Oliver Slawson recently returned to Medina, after spending the past four seasons at NCAA DI Coastal Carolina University as the Chanticleers Associate Head Men’s Coach. He arrived at CCU from Ashland University where he was the Head Men’s soccer coach from 2016-19.
In his time at Coastal, Coach Slawson helped usher the Chants through the pandemic season that saw the Chants play in both the fall and spring season. Along the way, CCU picked up another SunBelt regular season and conference tournament championship, leading the way to the 2021 NCAA National Championship Tournament as a National #14 seed. The joint highest NCAA Tournament seed in the programs illustrious history.
Prior to Coastal, Coach Slawson re-started the NCAA DII program at Ashland University in 2016 and within 26 months of reforming the program, led the Eagles to the 2018 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) Tournament championship and earned the program’s first-ever automatic NCAA Division II Championship Tournament berth.
Under his guidance, Ashland was also successful in the classroom as the Eagles were a Collegiate Team Academic Award winner named by the United Soccer Coaches for the third consecutive year in 2018-19.
While leading the Eagles, Ashland produced 10 all-conference performers, 10 all-conference academic selections, and 15 all-conference academic excellent recipients, including the 2018 Ohio Collegiate Soccer Association Academic Athlete of the Year.
Before starting the program at Ashland, Coach Slawson spent the previous decade on the coaching staff at The University of Akron, which culminated in his final season with a trip to the 2015 NCAA Championship Final Four. The third in Slawson’s tenure at Akron.
Akron compiled a 171-31-23 record during his tenure on staff and advanced to the NCAA National Championship game in both 2009 and 2010. In 2010 Akron won its first and to date, only program, National Championship, with Coach Slawson as an Assistant coach, working under the tutelage of now MLS Coach, Caleb Porter. The Zips also recorded nine consecutive MAC Tournament titles from 2007-2015.
In those nine consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances, the Zips earned a first-round bye in six of those seasons and advanced to the NCAA’s Round of 15 in six of those years.
Coach Slawson, has seen 29 players from Akron selected in the Major League Soccer draft or sign other professional contracts. Former Zip DeAndre Yedlin became the first Akron alum to appear in a World Cup match for the United States in 2014, 2018 and 2022. He was joined in 2022 by Richie Laryea, a former Zip who represented Akron from 2014-2015, representing Camada in the winter World Cup of 2022.
Additionally, another 13 Zips had their names called during the first round of the MLS SuperDraft, including a league record high of five of the first eight picks in the 2011 draft.
In addition to his collegiate coaching experience, Coach Slawson is also the current head coach for the U.S. Youth Soccer Association Olympic Development Program’s Regional team on the Boys side and has been on the National coaching staff in 2022, 2023 & 2024. Representing USYS at the National team level on international trips, as well as winning the prestigious Dallas Cup as coach of the 05 Boys national team in 2023. Coach Slawson, recently returned from taking the USYS ODP ’07 Boys National team on a tour of games to Costa Rica, facing illustrious clubs such as Saprissa, UDA and Heredia.
Soccer runs in the family, as his wife Michelle, a Medina HS graduate, played soccer collegiately at Heidelberg University, Oliver’s stepson, Parker, a 2015 Medina HS graduate, who played collegiate baseball at Heidelberg, making an NCAA World Series appearance in 2019 and their youngest son Carson, born in August 2015 who now plays for the Medina Rangers and Sting baseball.
