Following a national search, St. Mary's College of Maryland Director of Athletics & Recreation Scott Devine announced Wednesday the hiring of Alun Oliver '04 as the ninth head coach of the men's soccer program.

Devine said, "After an exhaustive and highly competitive search, I am extremely pleased to announce Alun as our next head men's soccer coach.  Alun has had a unique upbringing in the sport of soccer, being exposed to training at the international level as a player which complements his experience as a youth coach and an assistant coach at the college level."

Oliver follows in the footsteps of his former coach and mentor, Herb Gainey, who retired this past November, leaving the program as the school's all-time wins leader with 76 career victories in nine seasons.  His background includes more than a decade of playing and coaching experience both in the United States and in the United Kingdom.  Oliver served as 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 has played for the British Tigers (2008-10), the Johnstown F.C. (2006-07) in Wales, the Sioux Falls Spitfire (2001-02) of 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.  He currently teaches fourth grade at Evergreen Elementary School.