Taylor University announced Parker Aaron as the new head coach of the men’s soccer team via a press release from taylortrojans.com on Dec. 16
A Virginia native, Aaron succeeds interim coach Drew Glover, who managed the Trojans during the 2024 season where they finished with a record of 5-8-3.
Aaron was a team captain for Randolph College, an NCAA Division III school. He served as a defensive midfielder, logging more than 2,000 minutes for the Wildcats. His coaching career began as the director of coaching at Elevate Soccer Academy in Virginia. He worked with athletes ranging from 7-year-olds to semi-pro players.
Aaron knew he wanted to be a coach since his high school days. He is eager to showcase the potential of Taylor during his first head coaching role.
“I love two things,” Aaron said. “I love helping people become better. That’s the main reason I got into coaching.But I also love winning. Those are the two aspects that I really enjoy about the job. I always want to be in competition.”
Aaron arrives from NCAA Division I school James Madison University, where he served as an assistant coach for the women’s soccer team for two seasons. In both years at JMU, the Dukes reached the Sun Belt Championship and NCAA Tournament, winning the regular season and tournament titles in the Sun Belt last season.
From Elevate Soccer and JMU, Aaron brings a background in player development. His ability to encourage and teach talented players is one of the foundational aspects of his coaching philosophy, alongside team culture, recruiting, logistics and creating a successful game model, he said.
“For me specifically and my duties as a coach, recruiting is at the top of the list,” Aaron said. “We have to bring in not just good soccer players, but good people. People of faith. That’s number one.”
Hudson Gongwer joins Aaron as an assistant coach, who has coaching experience from NJCAA Champions Iowa Western Community College and Indiana Wesleyan, where he played from 2020 to 2023.
With 25 returning athletes, the Trojans are well-equipped for the 2025 season, Aaron said. Aaron focused on building connections with each player during his first month on campus. He met with every player on the roster, in-person or virtually, over J-term. He participated in scrimmages and player-led sessions, even before official team practices begin on March 3.
The Crossroads League will provide stiff competition for the Trojans next season. After the 2024 conference tournament, the CL sent five teams to the NAIA Tournament, four of which finished in the Top 25 at the end of the season.
“I’m a simple guy. I love the Lord, I love my family, I love my wife…and I love the game of soccer,” Aaron said. “I love building people up because I believe that if you can be successful in college soccer, the habits, the drive, everything that goes into building a successful program, will prepare them for the rest of their lives.”
Aaron plans to revitalize a Taylor program that has struggled in recent seasons. After a 9-7-1 record in the 2021-22 season, the Trojans have endured three consecutive five-win seasons and missed the Crossroads League Tournament in 2024.
Over the next six months, Aaron will continue to build rapport with the Taylor roster and develop his game model and strategy before entering the fray in the late summer of 2025.
