Dr. Colin Barnes has completed his first year as a women's soccer assistant coach at UNCW in 2022.

The Seahawks posted a 7-7-3 record in 2022, including a 3-4-2 mark in the Colonial Athletic Association. 

Barnes adds over two decades of soccer playing and coaching experience to the Seahawk program. A native of Hoover, Ala., Barnes has coached, taught, or played at the youth, collegiate, professional, and international levels, most recently with U.S. Soccer as a Coach Educator. Barnes has spent the previous four years as a Senior Lecturer of Football Coaching at Solent University in Southampton, England.

“I’m elated to add a professional of Colin’s caliber,” said Neal, who enters his fifth season at the helm of his alma mater. “Colin is a true student of the game that will help improve our student-athletes’ experiences in many ways. I’m very excited for our team as we head into the 2022 season.”

Barnes was a four-year letterwinner at UNC Asheville from 1998 to 2001. He was named to the Big South First-Team as a junior and senior after leading the Bulldogs with 12 assists across two seasons. The Bulldogs increased their win total in each of Barnes’ four seasons, culminating with the program’s first Big South regular season championship in his senior year.

Barnes spent the 2002 season with the Wilmington Hammerheads, where he helped the Port City squad to its first USL D-3 Pro League Finals appearance. While with the Hammerheads, Barnes also began his coaching career with the Cape Fear Youth Association. In 2003, Barnes, along with Neal, co-founded the Port City Soccer Club, where he served as the Director of Coaching, coordinating 240 recreational players and 30 select players.

Following Barnes’ Wilmington beginnings, he became the Academy Director for the Peachtree City FC (2004-06) in Peachtree City, Ga., before briefly joining the Chicago Magic SC in 2006. Barnes returned to the south as a Technical Director for Concorde Fire SC in Atlanta, Ga., in late 2006 and spent the next five years in the Georgia capital.

After a decade in youth soccer, Barnes ventured into collegiate coaching as a graduate assistant at Columbus State in 2011. In 2016, Barnes joined Alabama’s staff as a volunteer assistant coach and spent three seasons under Crimson Tide coach Wes Hart before moving to Southampton in 2019.

Barnes earned his Bachelor of Science in Atmospheric Sciences from UNC Asheville in May 2002. In December 2013, he graduated from Columbus with a Master’s in Teaching. Barnes completed his Ph.D. in Sport Pedagogy at Alabama in 2022.

Barnes resides in Wilmington with his wife, Jessica.