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From Staff Reports

 

AMERICUS – Georgia Southwestern State University Director of Athletics Mike Leeder has announced that Jacob Crawford has been tabbed to lead the GSW women’s soccer program. Crawford comes to Americus after serving the 2023-24 season as the interim head women’s soccer coach at the University of West Georgia where he led the Wolves to a 6-5-2 Gulf South Conference record and an appearance in the GSC women’s soccer tournament.

“We are very pleased to be able to add Jacob to our staff here at GSW,” Leeder said. “He has deep roots in women’s soccer across the state of Georgia, and we look forward to watching him continuing our upward trajectory in the Peach Belt Conference.”

Crawford becomes the eighth head coach in program history.

“I am very humbled to know that I was a desirable candidate for head women’s soccer coaching position at GSW,” Crawford said. “I’m excited to see what this program can achieve in the future. I want to thank GSW’s AD Mike Leeder for this opportunity and for seeing my potential to lead this program.”

Crawford also served six seasons at South Georgia State College, compiling 48 wins and the program’s first and second National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Region XVII Championship, in 2021 and 2022.

At South Georgia, Crawford guided the Hawks to three consecutive regular season championships and top seeds in the Georgia Collegiate Athletic Association (GCAA) Tournament. During this time, the team posted a 31-8-2 record and earned two consecutive NJCAA Academic All-American Team awards. Under Coach Crawford’s guidance the program earned their first two NJCAA All-Americans, Aubrey Harrison (2021) and Makayla Robinson (2022). Robinson was the 2022 GCAA Player of the Year. During the 2021 season, the team reached their highest ranking of 20th nationally. The 2021 season saw the Hawks post a goals-against average and save percentage that was ranked third in the nation, followed by a No. 4 ranking in 2022. Additionally, Coach Crawford received the GCAA Coach of the Year Award in four consecutive seasons from 2019-2022. He holds a M.S. in Kinesiology from Georgia Southern University along with a USSF ‘A’ License and United Soccer Coaches Premier Diploma. Crawford worked 10 years as a staff coach and program director for United Futbol Academy South Georgia. He has also served on Georgia’s Olympic Development Program coaching staff.