Marlon Montanella was named fourth Head Coach in North Florida Men's Soccer program history by North Florida Vice President of Intercollegiate Athletics Nick Morrow on Thursday, Dec. 18.

He enters his first season at the helm and third overall at North Florida in 2026.

Montanella has been on the Ospreys staff as an Assistant Coach over the last two seasons playing a vital role in consecutive postseason runs in 2024 and 2025. He helped lead North Florida to two ASUN Regular Season and ASUN Championship titles, in addition to two NCAA Championship appearances.

North Florida comes off a historic season with a program-record 12-5-2 record that included nine shutouts and an undefeated mark at Hodges Stadium.

"We're thrilled to elevate Marlon Montanella to the role of Head Coach for North Florida Men's Soccer," Morrow continued. "Marlon has played an integral role in our back-to-back ASUN Championships and NCAA Championship appearances. He has demonstrated exceptional leadership, a deep understanding of the game, and a genuine commitment to the success of our student-athletes. His vision for the program aligns perfectly with our goals, and we're excited for the future of the program under his guidance."

Montanella has helped develop 13 All-ASUN selections, including eight in 2025. The Ospreys were recognized throughout the season with 12 ASUN weekly selections to bring the two-year total to 20 with Montanella on staff.

Montanella assisted sophomore midfielder Anton Khelil to the program's first-ever ASUN Player of the Year distinction with three goals and three assists in 2025. Khelil also earned ASUN Midfielder of the Year honors. Senior Jaylen Yearwood earned Defensive Player of the Year honors and redshirt junior Luciano Natoli collected Goalkeeper of the Year distinction to join Khelil in ASUN Postseason superlatives.

During the historic 2025 season, North Florida earned marquee wins against No. 19 Florida Atlantic, Wisconsin and South Carolina, in addition to forcing a draw through extra time against North Carolina in the NCAA Championship First Round. Montanella also served as the acting Head Coach during the 2025 ASUN Championship Semifinals, where North Florida advanced in penalty kicks, 0-0 (4-3), against Stetson at Hodges Stadium.

I'm honored to be named the Head Coach for North Florida Men's Soccer," Montanella said. "I would like to sincerely thank Nick Morrow for his trust and belief in me, in addition to the entire North Florida Athletics administration for the opportunity to lead this program. North Florida is a truly special place, and after two successful seasons, I'm excited to continue building on the strong foundation that has been established by our student-athletes and staff. I'm also incredibly grateful to Jamie Davies, who has been an outstanding mentor to me and has played a significant role in my growth as a coach. SWOOP!

Before his time at North Florida, Montanella served as an Assistant Coach at the University of Bridgeport and helped the program to a 25-19-12 overall record and a 20-7-5 conference record. The team reached the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference finals in 2023, while also clinching the playoffs during all three seasons competed in the ECC and CACC.

While at Bridgeport, Montanella recruited and coached the nationally-ranked top scorer and points leader in the 2023 NCAA Division II season. He also coached multiple award-winning players, including a D2CAA First Team All-American, the CACC Player of the Year, the CACC Rookie of the Year and a pair of ECC/CACC Goalkeepers of the Year.

Montanella developed two USC All-East Region Second Team players, three D2CCA First Team East Region players and a D2CCA Second Team East Region player. There were also 14 players that were named All-Conference selections between the ECC and CACC, including 10 First Team selections.

In addition to his role at Bridgeport, Montanella also served as the Head Coach at the MLS NEXT Academy for Beachside Soccer Club in Norwalk, Conn. He also served as the Director of Coaching for the Ole Soccer Academy in Fairfield, Conn.

Montanella graduated with his Master's degree in analytics from the University of Bridgeport in 2020 and holds a USSF B Coaching License and a UEFA C Coaching License.

Prior to joining the coaching ranks, Montanella played at Young Harris College, where he graduated with a Bachelor's degree in psychology. While at Young Harris, he helped the program secure 2016 and 2017 Peach Belt Conference Tournament titles and the 2017 NCAA Southeast Regional.

A native from Cannes, France, Montanella earned another Bachelor's degree in Sports Sciences from the University of Nice and played at the A.S. Cannes Academy.

Montanella continued his playing career at the University of Bridgeport in 2018-19, where he helped the program reach the 2019 ECC Conference Tournament title match and earned 2019 First Team All-ECC and 2019 Third Team All-East Region honors.

Montanella is the son of former professional soccer player, Georges Montanella, and grandson of international French soccer player, Jean Baeza.

Name	Title	Email Address
Marlon Montanella	Head Coach	unfmsoccer@unf.edu
Adam Butler	Assistant Coach	adam.butler@unf.edu
Ludvig Rhodin	Assistant Coach	ludvig.rhodin@unf.edu
Lucas Sousa	Assistant Coach	n01688816@unf.edu
Luis Tejeda	Director of Player Development and Wellness	luis.tejeda@unf.edu
Cierra Guerra	Director of Operations	n01503274@unf.edu

2026 Men's Soccer Coaching Staff

Coaching Staff

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