COLLEGE PARK, Md. – University of Maryland director of athletics Kevin Anderson announced the hiring of Ray Leone as the head coach of the Maryland women's soccer program Wednesday. Leone, who most recently was the head coach at Harvard, becomes the ninth head coach in program history.

“We are excited to welcome Ray to our Maryland Athletics family,” Anderson said. “He has been incredibly successful at the highest levels of college soccer. Throughout his accomplished coaching career, he has been committed to successfully developing students both academically and athletically.”

“This is the chance of a lifetime,” Leone said. “I am grateful that Kevin Anderson and Marcus Wilson have entrusted me with this opportunity. I have been fortunate to coach all over the country and now to come home to Maryland is really something I could never have imagined and I am excited to coach alongside Sasho Cirovski. I always rooted for Maryland as a kid and to now be the head coach is an amazing feeling. We will bring an exciting brand of soccer to Ludwig Field and I know we will compete hard every single day.”

A native of Severna Park, Md., Leone carries a wealth of experience with over 20 years as a collegiate head coach. He has accumulated 282 wins, which ranks 21^st among active Division I head coaches. He has been named a conference coach of the year twice; in the ACC at Clemson in 2000 and in 2014 at Harvard.

Leone's nine-year tenure at Harvard was highlighted by five appearances in the NCAA Tournament and five Ivy League Championships. Three Crimson players were honored as Ivy League Player of the Year under Leone with four earning Ivy League Rookie of the Year honors.

He coached 22 first-team All-Ivy League selections along with 16 second team all-league players. Leone also developed 12 NSCAA All-Region selections,

“I want to thank Bob Scalise and Nathan Fry, and all the other fantastic people that supported me and my family during my wonderful tenure coaching the Crimson,” said Leone. “I am proud we have left the program in great shape and the players will continue to do great things on and off the field.”

Academically, Leone's teams have performed well, with two Academic All-Americans and 11 Ivy All-Academic selections during his tenure.  

Leone came to Harvard after six successful seasons at Arizona State, where he posted 60 wins The Sun Devils made a pair of appearances in the NCAA Tournament and achieved a school record No. 9 national ranking in 2004. Leone coached nine All-Pac 12 honorees with his squad annually achieving the school's highest grade point average among its 22 varsity programs. The Sun Devils placed a school record 11 student-athletes on the Academic All-Pac 12 team in 2005.

Prior to his time in Tempe, Leone was a coach at Clemson from 1994-to-2000, serving as an assistant for five years before becoming the head coach in 2000 after serving as the co-head coach in 1999. That season saw the Tigers win a school record 19 games en route to an ACC regular season championship. Leone's squad broke North Carolina's 37-game ACC winning streak and started the season with 12 straight wins.

In his seven years at Clemson, the Tigers finished among the nation's top-15 teams each year and produced 20 All-ACC selections.

Leone came to Clemson from Creighton, where he started the varsity program in 1989 and within five years guided the Bluejays to a top-five regional ranking. He led Creighton to a 14-3-2 record in his final season.

His coaching career began at Berry College (Ga.) in 1986 and he became the only coach to take a first-year program to a national championship game in college soccer history. The following season, Leone's squad won the NAIA national championship and he earned national coach of the year honors.

As a player, Leone starred from Charlotte and was a three-time all-conference selection at three different positions. He earned a BA in sociology at Charlotte before receiving a masters in sports sciences from the United State Sports Academy in 1990. 

What They're Saying About Ray Leone

Sasho Cirovski – Maryland Men's Soccer Head Coach
“Ray Leone is a great coach and even better person. He is a relentless recruiter and tireless worker.  He cares deeply about his players and the relationships he fosters with them go on for years beyond their playing careers. His record of success is undeniable. I am excited to welcome him to TerpNation and the Maryland Soccer family. Can't wait to see him work his magic.”

Ron Rainey – Dartmouth Women's Soccer Head Coach
“Ray is an awesome coach and a better person. He will represent Maryland well and what he has done at Harvard over the past decade has made that team one of the best in the Ivy League. Ray is a quality person and Maryland is going to be in a better place with him at the helm.”

Bob Warming – Penn State Men's Soccer Head Coach
“Ray is a winner. He scored the winning goal in the first championship in any sport in UNC Charlotte's history in the seventh overtime after coming back from injury. He's proven it as a player and a coach. He'll do it so parents will be proud to send their kids to Maryland and players will be proud to have played at Maryland. I can't say enough about Ray.”

Sean Driscoll – Princeton Women's Soccer Head Coach
“When I entered the league, the first thing everybody said was 'you have to beat Harvard. I think that's the greatest praise you can give coach. You can see what he did over the course of his time there. He set the standard for excellence in the league. You look at his body of work and he's won everywhere he's been. He was always just a consummate professional. There's a reason he's had tremendous success.” 

– Terps –