Former Piedmont head coach Stephen Andrew has been named the head coach of the Valdosta State soccer program, as announced by VSU athletics director Herb Reinhard on Monday.

“I am very pleased to have Stephen join our soccer program as head coach,” Reinhard said. “He built a tremendous program at Piedmont, one that enjoyed great success both on and off the field. His 10 years of experience as a head coach will be an asset for our young team. I am really excited about having him with us.”

Andrew began his collegiate head coaching career at Huntingdon College in 2007 and promptly led his team to the Great South Athletic All-Conference quarterfinals on the field. In addition, the team thrived off the field and netted an NSCAA team academic award. The success resulted in a transition to Piedmont one year later, which kicked off a nine-year career that included an extensive list of honors. The Lions won the 2016 USA South Conference championship in 2016 for their fourth conference championship during Andrew’s tenure, and the program appeared in the NCAA Division III national tournament four times.

Andrew was 136-42-8 at Piedmont, named Great South Conference Coach of the Year and inducted into the Piedmont College Athletic Hall of Fame during an eventful 2011 year. He led his teams to NSCAA team academic awards in each of his nine seasons.

Prior to the start of his coaching career, the Falkirk, Scotland, native made three appearances on the U-17 Scottish national team before making a transition to Piedmont, where he set school records for career goals (113) and goals in a season (33). During his playing career as a Lion, he won three conference championships and was named conference Player of the Year during four seasons.

“I’m very excited to join the Blazer family,” Andrew said Monday. “It’s a program that’s been successful during previous years and I’m looking forward to the opportunity to try and get it back to those heights. After serving as a player and a coach for almost 15 years, leaving Piedmont was a very tough decision for me, but this is a great opportunity in my career to have a chance to step up and start competing hard at the Division II level.”

An official introductory press conference will be today at 10:30 a.m. at VSU’s student union theater and will be available for viewing via a live web stream.