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Kevin Hudson
Kevin Hudson was named the fourth head coach in the program's history on Jan. 9, 2015. Hudson spent seven seasons as an assistant coach and was promoted to associate head coach prior to the 2014 season after returning to the Hilltop in 2007.
During Hudson's 18 years on the Hilltop, the Mustangs have reached the NCAA Tournament on ten occasions, advancing as far as the Elite Eight in 2010 and 2019.
The Mustangs have amassed a 103-41-17 (.693) record during Hudson's tenure as head coach.
Most recently, Hudson and the rest of the SMU coaching staff were recognized as the 2023 American Athletic Conference Coaching Staff of the Year. The Mustangs advanced to the NCAA Round of Sixteen and won the AAC regular season outright. Two members of the SMU roster were named as Hermann Trophy semifinalists and four were All American selections.
During the 2022 season, the Mustangs finished with a 10-6-1 overall record. SMU finished 6-3 in AAC play and finished the regular season in second place. Hudson's 2022 squad saw six of its members named to All-American Athletic Conference teams. Knut Ahlander was named the leagues Offensive and Midfielder of the Year and Alexander Petraeus was crowned the Rookie of the Year. Mads Westergren and Ahlander were selected to the All-AAC First Team and JP Jordan and Petraeus were selected to the conference's Second Team. Nikola Djordjevic, Fredrik Skilberg and Petraeus earned All-Rookie Team nods. Ahlander was selected as a semifinalist for the MAC Hermann Trophy, the most coveted individual honor in NCAA Division I soccer and has been awarded annually since 1967. In addition, the graduate student was named a United Soccer Coaches First Team All-American. Ahlander and Petraeus were recognized by United Soccer Coaches as members of All-East Region teams. Ahlander was named to the First Team, while Petraeus notched a spot on the Second Team. SMU earned its 34th appearance in the NCAA tournament and fifth since Hudson took over the program. The Mustangs entered as the No. 11 overall seed and finished top 15 in the country in assists per game, points per game and scoring offense.
In 2021, SMU finished with an 8-5-3 record. The Mustangs put together a solid start to the season, going unbeaten in nonconference, including a top ten victory over then-No. 8 Stanford to open the season. The Mustangs were 5-4-1 in the AAC, earning a third-place finish. Four athletes were named as members of All-East Region teams, including senior standouts Knut Ahlander and Gabriel Costa, were named to the Second Team, while Papa Ndoye and Brandon Terwege notched spots on the Third Team. In addition, six members of the squad were named to All-American Athletic Conference teams. Hudsons team took care of business inside the classroom, with 13 student-athletes earning a spot on the American Athletic Conference All-Academic Team.
During the 2020 season, postponed to Spring of 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, SMU finished with a 5-5-1 record. The conference-only slate saw the Mustangs finish at the No. 1 spot in the AAC for goals (24), assists (18) and shots (186). In Hudson's sixth season at the helm, he and his staff developed a team that included the AAC Co-Midfielder of the Year, Knut Ahlander, and six All-Conference selections. Heading into the season, Gabriel Costa and Papa Ndoye were named to the MAC Hermann Trophy Watch List, while Ahlander and Costa earned unanimous Preseason All-Conference nods. Three standouts from the 2019 team were selected in the MLS SuperDraft at the beginning of 2021 as Nicky Hernandez was picked 15th overall by FC Dallas, Brandon Terwege was taken 57th overall by Houston Dynamo FC and Talen Maples was 72nd overall by Toronto FC.
