Brad Cole joined Penn State men's soccer as the program's Associate Head Coach in December of 2025.
Cole spent three seasons on Dow’s Vermont staff in his second stint with Vermont, including being a key part of the 2024 national championship run and the 2025 run to earn the top seed for the NCAA tournament. In the 2024 and 2025 seasons, he was recognized as part of the America East’s Coaching Staff of the Year.
While with the Catamounts, Cole was an integral part of the team’s recruitment, player development and team management. In 2025, he recruited the nation’s 44th ranked recruiting class per Top Drawer Soccer, Vermont’s first ever ranked recruiting class.
Before his most recent stop up north, he served as an assistant coach & recruiting coordinator at the University of Portland, Cole spearheaded the recruitment efforts that resulted in the No. 2 ranked 2023 recruiting class in the country, as recognized by Top Drawer Soccer. Demonstrating his keen eye for talent, he successfully recruited and signed seven top-100 players, as rated by Top Drawer Soccer as well as the No. 2 recruit in Canada as ranked by FTF Canada.
Cole and the Portland team enjoyed a phenomenal 2022 season. The Pilots achieved their highest win total (15) and win percentage (.786) since the 1995 season, making a remarkable return to the Elite Eight for the first time in nearly three decades. Notably, the team's home record of 11-0-1 was the best since 1995, making them the only NCAA Division I team to remain undefeated at home.
Some notable individual achievements include Brandon Cambridge leading the West Coast Conference in goals and ranking seventh nationally with 12 goals. Cambridge finished sixth nationally in points at 31. Sebastian Nava led the WCC in assists, earning him a place among the top ten nationally. In addition, Goalkeeper George Tasouris recorded an outstanding eight individual shutouts and played a pivotal role in all 10 of the team's shutout victories, the most since 1990.
Cole coached ten players that earned All-WCC honors, with Cambridge being named Offensive Player of the Year and Tasouris receiving the co-goalkeeper of the year title. Additionally, multiple players were recognized with All-Region Honors, including Cambridge, Pierre, Nava, and Fernandez. Cambridge was further acknowledged as a third team All-American by College Soccer News.
Three players under his guidance earned opportunities to pursue professional careers, signing contracts with MLS Clubs. Brandon Cambridge's rights were traded to Charlotte FC, where he signed a multi-year contract, while Delentz Pierre inked a homegrown contract with Real Salt Lake. Gurman Sangha secured an MLS NEXT Pro contract with Charlotte FC affiliate Crown Legacy, showcasing the caliber of talent within the program.
Prior to University of Portland, Brad was an assistant coach at Cornell University from 2020 to 2022. Cole assisted Cornell in the recruitment of the No. 22 ranked 2021 recruiting class, as ranked by Top Drawer Soccer.
Fall of 2021 was Cole’s first competitive season with the Big Red due to the Covid cancellation of 2020. Cornell finished with a record of 11-3-2, their most successful season since 2012. The Big Red spent 4 weeks in the United Soccer Coaches top 25 poll with their highest ranking coming in at 19th in the nation on October 12th.
Cole’s responsibilities included attacking and defending set pieces. The Big Red scored 11 set piece goals with an additional 5 penalties while only conceding 5 set piece goals.
In addition to team success, Tyler Bagley won the NCAA Division I scoring title, leading the nation in points per game (2.19). He also finished tied for fourth in total points (35) and goals per game (0.88), and sixth in goals (14). Following the season, he was chosen in the MLS SuperDraft as the 54th pick overall by Inter Miami FC.
At the conclusion of the season, Cornell senior midfielder Tyler Bagley earned first team All-Northeast Region honors and junior forward Emeka Eneli earned second team All-Northeast Region honors.
The team earned five All-Ivy League honors for the 2021 season. Fifth-year midfielder Tyler Bagley was one of two unanimous first team honorees. Bagley was joined on the first team by freshman defender Wilson Eisner and senior forward Emeka Eneli. Eisner is the first Cornell freshman to earn All-Ivy League first team honors since 1997. Senior midfielder Jonah Kagen and fifth-year midfielder Harry Fuller were named to the second team.
Before Cornell, Cole spent a total of four years on staff at the University of Vermont, his alma mater, fulfilling one year as a graduate assistant, two years as Director of Operations, and one year as an assistant coach. During his time with the Catamounts, they won two regular season titles and one America East Conference Tournament Championship. Cole coached two players who were chosen in the MLS Superdraft, Brian Wright (New England Revolution) and Geo Alves (DC United).
After graduating from the University of Vermont, Brad played in the Welsh 2nd Division for Buckley Town FC in 2016. He played center back and right wingback for Buckley Town, scoring three goals and serving as captain during a Welsh Cup match. During his time in the UK, he also served as a coaching intern at Crewe Alexandra FC, a professional club playing in EFL League 2 in England, working with the U18's and spending time observing the first team’s best practices.
A player for the University of Vermont Catamounts from 2010-2014, Cole played right back and defensive midfield at Vermont prior to joining the coaching staff as a graduate assistant. In addition to being named team captain as a senior, Cole was the recipient of the Russell O. Sunderland Memorial Trophy, an award presented to a University of Vermont student-athlete who overcomes obstacles and maintains a high quality of play and academic prowess.
Brad grew up in South Hero, Vermont. He spent his youth playing for Far Post Soccer Club in Burlington, VT, and began his coaching career there primarily with boys aged 12 to 18 acting as a Head Coach and Director of Coaching.