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Jim McElderry
Jim McElderry is in his fifth season as the head coach of Rutgers men's soccer in the 2023 fall. McElderry, who led the Scarlet Knights to their first Big Ten Tournament Championship in 2022, was named the seventh head coach in the 80-year history of the Rutgers men's soccer program on Dec. 8, 2018. Previously, McElderry led Fordham to three NCAA appearances, including the tournament quarterfinals in 2017, and two Atlantic 10 Championships over the last five seasons,
McElderry led the Scarlet Knights to unprecedented success in 2022 as the team captured its first Big Ten Championship in program history and first conference title since 1997 with a 3-1 win over Indiana in the title game. Men's soccer became just the second Rutgers program to ever win a Big Ten Tournament championship, and the third RU program to earn any Big Ten Championship. RU secured the No. 2 seed in the Big Ten Tournament, the highest in program history and hosted all three rounds, bringing in record crowds (4,200+ for the title game). The championship win punched Rutgers' ticket to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2015 for the first trip under head coach Jim McElderry.
With a 10-5-6 mark in the 2022 fall, it marked the first time Rutgers has reached 10+ victories since 2015. The team accumulated 130 total points through 21 games, marking the first time RU has reached 100+ points also since 2015 and the most since joining the Big Ten.
In addition, McElderry guided his player to multiple postseason honors as the Scarlet Knights pulled in a program-best eight Big Ten All-Conference Awards in 2022, including Player of the Year (MD Myers) and Co-Freshman of the Year (Cole Cruthers) for the first time in program history the Scarlet Knights have had two major award winners in the same season. In the Big Ten Tournament, Myers earned Offensive Player of the Tournament and Hugo Le Guennec was selected as Defensive Player of the Tournament, the first major tournament awards in program history. Myers was also named ECAC Offensive Player of the Year and All-ECAC First Team while Cole Cruthers was picked as Rookie of the Year. Jason Bouregy too earned a spot on the All-ECAC Second Team. RU also placed three on the 2022 United Soccer Coaches All-North Region Teams. Myers earned First Team All-North Region distinctions while Jackson Temple and Hugo Le Guennec were named to the Third Team.
Along with the rest of the Scarlet Knights staff, McElderry was also named the United Soccer Coaches North Region Staff of the Year, the first staff award in program history.
McElderry also saw Myers become the 20th overall MLS draft pick for the Scarlet Knights as he was chosen by New York City FC in the 2023 MLS SuperDraft with the eighth pick in the third round, 66th overall.
Rutgers also saw success in the classroom under McElderry and his staff, as men's soccer landed 20 student-athletes on the 2022 Fall Academic All-Big Ten, the most behind football. A maximum of 12 student-athletes were also named to the Academic All-District by College Sports Communicators.
During the unprecedented 2021 Spring season through the COVID-19 pandemic, McElderry guided the Scarlet Knights to tie its best Big Ten record (4-4) since joining the league in 2014 buoyed by a 3-1 start, its best ever beginning to a season in Big Ten play. The Scarlet Knights picked up their first ever victory over Michigan State and defeated Maryland for the first time since 1995. Oren Asher earned two Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week, becoming the first Scarlet Knight to earn multiple Defensive Player of the Week honors from the conference, and the first overall to earn two or more weekly conference awards since 2015. Jackson Temple was named to the National Team of the Week following a four-point opening week. RU picked up a Second Team All-Big Ten award for Ritchie Barry.
In his debut season at Rutgers in 2019, the Scarlet Knights started 6-0-2 for the program's best opening to a season since 1985 and finished with the most wins in a season since 2015. Rutgers garnered a No. 22 national ranking in the United Soccer Coaches Poll on Sept. 24. Meanwhile, he guided his players to a Second Team All-Big Ten honor and two Big Ten All-Freshman Team accolades.
