Kevin Kalish, a Saint Louis University alumnus and Billiken All-American, was named the seventh head coach of SLU’s men’s soccer program prior to the 2018 season.
The 2025 campaign is Kalish’s eighth on the Billiken sideline. He entered the year with a 69-31-27 record at Saint Louis. Including six seasons as head coach at SIUE where he was 49-46-14, Kalish’s 13-year career coaching record stands at 118-77-41.
Kalish has guided the Billikens to three NCAA appearances over the past four seasons. He led Saint Louis to Atlantic 10 Conference regular-season and tournament crowns in 2021 and 2022.
Saint Louis had a magical season in 2021 under Kalish’s tutelage. The Billikens went undefeated in the regular season for the first time in 50 years and finished with a 16-1-4 overall record. Additionally, SLU went undefeated in A-10 play with a 8-0 record, the first perfect record by an A-10 team since 1993. The 2021 Billikens won the A-10 Championship and advanced to the quarterfinals of the NCAA Men’s Soccer Championship, the Bills’ deepest run in the NCAAs since 2003. Kalish was named the A-10 Coach of the Year.
Players have flourished under Kalish’s guidance. Nine players coached by Kalish at SLU have gone on to be drafted in MLS, including five first-rounders: Max Floriani (San Jose Earthquakes), Isaiah Parker (FC Dallas), Kipp Keller (Austin FC), Patrick Schulte (Columbus Crew) and Simon Becher (Vancouver Whitecaps FC).
Additionally, the Billiken program has had unparalleled success developing elite defensive players under Kalish. Since 2019, he has coached five defenders selected in the MLS SuperDraft: Floriani, Kipp Keller (Austin FC), Chase Niece (FC Dallas), Chandler Vaughn (LA Galaxy) and Lennart Hein (Portland Timbers). Another defender, Mujeeb Murana, signed a homegrown contract with Houston Dynamo FC.
Kalish has also coached two A-10 Defenders of the Year in Diego Konincks (who is currently playing with Chicago Fire II) and Alberto Suarez.
A standout defender in his own right as a student-athlete, Kalish transferred to Saint Louis University in 1997 after spending two seasons at Connecticut. At SLU, he was a member of the 1997 NCAA semifinal team. Kalish was named the Conference USA Defensive Player of the Year and an NSCAA All-American his senior season in 1998. Kalish earned Academic All-America honors in 1997 and 1998. He also served as an assistant coach at SLU following his graduation from the University.
In 2007, Kalish was inducted into the Billiken Hall of Fame. He was named to the Billiken Half-Century Team in 2009 during the celebration of 50 years of Saint Louis University soccer.
Prior to taking the head coaching job at his alma mater, Kalish served as Vice President and Missouri Boys Club Director for St. Louis Scott Gallagher. He also was the head coach of the U19 Saint Louis Academy FC team.
Kalish spent 13 seasons at SIUE – seven as an assistant coach from 2001-07 and six as a head coach from 2008-13. He successfully transitioned the men’s soccer program from NCAA Division II to Division I. While he was an assistant coach at the Division II level, the Cougars made six NCAA Tournament appearances and two NCAA semifinal appearances. In his six years at SIUE, the Cougars posted a 49-46-12 record. In 2012, Kalish was named Missouri Valley Conference Coach of the Year and the NSCAA Midwest Region Coach of the Year after the Cougars posted a 13-7 overall record.
Saint Louis’ year-by-year coaching records
Saint Louis’ overall coaching records
