COACHING STAFF
HEAD COACH BEN WILLIAMS
Ben Williams was named the head coach of Houston Soccer on February 12, 2025.
“We are thrilled to welcome Ben Williams to the University of Houston family,” Nuñez said. “His track record as a proven winner, including his time in the Big 12 Conference at Oklahoma State and his championship success most recently at Stephen F. Austin makes him a tremendous addition to lead our program. We are excited for the leadership he will bring as we strive to excel and content at the highest level in the Big 12.”
Williams comes to Houston after one season at SFA where he led the Ladyjacks to the Southland Conference Regular Season and Tournament championship, and the largest single season turnaround in Division I with 14 wins. As Southland Coach of the Year, the conferences’ Midfielder, Defender, Freshman and Student-Athlete of the Year as well as the Tournament MVP. Eight players earned All-Conference honors in his lone season in the Piney Woods.
SFA’s regular season conference championship was its first since 2020 and its conference tournament title was the Ladyjacks first since 2012. The program’s 14 victories en route to the NCAA Tournament marked the most since 2014. SFA ranked fourth in the NCAA with 3.0 goals per game while ranking seventh nationally with 13 shutouts. Academically, the Ladyjacks posted a 3.63 fall GPA and 3.48 spring GPA.
“I am truly honored to join the University of Houston and lead the soccer program," Williams said. “I’m incredibly eager to return to the city where I spent four fantastic years. It’s a rare privilege to represent a city you love. I am excited to begin this journey and connect with our student-athletes, coaches and support staff to cultivate a culture of excellence in Houston. I am deeply grateful to Eddie Nunez and the entire administration for placing their trust and confidence in me. There’s a lot of work ahead, with the vision and resources in place, we’re ready to build something the Houston community can take pride in.”
Prior to his time in Nacogdoches, Texas, Williams spent the 2023 season as the Associate Head Coach at UTSA where the Roadrunners set the program record for the fewest goals conceded (13).
Williams spent the 2021-22 season as an assistant coach at Miami (OH) where he helped lead the Redhawks to the most goals scored since 2016. He was promoted to Associate head coach for the 2022-23 season when they reached the Mid-American Conference Tournament Semi Final, capping the best season since 2015. Four players earned All-MAC Conference honors that season.
Before joining the RedHawks, Williams was the Girls' ECNL Director and Coach at Albion Hurricanes FC since July 2017, while also working as the AHFC Royals WPSL as a head coach.
During his time with Albion Hurricanes FC, the club earned its highest ranking of 30th with 90 athletes recruited to play in the college ranks during his tenure. He also mentored multiple youth and full national team players, including players for the United States, Venezuela, Puerto Rico, Scotland, South Africa, and Mexico.
Prior to the Hurricanes, Williams’ first coaching stop in the college ranks as a volunteer assistant coach at Oklahoma State University from 2015-2017. While in Stillwater, he helped the Cowgirls to two Big 12 Tournament Appearances and a 2016 NCAA Tournament appearance.
The Liverpool, England, native graduated from Oklahoma Wesleyan in 2015 with a bachelor's degree in exercise science. In four seasons with the Eagles, Williams won three regular season conference championships, two conference tournament championships and participated in four national tournaments, making it to the Elite 8 in 2013.
Williams also played two seasons in the Premier Development League for Vermont Voltage. He holds a USSF A License, NSCAA Premier License, NSCAA Level 3 Goalkeeping Diploma.
ASSISTANT COACH JAELYN CUNNINGHAM
Jaelyn Cunningham was named Houston Soccer's assistant coach on January 9, 2023.
Cunningham enters her third season on the Houston Soccer coaching staff. With her primary focus on the goalkeepers, Olivia Dietrich and Maggie Manning combined for 101 saves to rank fourth in the conference in total saves in 2024. The Cougars tallied 5.94 saves per match, ranking tops in the conference.
In 2023, she assisted the Cougars to a 6-0-1 record, which marked the best start to a season in program history.
In her first season in H-Town, Cunningham was responsible for a group of goalkeepers that led the Big 12 in saves (84) and Dietrich, who led the conference in saves per game (4.75). Dietrich finished third among Big 12 goalkeepers with 76 saves on the season.
Cunningham joins the Cougars after spending two seasons as an assistant coach at Toledo. During her first season, Cunningham helped Toledo to a 10-6-4 overall record, its best since 2017. The Rockets finished sixth in the MAC with a 5-4-2 mark and reached the MAC Tournament for the first time since winning the championship in 2017.
She worked primarily with goalkeepers, including Emma Boutorwick, who recorded nine solo shutouts and one combined shutout with Adrianna Brewer, good for the second most shutouts in a single season by a Toledo team.
Prior to Toledo, Cunningham served as an assistant coach at NCAA Division II Queens (N.C.) University. During her time with the Royals, sophomore Erica Turner earned first-team all-conference honors after posting a 5-1-1 record and a .903 save percentage. Turner also was named the conference's Defensive Player of the Week on three occasions.
Cunningham also worked with goalkeepers at the Charlotte Soccer Academy and the No. 1-ranked Providence Day High School's girls' soccer team during her time in Charlotte, N.C.
The Reynoldsburg, Ohio, native played collegiately at Illinois (2016-19) where she earned second-team All-Big 10 honors as a junior. During that season, she posted an 11-7-1 mark, a 1.02 goals-against average and career-best .772 save percentage en route to posting six shutouts. Cunningham was also named Illinois' Team MVP in 2017 and 2018 and ranks second in Fighting Illini history with 106 saves.
Cunningham spent two years in the Women's Premier Soccer League. She played for two league champions, the Seattle Sounders (2018) and the Chicago Red Stars (2019); and won the WPSL's Golden Glove award in 2019.
A Columbus, Ohio native, Cunningham graduated with her bachelor's degree in marketing from Illinois in 2019.
