Bio

Ryan Fahey (CMC '10) is starting his first year as the head coach of the Claremont-Mudd-Scripps men's soccer program in the 2020 season, after beginning his tenure on March 1, 2020.

Fahey was a first-team All-SCIAC and third-team NSCAA All-Far West selection for the Stags, who he led to a SCIAC title and an NCAA Tournament appearance as the team's goalkeeper in 2009. After graduation, he stayed with CMS as an assistant coach for three years, beginning a decade-long coaching career which has seen his teams (CMS, Dartmouth, Notre Dame) achieve consistent success at every stop.

"We are thrilled to be welcoming Ryan back to CMS," said director of athletics Erica Perkins Jasper. "Not only is he a fantastic up and coming coach, but he's a man of high character and he will be a great mentor for our student-athletes. I am excited for him to get to Claremont to meet our team, and our team at large across the campuses."

"I am extremely excited to return to the Claremont-Mudd-Scripps men's soccer program, and the Claremont community as a whole," said Fahey. "Being a member of the CMS men's soccer program was a transformative experience for myself, and I can't wait to help facilitate that experience for current and future players, while we chase our program's potential.

"I would like to thank Erica Perkins Jasper and the search committee for trusting me to be the next leader of this program. Being back on campus, you can tell the athletic department is doing some very special things, and I am honored to be a part of its journey moving forward. I would also like to thank Chad Riley, in addition to the many coaches I've worked with thus far. The opportunity to work with him both at Notre Dame and at Dartmouth has provided me wealth of experience that I will be eternally grateful for."

Fahey has spent the last seven years as an assistant under Riley, the last two at Notre Dame after they spent five seasons together at Dartmouth. Riley and Fahey have led the Fighting Irish to two NCAA bids in the last two years, including the fourth NCAA Quarterfinals appearance in program history in 2018, when they picked up shutouts over Michigan and Virginia to advance through the first two rounds. While on the Notre Dame staff, Fahey was responsible for the program's national recruiting efforts, as well as coordinating goalkeeper training sessions.

Prior to Notre Dame, Riley and Fahey had tremendous success at Dartmouth, helping the Big Green to four straight Ivy League Championships and NCAA Tournament appearances over their final four years from 2014-17. During their tenure, Dartmouth set program records for most wins and most conference wins over a four-year span.

"I am thrilled for Ryan and for CMS Soccer," said Riley. "Ryan is the perfect person to lead the CMS Soccer program and will take this strong program to another level of success.  He is a passionate teacher, and I know the students on the team will love playing for him.  We are certainly sad to see him go, but I look forward to seeing all of the success he enjoys at CMS."

While at Dartmouth, Fahey helped develop players who earned a combined 35 All-Ivy League accolades, including one All-American and two Academic All-Americans. The Big Green also had four players sign professional contracts with Major League Soccer and the United Soccer League, including goalkeeper Stefan Cleveland, who was picked by the Chicago Fire in the 2017 MLS SuperDraft after earning the Ivy League Defensive Player of the Year Award.

In addition to coaching Dartmouth's goalkeepers, Fahey was also responsible for recruiting domestically and internationally, and organized practice plans for the program. During the summer, he was the camp coordinator for Hanover Soccer Academies, coordinating camp activities for an average of 130 campers and 20 staff members.

Fahey began his coaching career at CMS with immediate success, helping the Stags to three straight SCIAC Tournament championships and NCAA bids from 2010-12. CMS was stellar defensively in the postseason during those championship years, allowing only one goal in six SCIAC Tournament games combined, as well as earning a 1-0 NCAA Tournament win over Chapman in 2011.

During his time in Southern California, Fahey also served as the head coach of the Foothill Storm U14 Club in Claremont, coached with the Chivas USA Youth Academy in Pomona, served as a trainer at the CATZ Sports Performance Center in Yorba Linda and Pasadena, and worked as a private goalkeeping instructor. He was also the director of the Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Boys' Soccer Camp in the summer.

Fahey's task will be to continue both his personal coaching success, and the recent success of Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, which has won the last two regular season SCIAC titles and earned a combined record of 31-6-3 over 40 games. This past year, the Stags finished 16-4-2, won both the regular season and postseason SCIAC championships in the same season for the first time and reached the NCAA Round of 16 for the first since 1985.

Fahey returns to Claremont with the pedigree to continue that run of success. Beginning with his senior season as a player at CMS, Fahey has been a part of 10 NCAA Tournament appearances in 11 seasons. He helped CMS to four straight conference titles and NCAA bids (one as a player, three as a coach), and after missing on the postseason in his first season at Dartmouth in 2013, he has coached in the NCAA Division I Tournament for six straight years (four at Dartmouth, two at Notre Dame).

"We are excited to welcome Ryan Fahey as the new CMS Men's Soccer Coach," said former CMS head coach Stephen Davis, who worked closely with CMS Athletics and the search committee during the search process. Davis led the Stags to the NCAA Division III national championship game in 1983 and is currently the Russell K. Pitzer Professor of Philosophy, Emeritus at Claremont McKenna. "Ryan is familiar with all aspects of collegiate soccer coaching, and we are all enthusiastic about his return to Claremont. He is extraordinarily ready to take the reins of our program and lead us to even greater SCIAC and NCAA success. Plus, everybody who knows him, likes him. He is a fine human being."

Originally a native of Bellevue, Washington, where he attended Interlake High School, Fahey graduated from Claremont McKenna in 2010 with a degree in history. He holds a United Soccer Coaches Advanced Diploma and United Soccer Coaches Goalkeeper I and II Diplomas.