Akpore takes over as Knox's men's soccer coach
GALESBURG — Kevwe Akpore, formerly assistant men’s soccer coach at Knox, has been named as the head men’s soccer coach for the program.
Akpore replaces Brian O’ Connor, who has accepted the position of head men’s soccer coach at Randolph College in Lynchburg, Virginia.
Akpore is no stranger to the Prairie Fire soccer program, and he has been a leader in the Galesburg soccer community for more than three decades. Akpore has at different times in the last 30 years been named as assistant coach and head coach for the women's program, and head coach for the men's program.
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Akpore takes over a program that O’Connor led to an overall record of 45-16-3 and a record of 23-2-0 within the Midwest Conference in four years at the helm, after serving three seasons as an assistant coach. Knox also won the MWC regular season title in 2019 and 2021 and the MWC tournament championship in 2018 and 2021 to advance to the NCAA tournament.
Akpore rejoined the Prairie Fire athletics coaching staff months after a very successful and historic year as head men’s soccer coach at Carl Sandburg College, where he left with a school-record 34 victories in four years of leading the program.
In the 2021 season, the Chargers won a school-record 16 games (16-5 overall), and they ended the season ranked No. 12 in the country, appearing in the national rankings each week. Sandburg also ranked as high as 7th nationally, won its first Arrowhead Conference title in the program's history, won the first NJCAA Region title in the program's history, and assured the program's first appearance at the NJCAA Division II Men's Soccer Championship. Akpore was named NJCAA Region IV Coach of the Year for the 2021-2022 season.
While at Sandburg, Akpore was an adjunct professor of law enforcement. He is a retired U.S. Army veteran with multiple tours of duty in Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and more, and is a retired executive with the State of Illinois corrections system.
Akpore holds a bachelor's degree with two minors, in military science and industrial technology. He also holds a postgraduate diploma in police executive administration, a masters degree in manufacturing administration, and a masters degree in public safety.
Victor Dantas, a Sandburg men's soccer assistant for three seasons, was promoted as the team's head coach in January after Akpore stepped down.
This article originally appeared on Galesburg Register-Mail: NCAA Soccer: Akpore is Knox's new coach
