David Oakes was appointed as assistant coach in July 2023 by head coach Jo Chubb.

Oakes comes to Coastal with three years of NCAA Division I coaching experience under his belt after working as an undergraduate assistant coach at James Madison since 2020.

During the 2022 season at JMU, the Dukes went 12-4-5 overall and 6-1-3 in Sun Belt Conference play while narrowly missing out on the 2022 SBC Championship Tournament title after falling to Old Dominion 4-3 in the championship match.

Oakes helped coach Alexandra Blom, who was named the 2022 Sun Belt Goalkeeper of the Year, 2022 Virginia Sports Information Directors (VaSID) Women's Soccer University Division Defensive Player of the Year, and Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Defensive Player of the Year, while also being an All-Sun Belt, All-ECAC, and United Soccer Coaches All-Southeast Region first-team selection.

In all, Oakes has coached four United Soccer Coaches All-Southeast selections, four VaSID All-State recipients, and helped place four players on the All-Sun Belt Conference team, as well as two All-ECAC and one United Soccer Coaches All-East Region selection.

As the undergraduate assistant coach at JMU, Oakes was in charge of daily coaching, specifically teaching positional play with midfielders. He also was the director of video analysis and led the search in both international and domestic recruiting.

While working at JMU, Oakes simultaneously worked as the Shenandoah Valley United Club Coach where he would run sessions for the U16 and U14 boys’ teams and the U11 girls’ team. Some of his responsibilities included setting up, planning, and running training camps, along with assisting players with the college recruitment process.

He holds a US soccer grassroots license and is equipped with Wyscout and InStat program knowledge to assist with data and match analysis.

Oakes graduated from James Madison in June 2023 with a bachelor’s degree in sports & recreational management. He also received an associate’s degree in 2020 from Blue Ridge Community College.