Nate Lie - Head Coach - Staff Directory

Staff Directory

Nate Lie

Title:
Head Coach
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Nate Lie, an exceptional recruiter, meticulous tactician, and an experienced postseason contender was named the fourth head coach in Kansas soccer history on Dec. 4, 2023. Lie recently completed his first season leading the program in 2024.

Lie – pronounced LEE – led the Jayhawks to a Big 12 Tournament Championship and an NCAA Tournament appearance in his first season at Kansas. Lie and his staff were named Midwest Region Staff of the Year by United Soccer Coaches following the season after the team finished 2024 with an overall record of 13-6-4 and 6-4-1 in conference play. Lie became the first head coach in Big 12 soccer history to win the tournament championship in their first year leading a program and the third head coach in conference history to lead a team to the NCAA Tournament in their first year.

The 13 wins were the third most by a first-year coach in Big 12 soccer history. Ten of the 13 wins came on the road or at a neutral site. Kansas was one of five Division I programs with at least 10 road/neutral victories in 2024.

With only two weeks remaining in the regular season, Kansas had a 5-5-4 record and was fighting to qualify for the Big 12 Championship that was being held in Kansas City at CPKC Stadium. Lie helped spark the Jayhawks to tie a program record with eight consecutive wins. That included four victories in the conference tournament, three of which came against the No. 1, No. 2 and No. 3 seeds, en route to winning the title.

Heading into the NCAA Tournament, the Jayhawks earned their first ranking of the season at No. 16 by TopDrawerSoccer. The ranking was the first for Kansas since the 2020-21 season.

Many players saw individual success in Lie's first season as Kansas had four student-athletes receive all-region honors, one Freshman Best XI Team recipient, three All-Big 12 selections, two national players of the week, four Big 12 weekly award winners and four Big 12 All-Tournament Team members.

Lie arrived at Kansas following a strong and successful seven-year tenure as the head coach at Xavier University. During his tenure at Xavier, which began in 2017, Lie compiled a record of 82-37-19 (.663), led the Musketeers to four consecutive NCAA Tournaments (2019-23) and was the architect of three BIG EAST Coaching Staff of the Year honors, in 2019, 2021 and 2023.

Under Lie’s guidance, Xavier earned a top 30 RPI ranking in each of the last three seasons, becoming one of just 12 programs nationally to achieve that. The Musketeers were also one of five programs nationally with five or fewer total regular season losses over his final three seasons.

Xavier had a 22-1-8 conference record over his final three seasons and had a 28-match unbeaten streak in conference play at the time of his departure, which dated back to the 2021 season. The Musketeers won three BIG EAST regular season championships and one BIG EAST Tournament championship from 2019-23.

With Lie at the helm, his teams rewrote the record books at Xavier. His squad set the school record for wins in a season with 17 in 2019, while the team’s 16 wins in 2021 were the second most in a season and his group’s 14 wins in 2022 and 2023 were tied for the third most in program history.

In addition to school records in wins, Lie’s teams have featured stout defense and goalkeeping. In 2019 and 2023, Xavier recorded 13 shutouts, establishing a new program record. After already setting the single-season lowest goals against average of 0.54 in 2021, Lie’s 2023 team broke that record by posting a goals against average of 0.50. The 0.50 mark was the sixth best in the nation in 2023.

Lie’s ability to develop players was evident during his time at Xavier. He mentored five BIG EAST Players of the Year, 32 All-BIG EAST selections, 13 United Soccer Coaches All-Region honorees and three All-Americans. From 2020-23, six of Lie’s players signed professional contracts.

In 2023, Xavier finished the season with a 14-4-4 record before ultimately falling in overtime in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, despite taking 41 shots in the match. The Musketeers were eighth in the country with 18.6 shots per game and seventh in the nation with 8.9 shots on goal per match. Xavier earned the No. 4 seed in the 2023 NCAA Tournament, marking the best seed in program history.

