Pappas comes to Benedictine after serving as an assistant coach at the University of Detroit Mercy in the Horizon League since 2014. Pappas was involved in every facet of the program at Detroit Mercy, serving as camp coordinator, recruiting coordinator, scheduling coordinator, travel coordinator and video coordinator. Detroit Mercy won the 2014 Horizon League regular season championship and was a consistent qualifier for the Horizon League tournament. The team posted a top-five GPA for all of NCAA Division I Men's Soccer on three occasions and was a seven time recipient of the United Soccer Coaches Academic Award.

Pappas also coached at Albion College from 2012-2014, helping the team to the second highest goal total in program history. Additionally, Pappas has served as a staff coach for various team in the Michigan Jaguars Soccer Club.

Pappas attended Michigan State University where he majored in Kinesiology with a specialization in coaching. While at Michigan State, Pappas served as the student manager of the men's soccer team and was part of the 2010 team that reached the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament.