Alun Oliver ’04 was hired as the ninth head coach of the Seahawk men’s soccer program in February of 2011.  Oliver follows in the footsteps of his former coach and mentor, Herb Gainey, who retired in November of 2010, leaving the program as the school’s all-time wins leader with 76 career victories in nine seasons.

Oliver's background includes more than a decade of playing and coaching experience both in the United States and in the United Kingdom.  He served as an assistant coach under Gainey for five seasons (2004-07, 2010).

The Ponty-Pool, Wales native will look to carve out his own path in the coaching world after an illustrious playing career at St. Mary’s, not only leaving his mark on the school record books but also helping to set the standard of play within the Capital Athletic Conference.  Oliver, a member of the St. Mary’s Hall of Fame Class of 2010, left the College as the all-time assists leader with 41 to rank third in the league annals.  He is a former CAC Rookie of the Year (2000) and Player of the Year (2002).

Oliver, a two-time NSCAA/adidas® All-South Region selection and four-time league all-star selection, is also the program’s second all-time points leader with 123 points while ranking third all-time with 41 career goals.  These numbers rank him fourth and eighth, respectively, in the conference record books.  He led the Seahawks to three straight 10-win seasons as well as three CAC semifinal appearances in a row as a player in 2001, 2002 and 2003.

Professionally, Oliver played for the British Tigers (2008-10), the Johnstown F.C. (2006-07) in Wales, the Sioux Falls Spitfire (2001-02) of the summer Player Development League, and the Oldham Athletic Football Club in England.  As a member of the Spitfire, he was the only Division III player on the squad and the team reached the final four of the PDL championships in 2001.

Along with serving as an assistant at St. Mary’s, he has coached both the Freestate U19 Diamondbacks (2007-08) and the U16 Girls St. Mary’s United Freedom (2008-09), guiding the Diamondbacks to the U19’s NCSL Division 1 Championship.  Oliver has also brought his passion for soccer to many local summer soccer camps.  He also served as the assistant coach of the ’86 boys Olympic Development Program team alongside Gainey during the 2002-03 season.

Oliver graduated the College in 2004 with a degree in economics and later received his Master of Arts in Teaching from St. Mary’s in 2009.

Oliver recently married Cathy Haan and the newlyweds reside in Leonardtown.