Gary Higgins - Head Women's Soccer Coach - Women's Soccer Coaches

Gary Higgins

Title:
Head Women's Soccer Coach
Email:
grhiggin@ncsu.edu

Gary Higgins enters his first season at NC State in 2025 after being named head coach of the Wolfpack women’s soccer program in December 2024. A respected and accomplished leader with a proven track record of success, Higgins joined the program following three seasons as head coach at East Carolina, where he guided the team to its first conference title in the 30-year history of the program.

Higgins owns a career record of 110-48-28 across 10 seasons as a head coach. In 2024, he led East Carolina to a 10-4-7 record, an American Athletic Conference championship, and the program’s first appearance in the NCAA Tournament. Six players earned spots on AAC postseason teams under his leadership.

In 2023, his second season as ECU head coach, Higgins led the Pirates to a 9-5-5 finish, marking the program’s first record above .500 since 2018. Four players earned all-conference recognition including the league’s player of the year, the first ECU player to earn that honor since 2008, and the conference’s defensive player of the year.
In his first season in Greenville, Higgins guided three players to conference postseason honors, including the 2022 AAC Rookie of the Year.

Higgins began his tenure at East Carolina in March 2022 following seven years as head coach at his alma mater, Lenoir Rhyne. The all-time winningest coach in program history, he compiled an 83-31-13 career record with the Bears, including a 49-16-1 mark in South Atlantic Conference play. He led Lenoir Rhyne to the NCAA Division II Semifinals in 2021, the program’s first trip to the Final Four, where they fell to eventual national champion Grand Valley State. The Bears finished that season ranked No. 4 in the United Soccer Coaches Poll, the highest final ranking in school history.

A two-time SAC Coach of the Year, Higgins guided Lenoir Rhyne to two regular season championships and one conference tournament title. The Bears made three NCAA Tournament appearances during his tenure. He coached four All-America selections and 46 all-conference honorees, including the 2019 conference player of the year and the 2016 freshman of the year.

Higgins’ teams also excelled in the classroom, producing five Academic All-America selections and the 2018 SAC Scholar Athlete of the Year.

Higgins began his collegiate coaching career as an assistant with the Lenoir Rhyne men’s program before serving as an assistant coach at Tusculum in Tennessee from 2012 to 2015. During his time with the Pioneers, the team compiled a record of 24-24-6 and captured the SAC title in 2014.

Higgins was a four-year letterwinner at Lenoir Rhyne from 2006 to 2009, earning honorable mention All-America honors in 2007. He was a two-time All-SAC and all-region selection, helping lead the Bears to a 19-1-1 record in 2006 and a trip to the regional final of the NCAA Tournament.

A native of Paisley, Scotland, Higgins played for St. Mirren Football Club at the professional youth level and represented his country as a member of the under-18 national team. He also played semi professionally in the United States with Reading Rage of the USL Premier Development League and served as captain of the Knoxville Force in the National Premier Soccer League. He led Reading Rage to the league semifinal in 2008 and was named team most valuable player.

Higgins earned his bachelor’s degree in health and exercise science from Lenoir Rhyne in 2009 and completed his master’s degree in liberal arts from the university in 2011. He also holds a United Soccer Coaches Advanced National diploma and a United States Soccer Federation National D coaching license.

Higgins is the father of two daughters, Mirin and Eilee Higgins.