the head coach of the Central Michigan program from 2009-10 after earning the job as an interim head coach in 2008 following his successful stint as an assistant with the club in 2007. He guided teams to a combined 45-12-7 record in his three seasons with the Chippewas and earned a pair of NCAA Tournament appearances. Anagnost was named the Mid-American Conference Coach of the Year in back-to-back seasons in 2008 and 2009. Inside the MAC, Anagnost's clubs turned in a 31-4-6 record in league play.

Anagnost has perfected the art of turning around a program in a short period as he's displayed that at his last two head coaching stops. With CMU, the Chippewas finished 10th overall in the MAC before Anagnost took over the helm as the squad finished 8-10-0 in 2007. Over his three-year span with the club, the Chippewas finished with one runner-up and two first place finishes in the MAC as the club won an impressive 45 matches under Anagnost. At Miami, Anagnost led the Hurricane's to back-to-back NCAA Tournament berths and the program's first and only second round appearance. Since Anagnost's departure from Miami, the Hurricanes have not advanced to the postseason.

Anagnost has also spent five years in the classroom as a teacher and educator and has shown a major commitment to academics, increasing his team's GPA each year in charge. While with Miami, the Hurricanes improved in the classroom each season under Anagnost's guidance as the club posted the highest GPA in the ACC in 2011 and the best team GPA for Miami since 2000. At the helm with the Chippewas, Anagnost's teams earned two consecutive NSCAA Academic National Championships by posting the highest team GPA in the nation of all divisions and both genders.

Anagnost, a native of Saginaw, Mi., also boasts nine years at the high school level in his home state of Michigan, coaching the Bay City John Glenn program (1999-02), Saginaw Heritage (2000-02) and Flint Powers Catholic (2003-07). He was named Saginaw Valley League Coach of the Year at Saginaw Heritage in 2002 after leading his club to the SVL title, while also earning two more Coach of the Year honors with Flint Powers.

As a collegiate player, Anagnost was a three-time NCAA Division III All-American at Kalamazoo College (1992-95). He graduated with a bachelor's degree in political science with a minor in history in 1995 and later went on to earn a teaching certificate from Saginaw Valley State in 2003. In 2006, he was inducted into the Kalamazoo College Sports Hall of Fame for his contributions over his successful four-year career with the Hornets.

Upon graduating from Kalamazoo, Anagnost played professionally for the Chicago Power of the National Professional Soccer League in 1995 under famed United States and Greek National Team coach Alkis Panagoulias, before playing for the Michigan Bucks of the United States Indoor Soccer League in 1996.

Anagnost holds an Advanced National Coaching Diploma from the National Soccer Coaches Association of America and the United States Soccer Federation.

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The Anagnost File
Hometown: Saginaw, Michigan
Alma Mater: Kalamazoo College (1995)
Birthdate: April 18, 1973

Head Coaching Experience
Miami (Fla.), 2011-12 (19-15-5)
Central Michigan, 2008-2010 (45-12-7)

Assistant Coaching Experience
NC State, 2016
Michigan, 2015
Central Michigan, 2007-2008

Head Coaching Record Against SEC (All at Miami)
vs. Florida (1-1)
vs. Alabama (1-0)

What Past Coaches Are Saying About Tom Anagnost:

"I want to thank Tom for his time at NC State. He made a selfless decision to come to Raleigh and he helped us in taking another step forward in our rebuilding process. Tom is a top quality head coach and Mississippi State made an incredible choice. Congratulations to John Cohen and his staff on this decision and I wish Tom nothing but the best and will follow his program closely."
- Tim Santoro, North Carolina State Head Women's Soccer Coach

"Coach Tom Anagnost is one of the most talented young coaches I have met in my 30 years of coaching at the highest levels of women's soccer. Tom has a unique ability to take a program and make something great out of it in a very short time. I witnessed him do this at Central Michigan, Miami and at NC State this past season. His positive influence on the NC State team was immediate and incredibly impactful. Coach Anagnost's passion for people, coaching and the game of soccer make him a truly remarkable coach."
- Greg Ryan, University of Michigan Head Women's Soccer Coach

"Tom Anagnost is a wonderful coach and a person of the highest integrity. He is one of the most well respected coaches in the soccer community by coaches and players alike. Tom has a tremendous knowledge of the game, and his extensive experience working in the high level ACC will serve him extremely well in attracting some of the top student-athletes in the country to Mississippi State. His ability to win at all the institutions he's been at, speaks volumes about his approach to teach the game of soccer the right way, both on and off the field. I look forward to seeing what he can do in his new leadership position at Mississippi State."
- Dave DiIanni, University of Iowa Head Women's Soccer Coach

"Tom has made every team he's been associated with better. His ability to create a winning culture is without question. He's a great addition to the SEC."
- Becky Burleigh, University of Florida Head Women's Soccer Coach

"Coach Anagnost is a hard worker and a proven winner. I am convince that he will have Mississippi State competing for a spot in the NCAA Tournament in the near future."
- Mark Krikorian, Florida State University Head Women's Soccer Coach

"Tom is a great hire for Mississippi State. He does a great job of meeting a team where it is and pushing the limit of their belief in where they can go. Tom is very knowledgeable about the game, and he finds a way to get the most out of his teams, creating an identity that suits each team and maximizes the talents that each team possesses. Success doesn't happen by accident, and it is no coincidence that every program Tom has been around has experienced a lot of success. I have no doubt that Mississippi State will be a program on the rise with Tom at the helm."
- Stefanie Golan, University of Minnesota Head Women's Soccer Coach

"The student-athletes at Mississippi State are very lucky to be getting such a role-model and mentor like Tom Anagnost. The lessons they will learn on and off the field and in and out of the classroom will be invaluable during and in their post-collegiate careers. Tom leads by example and the only thing greater than his talent is his work-rate. You can see by Tom's teaching that he has a passion for people while getting the most out of his players and staff. There's no doubt that MSU will do special things in the near future."
- Neil Stafford, University of Cincinnati Head Women's Soccer Coach

"I am so happy for Tom and for the Mississippi State soccer program. I had the opportunity to work with Tom for a year and a half as his assistant at the University of Miami. I grew a lot because of Tom as a coach, but more importantly I grew as a person as he is one of the best people I know. He embodies what being a servant leader truly is and would do anything to help any of his players. Mississippi State is extremely lucky to have Tom."
- Nate Norman, Liberty University Head Women's Soccer Coach

Mississippi State University Athletics

Tom Anagnost Named Mississippi State Head Soccer Coach

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