Off the field, Lie was the co-chair of Xavier Athletics’ Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee. In addition, he was the Xavier representative for the BIG EAST Conference’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion working group.

Prior to becoming the head coach at Xavier, Lie served as the associate head coach, assistant coach and the recruiting coordinator for four years at Cincinnati from 2013-17 and an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator for four years at Miami University (OH) from 2009-13.

At Cincinnati, Lie quickly was elevated from an assistant coach to associate head coach in 2014. Lie led the defense at Cincinnati and the Bearcats posted a 42-30-12 (.571) overall record while he was on the coaching staff.

In his first three seasons at Cincinnati, the program improved its overall record each season. After a four-win season in 2012, prior to his arrival, the Bearcats went 8-11-1 in 2013, 10-8-2 in 2014 and 13-6-5 in 2015.

The 2015 Bearcats captured the American Athletic Conference tournament title and advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2002. Following the season, Lie was selected as Cincinnati’s Assistant Coach of the Year in a vote by members of the athletic department.

During his four-year stint as an assistant coach at Miami, the RedHawks owned an overall record of 54-26-5 (.665), including 25-14-5 in the Mid-American Conference (MAC). In 2012, Lie helped guide Miami to an overall record of 20-3-1 and a 10-0-1 mark in conference action. The 20 wins are a school record and helped Miami win the MAC regular-season and tournament titles as well as advance to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

Lie’s coaching career began when he was hired at Miami in 2009. Lie worked in the business world and for AmeriCorps before becoming a coach.

A native of Cleveland, Ohio, Lie attended Miami and played soccer from 1996-2000. Lie was an All-MAC Second Team selection in 1997 and a two-time Academic All-MAC honoree for the men’s soccer program, earning Academic All-MAC First Team honors in 1998, in addition to Academic All-Ohio accolades that same season.

Lie graduated from Miami in 2000 with bachelor’s degrees in economics and finance, and received a master’s degree in sports management from Miami in 2015. Lie and his wife, Emily, have three children – Michael (11), Grace (9) and Joshua (7).

The Lie File
Alma Mater: Miami (OH), 2000, B.S. in Economics and Finance; Miami (OH), 2015, Masters of Science in Sports Management
Wife: Emily
Children: Michael, Grace, Joshua
Hometown: Cleveland, Ohio

Coaching Experience
Years	School	Role
2023-present	Kansas	Head Coach
2017-23	Xavier	Head Coach
2014-17	Cincinnati	Associate Head Coach/Recruiting Coordinator
2013-14	Cincinnati	Assistant Coach/Recruiting Coordinator
2009-13	Miami (OH)	Assistant Coach/Recruiting Coordinator

Coaching Record
Year	School	Overall	Conference
2024	Kansas	13-6-4	6-4-1 / 6th (Big 12)
2023	Xavier	14-4-4	6-0-4 / T-1st (BIG EAST)
2022	Xavier	14-4-5	6-0-4 / 2nd (BIG EAST)
2021	Xavier	16-3-1	9-1-0 / 1st (BIG EAST)
2020*	Xavier	3-6-0	2-4-0 / 4th (MW)
2019	Xavier	17-4-2	7-2-0 / 1st (BIG EAST)
2018	Xavier	10-8-3	4-3-2 / 4th (BIG EAST)
2017	Xavier	8-8-4	4-3-2 / 5th (BIG EAST)
Totals	8 Seasons	95-43-23 (.661)	44-17-13 (.682)
* Played in Spring 2021 due to COVID-19. BIG EAST competition was played in the temporary Midwest Division.

Year	Postseason Experience
2024	Big 12 Tournament Champions NCAA Tournament First Round
2023	NCAA Tournament First Round
2022	NCAA Tournament Second Round
2021	NCAA Tournament First Round
2019	BIG EAST Tournament Champions NCAA Tournament Second Round
2015	AAC Tournament Champions NCAA Tournament First Round
2012	MAC Tournament Champions NCAA Tournament Second Round