He made history by leading Marshall to its first-ever NCAA Division I national title. This season, he’s aiming for another. Meet Chris Grassie, the man many call the best college soccer coach in America.
By Keith Morehouse, Photos Courtesy of Marshall University
HQ 135 | AUTUMN 2026
Back in late June, way up in the cheap seats of MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, Marshall soccer coach Chris Grassie and his son Ever were having the time of their lives. They were among the throng of 80,663 people watching the World Cup match between England and Panama.
The Marshall soccer coach is used to a close-up view of soccer matches from his perch on the sidelines. But this was the Grassies’ first-ever opportunity to watch a World Cup match in person, and the rain and wide-angle view were not going to get in the way of a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
“My son is a diehard England fan, so we went to New York for the match against Panama, and it was amazing,” Grassie said. “I mean, we were up in the nosebleeds, but we sat with the England fans on one side and the Panama fans on the other side, and we were buying each other beers, and singing, and having a good time. It was fantastic.”
The World Cup turned out to be quite a galvanizing force for soccer fans around the world. Americans, Canadians and Mexicans beamed with pride as they wrapped their arms around the globe and welcomed the World Cup to North America.
Think of the Cinderella story of a country like Cape Verde: an island nation off the coast of West Africa that has fewer residents than Louisville, Kentucky, yet they gave Argentina and eventual champion Spain nightmares on their way to the final.
Every four years, this ‘beautiful game’ becomes something much bigger.
“Someone like Cape Verde, who, you know, overachieved … made people everywhere so proud, because it was the culture,” Grassie said. “Norway, obviously, is a small country in terms of population, but the way they connected with each other is something to aspire to for all of us. Those moments were kind of terrific in the World Cup.”
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Chris Grassie developed his love of the game naturally. He grew up in Newcastle upon Tyne in England, and as far back as he can remember, he took a liking to the game. He recalls tagging along with his dad to the Newcastle soccer matches. Somewhere in his youth, that itch for the pitch was born.
“I thought about law school,” Grassie said. “I thought about being a teacher, being a pilot, but for me, success was football. I don’t remember when it happened, but for as long as I can remember it’s been part of my life.”
His playing career brought him to Philippi, West Virginia, where he played goalkeeper for Alderson-Broaddus. He would later become an assistant coach for the Battlers, then a graduate assistant at Marshall. After an ultra-successful head coaching career at Division II University of Charleston (99-20-8), Grassie took the job as head coach of the Thundering Herd in 2017.
He never looked back.
After two losing seasons, Grassie took the program into the college soccer stratosphere. The team earned a Top 25 ranking in October 2019, and the Herd hasn’t left the polls since.
In just his fourth season, Grassie and his unseeded squad shocked the college soccer world at the 2021 College Cup by defeating Fordham, No. 1 seed Clemson, Georgetown and North Carolina to reach the finals. There, in overtime, his squad upset perennial power Indiana University when winger Jamil Roberts booted a rebound kick-in for the ages. The goal secured Marshall’s first-ever NCAA Division I national championship.
Today, a star rests above the crest on the Marshall jersey that represents the ultimate college soccer achievement — a national championship.
“Every great university has people who quietly change its trajectory, and Coach Grassie is one of those people,” noted Marshall President Brad Smith. “He came here with a vision that many thought was ambitious, but he brought home a national championship and built one of the most respected programs in college soccer. His greatest legacy isn’t a trophy; it’s the confidence he has instilled in our university and our community. Chris reminds us that excellence isn’t determined by geography; it’s determined by people who refuse to accept limits.”
The success of Grassie’s program has not come because he takes winning for granted — it’s because he doesn’t.
“There’s a lot of satisfaction,” Grassie said, “but there’s also a lot of pressure.”
Grassie also took the Herd to the 2024 national title game, where Marshall outplayed Vermont for virtually the entire contest, but the Catamounts won the game in overtime. For Grassie, the dejection that night lingers just as long as the euphoria of the national title in 2021.
“Yes, I feel great, but I also feel the responsibility to do more to create something here,” he said.
The soccer world has taken notice of his meteoric ascent.
In 2020, Grassie was named the United Soccer Coaches “National Coach of the Year.”
In 2024, Top Draw Soccer reported, “Before Chris Grassie joined in 2017, Marshall had never qualified for the NCAA tournament, let alone dreamt of a College Cup. Since taking over, the England native has brought the Thundering Herd from the shadows to the forefront as a national powerhouse. With his guidance, Marshall has become an absolute nightmare for the College Cup soccer world.”
In 2025, College Soccer News profiled Grassie in an article titled, “Current and Future Men’s College Soccer Head Coach Legends.”
Sports forums and message boards across the country are filled with comments calling Grassie the best college soccer coach today.
Grassie has created something big in Huntington, and the Marshall brand has become well known in college soccer circles around the world. His roster is made up of athletes from Spain to Portugal, from Canada to Russia and back to Huntington. The Grassie name brings recruiting cache — and expectations.
“I think it’s a good pressure, to be honest,” said senior Thiago Apolinario. “If we want to play pro one day, we need to play hard and make the most of our time here. For me Coach Grassie is the best one in college, so we trust him a lot. Our big goal is to bring one more star for this jersey.”
What does it say about a program when getting to the NCAA tournament is only part of the journey, not the ultimate destination? That’s the belief Coach Grassie tries to instill in his players.
“When you play for Marshall, it’s always a big challenge,” said senior Joao Roberto. “You want to come to Marshall to win trophies. You want to come to Marshall to win every game possible.”
The 2026 roster is a retooled collection of talented players from around the world. Twenty of Grassie’s 28 players will be new to the program, but he is confident in his new group.
“We had a great spring,” Grassie said. “You know, we won the Spring League, we beat Louisville here, Dayton here, and then we went to Michigan State and beat them 3-nil at their place. We went to Ohio State for the final and beat them 2-nil at their place. So, I think it shows that this group has that desire, that ability to go grind out and win a game.”
This will mark Grassie’s 10th season as head coach of the Herd. Still, his passion for improving the program stretches from the sidelines to the stands. With Marshall now a perennial contender, and Thundering Herd soccer fans lining up to attend games, Grassie has turned his focus to the stadium itself.
“How do we improve our stadium?” he said. “The stadium is insufficient, and I don’t think anybody would mind me saying that. For six years, we’ve sold every seat for every home game. We need more seats. How do we grow this — to be the No. 1 facility in the country instead of the 150th? That’s a challenge. That’s something I can sink my teeth into.”
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Chris Grassie had three rooting interests in this year’s World Cup. His native England is his homeland, and Canada was home to him in the early 2000s. But now he has been in the U.S. longer than he has lived in any other country. He and his wife Allison have raised Ever and daughter Iya as Herd fans, and they have spent much of their lives rooting for the Herd.
He loves calling West Virginia home, he said.
“I think I’ve probably spent longer in West Virginia than anywhere else on planet Earth,” Grassie said. “When you look at it that way, it’s good, right? And I’m super content.”
But “content” does not mean he can rest on his laurels. From the World Cup to the College Cup, there’s soccer yet to play.
Keith Morehouse is the sports director at WSAZ NewsChannel 3 in Huntington, West Virginia. He is a 1983 graduate of the W. Page Pitt School of Journalism at Marshall University. He is a three-time Regional Emmy Award winner and a six-time West Virginia Sportscaster of the Year.
