Denison University

Connor Keenan enters his fourth season as an assistant men's soccer coach at Denison University in 2023.

The 2020 season was canceled due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, but in Coach Keenan's first full season at Denison in 2021, the Big Red finished in third place in the North Coast Athletic Confeence regular-season standings before earning a pair of 1-0 wins over No. 18 Ohio Wesleyan University and No. 14 Kenyon College to win the NCAC Tournament Championship for the third time in program history. Denison proceeded to make its 10th appearance in the NCAA Tournament, but unfortunately came up short by a score of 1-0 in the first round against Covenant College. In all, Denison went 12-5-2 overall and 6-2-1 in the NCAC in 2021, and earned three wins over nationally-ranked opponents. Following the season, the United Soccer Coaches association announced Denison as the Men's Region VII Coaching Staff of the Year for NCAA Division III instructions.

The Big Red then finished their 2022 season at 10-5-3 overall and 5-2-1 in North Coast Athletic Conference action, which was good for third place in the conference standings for the second year in a row. It was also Denison's second straight 10-win season in two full seasons, and marked the first time the Big Red have reached double-digit wins in back-to-back seasons since 2009 and 2010.

Keenan comes to Denison after spending the last four seasons as the assistant men’s soccer coach and recruiting coordinator at The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C.

Catholic is coming off an outstanding 2019 season which saw the Cardinals finish the season ranked No. 21 in Division III with an 18-3-1 record. After going undefeated in Landmark Conference play, Catholic hosted the first and second rounds of the NCAA Tournament, eventually falling to No. 18 Connecticut College. The Landmark Conference awarded Catholic with Coaching Staff of the Year honors at the conclusion of the season.

“When looking to fill our assistant coach position, I was looking for someone who would be a great mentor for our student-athletes and would be ambitious about helping drive our program forward,” said Denison's Head Men's Soccer Coach Brandon Bianco. “Connor checks both of those boxes and his experience as a player and coach makes him a perfect fit for Denison and our campus community. Connor has been a member of several NCAA tournament teams and I couldn't be happier that he is joining our program.”

Catholic’s rise was steady with Keenan on board. After posting one conference win in 2016, Catholic advanced to the semifinals of the Landmark Conference tournament in 2017. The following year, the Cardinals were playing in the championship of the Landmark Conference Tournament, leading to the breakthrough season in 2019. In addition to his duties at Catholic, Keenan is also the head coach of the DC Stoddert U15 & U16 Red club soccer team in Washington, D.C.

Prior to arriving at Catholic, he spent one season as an assistant coach at his alma mater, Lycoming College. That season, Lycoming won the Middle-Atlantic Conference Championship and advanced to the NCAA Tournament.

Keenan was a four-year starting goalkeeper at Lycoming and helped lead the program to its first Middle-Atlantic Conference Championship in 2013 by defeating then No. 1, Messiah in the semifinals. He was a two-time team captain and was named the MAC Conference Tournament MVP in 2013. As a senior, he set the Lycoming career shutouts record (21) and helped the Warriors hold opponents scoreless for 692 minutes to open the season.

A two-time member of the MAC Academic Honor Roll and a one-time NSCAA Honorable Mention Scholar All-East Region pick, Keenan, graduated from Lycoming with a Bachelor of Arts in criminal justice in 2015.

Keenan completed his master's degree in management in the CUA Metropolitan School of Professional Studies.