Through two seasons "On the Banks," McElderry has had 21 Scarlet Knights selected Academic All-Big Ten, and saw both seasons end with a United Soccer Coaches Academic Team Honor.
During his 16-year tenure with the Rams, McElderry's student-athletes have been rewarded with 27 All-Region honors over his last 12 seasons, including five named in 2017 and three earning distinctions in 2018, 2016 and 2011. Altogether, McElderry has coached 18 Atlantic 10 All-Rookie and 32 All-Atlantic 10 honorees, as well as the 2018 Atlantic 10 Offensive and Defensive Players of the Year.
As much as McElderry's teams have succeeded on the field, his squads have been as equally impressive in the classroom having earned the Team Academic Award from the United Soccer Coaches Association for nine-straight years and securing a 100% graduation rate of four-year team members since 2003.
In 2018, Fordham qualified for the Atlantic 10 Tournament for the fifth-straight season and spent six weeks in the United Soccer Coaches Top 25 rankings, as well as the entire season among the top 10 in the regional rankings. Among the Rams wins this past season were victories over the Big Ten's Wisconsin and Northwestern.
In 2017, McElderry guided Fordham to its best NCAA finish for any Division I team in school history with a NCAA Tournament quarterfinal run behind a program-record 14 wins. The Rams concluded the year at No. 11 in the United Soccer Coaches Poll and at No. 7 in the Top Drawer Soccer Poll with a tournament run that included wins over St. Francis Brooklyn and No. 11 seed Virginia, as well as a penalty kick shootout win over No. 6 seed Duke. In addition to the success of the team, individually the Rams boasted eight All-Atlantic 10 selections, five Midwest Regional honorees, the Atlantic 10 Defensive Player of the Year, a Third Team All-American by Soccer News and a CoSIDA Academic All-District First Team representative.
Under McElderry's guidance, the Rams also secured the Atlantic 10's automatic bid to 2014 NCAA Tournament and repeated the feat again in 2016 boasting the conference's Offensive Player of the Year along with six all-league and three all-region picks.
Several former Fordham student-athletes under McElderry's tutelage have gone on to perform at the next level. In 2012, Atlantic 10 Defensive Player of the Year Ryan Meara was a Major League Soccer draft pick and is currently suiting up as a goalkeeper with the New York Red Bulls, while in 2017 four-year Ram letterwinner Matt Lewis, who appeared in a school record 84 contests, signed with Sporting Kansas City as a Homegrown signee. More recently, 2018 Atlantic 10 Offensive Player of the Year Janos Loebe and two-time regional all-american Rashid Nuhu will be attending the MLS combine in Chicago in conjunction with the upcoming MLS draft coming in January.
Prior to Fordham, McElderry served as an assistant coach at his alma mater, Fairfield, from 1993-2002. While with the Stag program, Fairfield broke into the top 25 for the first time in school history behind a school-record 15 wins and 11-game unbeaten streak in 1998 and captured the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) championship in 1999. In his last four seasons, the Stags advance made four consecutive MAAC championship game appearances.
McElderry has been associated with the Region I Olympic Development Program, the head coach for the Everton F.C. Westchester Academy U15/16 team and was on the Storm Academy Soccer Club staff for its multiple regional championships. He was also a scout for United States Soccer Federation Development Academy.
A 1993 graduate of Fairfield with a Bachelor of Science degree in mathematics and a minor in economics, McElderry was the 1992 MAAC Player of the Year award and two time All-MAAC selection. He later earned a Master of Arts degree in teaching and foundation from Fairfield in 1999. He was inducted into the Fairfield Athletic Hall of Fame in 1998.
Following his college career, McElderry played professionally for the New York Fever of the A-League from 1994-97 and then for the Long Island Rough Riders (A-League) from 1997-98. He also played for the New York Freedoms for four seasons.
McElderry and his wife Kim, a member of both the State of Connecticut Field Hockey and Connecticut College Halls of Fame, are the proud parents of daughter, Grace, and son, Liam.
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