Patrick Baker made his mark at North Carolina Wesleyan University as head coach of the Battling Bishop women's soccer team from 1989 to 1993. During that time, he also served as Sports Information Director for 12 sports and head groundskeeper for soccer.
In his five years at Wesleyan, Baker led his team to a record of45-21-4, twice earning Dixie Conference Coach of the Year honors.He coached the Bishops to three Division III NCAA Tournament appearances, complete with three top-10 finishes. In 1991, he was named the NSCAA Division III South Region Coach of the Year.
Following his success at Wesleyan, Baker made the jump to Division I as he became the head women's soccer coach at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia in 1994. Over the next five years, Baker compiled a 42-37-5 record at the Quaker helm.
Widely recognized as one of the premier soccer minds in the nation, Baker has a bevy of coaching awards, NCAA Tournamentexperience and a proven history of winning at each of his stops. Baker, in fact, holds coaching records at such storied programs as Georgia and Florida State. He most recently became the head coach at the University of California and Florida Atlantic.
Beyond the college ranks, Baker is a long-standing force in theU.S. National Team programs. He served as the interim head coach for the U-17 National Team after assisting head coach David Smithwith the then-newly formed team. He has also assisted U-19 National Team head coach Tracey Leone on numerous occasions at the ArcoTraining Center in Chula Vista, Calif., preparing the team for the inaugural U-19 FIFA World Championships. In 2001, Baker played a crucial role in preparing the U-19 National Team prepare for the Mexican National Team and a European tour in 2001.
He served as the head coach for the Region III girl's OlympicDevelopment Program (ODP) and was named an assistant coach for the2000 U-16 Women's National Team. Baker has attended the SouthRegion ODP camps since 1990, and has amassed 18 years experience at all levels of the ODP. Prior to working with the U-16 team, he assisted head coach Lauren Gregg with the U-21 National Team fort hree years. He had four years at the U-14 state level in NorthCarolina and was the 1996 U-17 ODP state coach for Eastern Pennsylvania. Baker coached the U-16 and U-18 ODP South Regionalcamps for eight years and was the assistant coach for the U-17South Region team from 1991-93. Baker was also the U.S. South Region amateur coach for the five years where he received the national coach of the year award in 1994.
Baker received a bachelor of arts from Otterbein College in 1989in radio and television broadcasting and journalism with a minor in public relations. A four-year starter for the men's soccer team,Baker captained his team during his junior and senior seasons. He was a member of the Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) All-AcademicTeam from 1986-89, was a First-Team All-OAC selection in 1989 and played on three OAC Championship squads.
