Jeremy Payne - Assistant Coach - Staff Directory

Staff Directory

Jeremy Payne

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Assistant Coach
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Jeremy Payne, a former local soccer star at Midd-West High School and Messiah University who was most recently the head coach at Whitworth University, joined the Bucknell men's soccer staff in June 2023. In his second season with the program, he helped guide the Bison to a Patriot League championship and a berth in the NCAA Tournament.

"I am thrilled to have Jeremy, who I have known since his time as a player at Messiah, joining the staff at Bucknell," said head coach Dave Brandt. "He is an impressive and well-connected young coach who is an excellent recruiter and is experienced beyond his years. An excellent addition to our staff, Jeremy will be involved in every area of the program, both on and off the field."

A native of nearby Middleburg, Pa., Payne was an All-State player and two-time Daily Item Player of the Year during his days at Midd-West. He went on to star at Division III power Messiah, where he was the 2012 and 2014 United Soccer Coaches National Player of the Year. A key member of Messiah's 2012 and 2013 national championship teams, Payne was a three-time First Team All-America selection, and he was the D3Soccer.com Midfielder of the Year in 2012 and Forward of the Year in 2014.

Payne launched his coaching career as a graduate assistant at Eastern University in 2015, and after two seasons he was elevated to head coach. In his first season in 2017, he led the Eagles to a 13-4-2 record, and one year later his squad finished 18-3-2, won MAC Freedom Conference regular-season and tournament titles, and reached the final 16 of the NCAA Division III Tournament. Eastern was recognized as the United Soccer Coaches Mid-Atlantic Region Staff of the Year in 2018. Despite heavy graduation losses, his team repeated as conference champs and returned to the NCAA Tournament in 2019.

After compiling a 42-17-5 record during his three seasons as head coach at Eastern, Payne accepted the head coaching position at Whitworth in Spokane, Wash., in April of 2020. After a COVID-altered 2020-21 season, Payne's squads finished 16-17-5 over the last two seasons, when he coached 10 All-Northwest Conference players and two NWC Freshmen of the Year.

From 2019-22, Payne also served as the director of player personnel and strategic planning as well as an assistant coach with West Chester United SC. He was involved with coaching the club's USL2, NPSL and U23 programs and worked with players from a number of Division I programs, including Notre Dame, Villanova, Penn State, Penn, Akron, and Princeton. The team finished 13-2-2 in its inaugural USL2 season in 2021, and he coached six players who were selected in the MLS SuperDraft and 12 who signed professional contracts.

Payne returned to his native Central Pennsylvania in the spring of 2023 to serve as the director of coaching with the highly successful North Union United Soccer Club. He will also serve as an assistant coach at Bucknell under second-year head coach Dave Brandt, who was also a standout player and coach at Messiah and is a member of the school's Hall of Fame.