Ricky Zambrano is entering
his third season as head coach of the Thomas University
men’s & women’s soccer teams. Zambrano was named
head coach by the TU Athletic Department in early March of 2005, after serving
as a women’s assistant at Louisiana State University for the previous three seasons. Prior to LSU, he
headed the men’s team at St. Thomas University (FL) from 1998-2001.
In his first two seasons at TU
the Night Hawks have made one region 14 tournament appearance, losing in the
2005 tournament semifinal, 2-1 in overtime, to Savannah College of Art & Design.
TU finished the season at 4-12-1 but according to soccerratings.com played the
#6 toughest schedule in the NAIA that year. Thomas missed the regional
tournament in 2006, a year which saw three regional institutions qualify for the
2006 NAIA National Tournament. In 06 TU doubled their win total from the prior
year going 8-8-2. Academically the Night Hawks have seen steady improvement as
well having one player selected as NAIA Scholar Athletes each of the last two
seasons.
While at LSU, Zambrano played
a major role in helping turn the Tigers into a nationally competitive program.
In 2002 the Tigers were SEC Tournament Semi-Finalist, after defeating #1 seed Auburn University; the victory marked the first time in SEC Tournament
history that a #8 seed eliminated a #1 seed. During the 2002 season, the Tiger
defense, under his watchful eye ranked first in the Southeastern Conference,
giving up the fewest goals and points, allowing just 16 goals and 44 points.
Zambrano’s contributions also
stretched off the field. During his three years in Baton Rouge, he played a significant role in the recruitment of three
Nationally Ranked Recruiting Classes. The 2003 recruiting class was the first
in the program’s history to be nationally recognized. He also played a major
role in helping raise attendance at LSU Soccer Park. In his three years, average home attendance rose 90%.
His talents also helped the Tiger soccer team maintain above a 3.0 GPA in everyone of his semesters on campus.
In his highly successful
tenure at St. Thomas, Zambrano accumulated a 47-30-3 overall record and
led his team to Florida Sun Conference Championship titles in both 1998 and
2000. He was named Florida Sun Conference Coach of the Year in 1998.
St.
Thomas finished
the season ranked among the NAIA’s top 25 teams in three of Zambrano’s four
seasons and in 2000 he piloted the Bobcats to its highest ever NAIA national
ranking, as St.
Thomas earned a
No. 5 ranking in season and finished the season at No. 12, the highest final
ranking in school history.
Zambrano holds several school
records at St.
Thomas,
including highest all-time winning percentage (.606), wins in a season (16), set in 2000, most conference wins in a season (11), set in
both 1998 and 2000, and most consecutive wins in a season (8), set in 2000. His
team also set a school record by posting seven shutouts in 1998 and 2000. Prior
to becoming the head men’s coach at St. Thomas, Zambrano served as the team’s assistant coach from 1995-98.
He received his NSCAA
Advanced National Diploma in 2003 and received a U.S.S.F National “B” Coaching
license in 2000. Zambrano holds national memberships in the U.S.S.F Coaches
Organization, National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA), and the
Latin American Soccer Coaches Association (LASCA). Zambrano has serves as a
state staff coach for both Louisiana
and Florida Olympic Development Program. He serves as a scout for Region III in
the United States Soccer Federation (U.S.S.F) Minority Program.
Born in Queens,
NY, Zambrano graduated from St. Thomas University in 1996, where he played midfield for the Bobcats
from 1992-95. He was a member of the 1993 Florida Sun Conference championship
team and also participated in the conference semi-finals in 1994 and 1995.
He earned his Bachelor of
Arts degree in sports administration from St. Thomas University in 1996 and then received his Master’s of Science
degree in management in the spring of 2000. Zambrano resides in
Thomasville, GA with his fiancé Brandee McVicker.
Ricky Zambrano
