2010 Men's Soccer
The University of the Cumberlands (UC) takes great pride and tradition in its athletics programs. The men's soccer program is no different. In the last five years, the Patriots have went a combined 69-25-9 overall with two NAIA Regional appearances and three NAIA Top 25 finishes. The program has built a name for itself and now the reins have been handed off to its newest Head Coach, Brenton Benware.
Benware was the Head Coach at Montreat College for the last three years. While at Montreat, Benware coached his teams to an overall record of 31-21-2. He also coached one NAIA All-American, eight Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) selections, an AAC Player of the Year and an AAC Freshman of the Year. He also had his Montreat Cavaliers as highly ranked as #11 in the NAIA during his coaching tenure. In 2009, Benware coached the Cavaliers to a victory over the #1 seed Milligan College in the AAC Tournament, coming up just short of a NAIA Tournament berth losing to Bryan College in overtime 2-1.
Cumberlands Athletic Director Randy Vernon commented, "We are pleased to have Brenton Benware as our new Head Men's Soccer Coach. Coach Benware brings to us seven years of head coaching experience that will prove vital in maintaining our position as a top 25 team in the NAIA. I am very impressed with his commitment to make our men's soccer team one of the best in the Mid-South Conference and the NAIA as well as his commitment to our student-athletesboth on the field and in the classroom. His past experiences at both Oklahoma Wesleyan and Montreatmake him a perfect fit for the University of the Cumberlands."
Craig begins his first year coaching for the Cumberlands after being a four-year veteran of the Patriot soccer team.
Craig, a native of Knoxville, TN, graduated from University of the Cumberlands in the spring of 2010 with Bachelors in Sports Management and Communications. He received the NAIA Academic All-Conference and Mid-South Conference Honorable Mention awards in his time playing for the Patriots, and also was named Captain of the team in his senior year.
Craig is excited to start coaching the game he loves and says, "It is a great feeling moving from a player to coach, and I am learning a lot coaching alongside Paulo and Dido. It is a great starting point to my career as a coach."
