KEVIN EAST

Head Coach / Coordinator of Soccer Operations

The 2020 season is the 14th as the Head Men's Soccer Coach at Rutgers University-Newark for Kevin East, and the meteoric rise to national prominence for the Scarlet Raiders can be tied directly to the his arrival prior to the 2007 season. East picked up his 300th career win against in a 2-1 win over The College of New Jersey at Frederick Douglass Field.

The last five seasons have been incredible for the Scarlet Raiders, reaching four NCAA Tournaments, including an appearance in the 'Elite Eight' in 2016 and the program's first-ever NCAA win in 2014. The Scarlet Raiders won their first-ever NJAC Championship in 2017, collected an ECAC Metro title in 2015, and claimed the NJAC regular-season crown in 2016 as East was named the conference Coach of the Year for a second time.

East lifted the Raiders into the NCAA stratosphere after coaching the program to five straight ECAC Metro Championship playoff berths (2008, 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012) and to its first-ever appearances in the New Jersey Athletic Conference Men’s Soccer Championship Tournament (2009, 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014).

A 2-0 loss to eventual NCAA D-III Championship finalist Rutgers-Camden kept Rutgers-Newark from annexing its first NJAC crown in 2013. The Raiders fell to Roger Williams, 3-1, in their NCAA debut, but East had the pieces in place to make another run at the “Big Show” in 2014.

After a 9-10-1 start to his reign in 2007, East has put together nine consecutive double-digit winning seasons with post-season appearances capping each campaign. It has been a stunning turnaround for a Raider program which had posted just three winning seasons with two post-season showings in the previous 18 years.

Player development and performance has also become a trademark with honors coming and records falling at a frenetic pace.

In his first season at the helm, he led his young squad to its best finish in a decade while beginning to expand the Scarlet Raiders’ recruiting reach. The 2007 squad finished 9-10-1 with five one-goal losses to narrowly miss the first winning season for the program since 1997.

As the director of soccer operations, East oversees both the men’s and women’s soccer programs and develops full usage of the soccer facilities at Rutgers-Newark.

As a goalkeeper at Kean, East was named the Defensive Most Valuable Player for the final four as the Cougars claimed the 1992 NCAA Division III Men’s Soccer Championship. The three-time first-team All-NJAC goalkeeper still holds the Cougar record with 29 career shutouts for his mentor and legendary coach Tony Ochrimenko. The Cougars went 61-16-2 during his three seasons as starting keeper, reaching the NCAA Tournament each year.

East was drafted by the Columbus Crew in the inaugural season of Major League Soccer in 1996, and he served as back-up goalkeeper for the Metro Stars in 1998 and 1999. He started in goal professionally in the United Soccer League for the Jersey Dragons (1994-95), the Central Jersey Riptide (1996-97), the New Jersey Stallions (1998), and the North Jersey Imperials (1999).

At Montgomery High School, East was an all-state, All-Somerset County and All-Skyland Conference keeper who helped his team to a Central Jersey state sectional title.

After earning a bachelor of arts in Political Science and Criminal Justice from Kean in 1993, East began his coaching career as an assistant for Ochrimenko for four seasons. The 1997 Cougar team went 20-2 and did not give up a goal in any of nine NJAC matches for the only time in conference history.

ALEXI VELAZQUEZ

Graduate Assistant Coach

Joining the Rutgers University-Newark coaching staff in 2021 will be graduate assistant Alexi Velazquez. Velazquez joins the staff after finishing third in scoring for the Rangers of Drew University in 2018. In that season, Velazquez netted seven goals and added four assists, good for 18 points. During his career, he helped his team win the 2017 Landmark Conference while also making an appearance in the NCAA Sweet 16. In 2018 he added an ECAC Championship to his ledger.

A resident of Kearny, NJ, Velazquez joined the Rutgers University-Newark coaching staff to gain experience at the collegiate level while simultaneously continuing his education. He has a brother, Adrian Velazquez, who also plays soccer. He wants his coaches and the team to remember him for putting his best foot forward everyday and his desire to get better one day at a time.