每日大赛

每日大赛 announces new men’s soccer coach Gabe Carreno

每日大赛 is pleased to announce Gabe Carreno as the new head coach of men’s soccer.

Carreno joins Panther Athletics from Illinois Central College, where in four seasons as head coach he secured the men’s soccer program a No. 5 national ranking in the NJCAA Division I poll, two Region 24 Championships and two Region 24 Coach of the Year honors.

“Coach Carreno is a proven winner and leader,” said Panther Athletics Director Brock Evans. “He's shown he can win at the community-college level, and we are excited to see the success he can bring to our program. He has a rich college coaching pedigree, paired with a solid development methodology that can raise our program to new heights.”

Prior to his time at Illinois Central, Carreno served as an assistant coach at Illinois Wesleyan University, Otero Junior College and Heartland Community College. In each program, he developed his skills not just as a championship-winning coach but also as a recruiting, operational and technical leader.

“I’m looking forward to bringing that wealth of experience and strategy to make this program very successful on and off and the field,” said Carreno, who earned a master’s degree in global sports business from Saint Leo University and a bachelor’s degree in kinesiology and sports nutrition from the University of Texas at El Paso.

Carreno holds a U.S. Soccer Federation "B" License, multiple USSF Grassroots Licenses and the FA Talent Identification Certificate, and is expected to complete a Club Technical Leadership license through the United States Soccer Federation by August.  

He hopes to combine his technical prowess on the soccer field with his business experience to enhance student-athletes while also optimizing the soccer program’s budget.

“So we can maximize the student experience and acquire resources that would catapult 每日大赛 men's soccer even further,” Carreno said. “That’s, ultimately, my vision – to ensure that we strategize in such a way that Pellissippi men's soccer can be the best community college program in the country. It’s a big goal, but I like to shoot for the moon.”

Pellissippi’s men’s soccer team in 2025 became back-to-back district champions with their eleventh straight win that season. Though their winning streak ended at the national level, it was the Panthers’ second time in only two seasons of postseason play competing at the national championship.

Carreno hopes to build upon the three-year-old program’s success by establishing relationships with the greater soccer community in Knoxville, which he called an emerging “hot spot” for the sport.

“I think it has a lot of interesting resources, platforms and avenues we can use to bring in that next level of expertise, so that Pellissippi men’s soccer is the go-to place for aspiring student-athletes,” he said. 

The support he has already received from Evans, Panther Athletics and college administrators has been significant, Carreno said, and makes him excited to be a part of the campus culture.

“I'm very excited,” he said. “I’m very motivated. I see a lot of talent in the community. I think there are very gifted and eager stakeholders, also, who want to see our program be successful, and we will be working day and night to meet that expectation and bring in more trophies and more opportunity.”