Nick Whiting begins his fourth season at McNeese and his second as Associate Head Coach.
The Cowgirls have increased their wins total in each of the past three years, including a school record 13 in 2018. That includes the program’s historic victory over Arkansas – their first over an SEC opponent. The Cowgirls also ranked as high as No. 7 in the 2018 NCAA D1 Women's United Soccer Coaches Midwest Rankings. The program also reached a record high of 127th in the RPI. The team has also improved its amounts of goals scored each of the past three seasons.
In 2017, McNeese equaled the school record with 12 wins and had a historic season awards wise. Senior Savannah LaRicci was named both Southland Conference “Player of the Year” and “Forward of the Year”, senior defender Gabi D’Alesandro was named “Defensive Player of the Year” and freshman Emma Roccaforte was “Goalkeeper of the Year”. The team finished second in the conference standings and was one win out of first place.
In his first year with the Cowgirl program, McNeese improved to sixth in the conference standings compared to an 11th place finish the previous season. The Cowgirls also advanced to the Southland Conference Tournament semifinals, a first since 2008.
Whiting came to Lake Charles after spending the 2015 season as an assistant at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. Whiting helped guide the Ragin’ Cajuns to eight victories and an appearance in the Sun Belt Conference Tournament. During the course of the season, the Cajuns broke a school record with a seven game unbeaten streak.
Before landing in Lafayette, Whiting spent five years at Lees-McRae (N.C.) College, including the last three as head coach. During his three seasons as head coach at Lees-McRae, the Bobcats claimed back-to-back Conference Carolinas regular season championships in 2012 and 2013, while serving as an assistant on the Bobcats' 2011 team that claimed the conference title and reached the NCAA Division II Southeast Regional.
In his three-year career at Lees-McRae, Whiting guided the Bobcats to a 29-23-4 record and an impressive 23-7-1 record in league matches.
During the 2013 season, the Bobcats were ranked No. 10 nationally among Division II programs in the NCAA and NSCAA/Continental Tire NCAA Division II Southeast Region polls. Whiting's defense was one of the toughest in the nation while producing a shutout streak that lasted over 837 minutes.
In 2012, Lees-McRae put together a 12-5-2 overall, including a 10-1 mark in league play. Eight players earned all-conference honors that season, including senior Mary Dorn, who was named the Conference Carolinas Defensive Player of the Year as well as the league's Scholar Athlete of the Year.
Whiting served as the Bobcats' assistant coach for two seasons, helping Lees-McRae compile a 27-11-3 overall record over that span, including a 13-5-3 mark in 2011. Whiting played a pivotal role in the Bobcats' success that season, helping Lees-McRae post a program-record 11-1 mark in conference play en route to the school's first-ever outright league title and the program's first-ever berth in the NCAA Tournament.
He mentored 20 all-conference selections, including the 2011 Conference Carolinas Freshman of the Year (Thornton) and the 2012 Conference Carolinas Defensive Player of the Year (Dorn). He was also an integral component in the Bobcats' recruiting efforts since his arrival in 2010, welcoming 29 new student-athletes into the women's soccer program during his tenure.
Prior to his appointment as the Bobcats' assistant, Whiting spent the 2009 season at Catawba College, where he helped the Indians to a 13-5-2 record, a sixth-place ranking in the NSCAA Southeast Regional poll and a trip to the South Atlantic Conference semifinals. He also served as the goalkeeper’s coach, where his players recorded nine shutouts and a 0.86 goals against average.
Whiting also served as a graduate assistant coach at Western Carolina University during their Southern Conference championship season in 2008. During that campaign, Western Carolina advanced to the NCAA Tournament where they met eventual national champions, North Carolina, in the opening round. During the regular season, they registered a pivotal victory over No. 20-ranked South Carolina.
Whiting is a 2007 graduate of the University of West Florida, having earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in communications with a specialization in public relations.
