Fennema Joins Coaching Staff as Associate Head Coach
1/6/2025 2:15:00 PM | Women's Soccer
RALEIGH, N.C. – NC State head women's soccer coach Gary Higgins has made the first addition to his staff, as Joanna Fennema will now serve as the Associate Head Coach for the Wolfpack program. The Raleigh native brings a wealth of experience as a player and coach to the role.
Fennema joins Higgins after serving as the head coach at Lenoir-Rhyne for the past season. The team posted a 13-2-5 record, including an 8-0-3 mark in the South Atlantic Conference (SAC). The Bears played in the SAC championship game and advanced to the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
"I am very excited to have Joanna on board. Jo is a passionate, driven and hardworking coach. She had a tremendous playing career and has competed at the highest level in collegiate athletics." Said Higgins. "She has been surrounded by some of the most competitive players and coaches in NCAA Soccer and she knows what it takes to be successful at this level.
Jo is delighted to be back home in Raleigh. I am so excited for our players to have the opportunity to be coached and mentored by Joanna, and I know she is going to help elevate our program to the next level."
Prior to her stint with the Bears, Fennema had a successful three-year run as the assistant coach at Columbus St. She helped lead the Cougars to three NCAA Tournament appearances and a Regional Championship in 2022 as they entered the tournament as the No. 1 seed. That season, Fennema was part of the United Soccer Coaches' Southeast Regional Coaching Staff of the Year as the team went 19-3-2.
In addition, she helped the Columbus St. program reach a pair of Peach Belt regular season championships and a PBC Tournament title. Under her guidance, 30 players went on to be named all-conference, seven earned All-America honors, five were Scholar-All Americans and she coached the 2022 Elite 90 award winner. In total, Columbus St. was 53-10-5 in her three seasons on the sidelines.
Prior to her time at Columbus St., Fennema was drafted in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) by the Boston Breakers, then selected in the dispersal draft by the Chicago Red Stars, where she spent a year before making her way to the Orlando Pride. While with the Pride, she appeared in 19 matches, scoring one goal with two assists before retiring from the top league in the United States due to an injury.
Fennema played collegiately for national powerhouse UNC (2013-2017). She appeared in 84 career matches, scoring 14 goals while recording 17 assists. During her time with the Tar Heels, she helped them secure an NCAA Tournament berth in each of her five years, including an Elite Eight run in 2013 and two Sweet 16 appearances.
A three-time All-ACC selection, Fennema was also named to the NSCAA All-Southeast Region team, was a team captain as a senior and was twice named to the All-ACC Tournament Team. In addition to her on-field accolades, Fennema was also a star in the classroom, earning two All-ACC Academic Team mentions on top of making the All-ACC Honor Roll four times and earning the UNC Athletic Director's Scholar-Athlete Award in 2017. Fennema was also named to the United Soccer Coaches Scholar All-America team in 2017.
Fennema spent a handful of years involved with the U.S. National Teams, beginning back in 2009 when she played with the U.S. U15 WNT. In 2010, she was promoted to the U17 National Team and was a member of the squad that won the 2010 Nordic Cup championship. Fennema continued her U17 national team play in 2012 where the team won the CONCACAF championship in Guatemala before then playing in the World Cup in Azerbaijan. She wrapped up her WNT play in 2014 when she was a member of the U.S. U20 National Team player pool, before being one of the final cuts when the team was taken down to 21 players for the 2014 World Cup.
Fennema graduated with a degree in exercise sport science from UNC. She is married to Parker Fennema.