In 2019, the Mustangs won their third consecutive American Athletic Conference tournament championship after beating UCF for the third straight year. The Mustangs climbed as high as No. 3 in the United Soccer Coaches poll and No. 2 in Top Drawer Soccer after starting the year 10-0-0. SMU earned its 32nd NCAA berth, earning the No. 8 overall national seed and advanced to the NCAA quarterfinals where it fell to No. 1 Virginia. Hudson's staff produced five All-AAC selections, including the league's midfielder and defensive players of the year. In the regular season, the Mustangs earned 11 AAC weekly honors, and two United Soccer Coaches national players of the week and a MAC Hermann semifinalist. The 2019 squad developed three All-Americans in Eddie Munjoma, Gabriel Costa and Garrett McLaughlin. The Mustangs had three student-athletes receive invites to the MLS College Showcase, tied for the most in the country - and Garrett McLaughlin was selected 8th overall by the Houston Dynamo in the first round of the MLS Super Draft. A few weeks later, Eddie Munjoma would sign a homegrown contract with FC Dallas, and Philip Ponder would ink a deal with North Texas SC.
In 2018, the Mustangs repeated as American Athletic Conference champions, marking the second time in league history that a team has won back-to-back conference championships. SMU earned its 31st berth to the NCAA tournament and the third berth in Hudson's tenure. During 2018, Hudson and his staff developed seven All-AAC selections, three All-Region players, four All-Academic team players and five AAC players of the week. Two of his players went on to play professionally after their time at SMU, including Emil Cuello, who was invited to the MLS Combine and was selected 19th overall in the 2019 MLS SuperDraft.
In 2017, Hudson led the Mustangs to win both the American Athletic Conference regular season title and the conference tournament title, the first sweep in conference history. His staff was named 2017 Coaching Staff of the Year by the AAC. SMU made it to the NCAA Sweet 16 for the second time in Hudson’s young head coaching career.
In his first year as head coach, Hudson's team claimed the 2015 American Athletic Conference regular season title and advanced to the NCAA Sweet 16. Hudson and his coaching staff were named the 2015 AAC Coaching Staff of the Year.
On the field, Hudson has helped mentor seven United Soccer Coaches All-America selections and 26 All-Region honorees. At the conference level, five student-athletes have been selected as Player of the Year and 39 have been recognized as all-conference competitors.
In eight seasons as head coach of the Mustangs, Hudson has coached two MAC Hermann semifinalists, three United Soccer Coaches First Team All-Americans, the 2015 and 2022 AAC offensive player of the year, 2016 and 2022 AAC rookie of the year, 2017 AAC defensive player of the year, three-time AAC goalkeeper of the year, 2019 AAC defensive player of the year, 2019 AAC midfielder of the year and the 2020 and 2022 co-midfielder of the year.
In the classroom, there have been two NSCAA/United Soccer Coaches Scholar-Athlete All-America selections, four CoSIDA Academic All-America honorees, 15 CoSIDA All-District selections, 13 C-USA Academic Medal recipients, and 59 all-conference academic team award winners during Hudson’s time on the Hilltop. The Mustangs were also awarded the 2014-15 and 2015-16 AAC Team Academic Excellence Award for the highest team GPA in the conference.
Hudson was a standout student-athlete with the Mustangs from 2000-03 and was a member of SMU's 2000 College Cup team. In 2003, Hudson was an NSCAA/adidas All-Midwest Region First Team selection, as well as an All-Missouri Valley Conference First Team honoree. During his senior season, he was named to CollegeSoccerNews.com's National Team of the Week on two occasions, and he was also selected as the MVC Tournament MVP that same season. Hudson was selected as the 44th pick by DC United in the 2004 MLS SuperDraft.
For his efforts in the classroom, Hudson received CoSIDA Academic All-America First-Team honors, and was twice named to the MVC Scholar-Athlete squad. He also earned the MVC President's Academic Excellence award in 2001.
Hudson graduated magna cum laude from SMU with a bachelor's degree in business administration (finance) and a bachelor's degree in psychology in May, 2004. Upon graduation, Hudson worked for Ernst & Young, LLP, as a senior auditor and transaction advisory specialist. Hudson graduated from University of Notre Dame magna cum laude with a master's degree in the science of accountancy (MSA) in August, 2005.
He holds a USSF A coaching license.
Hudson and his wife, Christina, live in Dallas, and have two daughters, Ella and Allie.
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