LA MIRADA, Calif. --- Biola Athletics announces Joey O'Keefe as its new head men's soccer coach. O'Keefe will be the 11th head coach and re-joins the Eagles since graduating in 2016.

"Coach O'Keefe returns to Biola with a clear vision for student-athlete experience and transformational whole-person development," commented Senior Director of Athletics Bethany Miller. "His love for the Lord, coaching acumen, and history of organizational leadership are going to have a strong positive impact on our men's soccer student-athletes and our university as he steps in to lead this program."

"I graciously accept the stewardship role that I have been given and I intend on developing generations of quality student-athletes that Biola can be proud of," said O'Keefe. "Bringing a family-first culture will be the core of what we do, fighting for one another on the soccer field and in being present in each other's personal lives. The challenge of competing in a highly competitive NCAA Division II with renewed rivalries is enticing and I cannot wait to compete in games this fall season."

Prior to returning to Biola, O'Keefe spent two seasons at Westcliff, helping the Warriors to a 19-6-4 combined overall record. O'Keefe was instrumental for the Warriors, coaching the inaugural men's and women's soccer teams in 2019. The pair of teams found immediate success with O'Keefe at the helm, holding a combined .863 winning percentage.

O'Keefe returns to the Eagles after playing four seasons for Biola during his collegiate career. O'Keefe earned three all-conference awards, a conference player of the year award, as well as a NAIA First Team All-American award as a student-athlete at Biola. 

"The opportunity to pour back into the young men of this program is a dream come true for me," added O'Keefe. "I am committed to the growth of these young men: spiritually, academically and athletically."

After graduating in 2016, O'Keefe played in the PDL for three seasons before signing a contract to play professionally in Salzburg, Austria. Since returning back to the States, O'Keefe has worked with the LA Galaxy traveling internationally to scout talent to bring back to the Galaxy 2 USL squad.

O'Keefe also made an impact for the soccer program at Pacifica Christian High School. As the team's head coach, O'Keefe earned a trio of coach of the year awards from 2017-2020.

The Biola Men's Soccer season begins with a matchup against Westcliff on August 20. The contest will be an exhibition at Al Barbour Field at 7:00 pm.