Head Coach Matt Akins is entering his 11th season at the helm of the Barton College men’s soccer program in the fall of 2017.
The 2015 season began a rebuilding phase for the program as the team won just three matches during the year. However, Akins did coach a pair of All-Conference honorees and had two players earn spots on the Academic All-Conference list.
In 2014, Akins guided the Bulldogs to their fourth straight winning record in league play and earned a spot in the NCAA Division II Southeast Regional Tournament before falling to nationally-ranked Wingate University. Akins coached three All-Conference honorees, a pair of All-Region selections and an Academic All-American.
In 2013, Akins led the Bulldogs to a 5-3 record in league play and hosted playoff game(s) for a third consecutive year. Barton reached the semifinals of the league tournament for the second time in a row before falling to nationally-ranked Limestone. Akins coached five All-Conference honorees and a pair of All-Region selections.
In 2012, Akins led the Bulldogs to the championship game of the Conference Carolinas Tournament, Barton's first appearance in the title game since 1998. Akins coached a pair of All-Conference honorees, an All-Region selection and one Academic All-American.
Akins had great success in 2011 after leading the Bulldogs to an 11-7 record, a No. 3 seed in the Conference Carolinas Tournament and a Southeast Region ranking of No. 4 during the season. The 11 wins were the most by a Barton men's soccer team in more than a decade. Akins coached Capital One Academic All-American and Daktronics All-American Erik Pajunk. Barton had four total All-Conference performers under Akins' guidiance and another Academic All-American.
Beginning with young squads in 2007 and 2008, Coach Akins has shown a commitment to facilitating player development through a “Team-First” mentality. Akins recruited the Conference Carolinas Freshman of the Year in 2010.
Akins came to Barton from another NCAA D-II school, Lincoln Memorial University (TN), where he was an assistant coach for the men's and women's soccer programs for two seasons. He helped to lead the LMU men to a 30-5-4 record during his tenure, including a trip to the D-II Final Four in 2006 and the Gulf South Conference Tournament Championship in 2005. LMU lost in the National Championship match in 2007.
Previously, Akins was a volunteer assistant coach for the men's team at the University of Kentucky for two seasons. They went a combined 23-12-5, winning the Mid-America Conference championship in 2003 and qualifying for the NCAA Tournament.
Akins was a midfielder at LeMoyne College (NY) from 1998-2002 and earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology and a minor in Business Administration.
He also played baseball in 1998-99 for LeMoyne, traveled with the LeMoyne soccer team on the England Summer Tour in 2001, and played for the Adirondack soccer team in the New York Empire State Games in 2000.
Akins holds his United States Soccer Federation (USSF) National B Coaching License and National Youth License. Akins also coaches within the State Olympic Development Program, and is heavily involved with Wilson Youth Soccer. While at Lincoln Memorial he also served two years as an adjunct professor in the Physical Education department.
Akins and his wife, Bridgette, reside in Wilson, N.C., and are the proud parents of Jack Matthew Akins and Evangeline Therese Akins.
