USL League One Most Handsome Manager (2025 Edition)

Welcome back friends. When I first started this blog a little over a year ago, I wasn't sure what form it was going to take. I had some ideas of what I wanted it to be (and no real idea of the time commitment I was making for myself), but I knew I wanted it to be a fun little thing that I enjoyed and, hopefully, some others might enjoy as well.

My first couple posts were, understandably, sparsely read, as I was just linking to them on Twitter maybe once or twice and then going about my day. I didn't (and still don't) have any grand ambitions for what this might be. I just wanted a place to write and hopefully be amusing and even a little informative.

So a few weeks into writing this blog, I decided it would be a good time to steal an idea from baseball writer Craig Calcaterra, who for years ranked the handsomeness of Major League Baseball managers. Why not rank the USL League One Managers? It'll be a fun little thing that, if nothing else, will help me get a little more knowledgeable about them and help me as I prepared to cover the 2024 season.

(I don't know if Calcaterra gave me his blessing, but he did like the post last year where I credited him for the idea, so I'm taking that as at least a tacit approval from him.)

Can I tell you a secret? I didn't think anyone would read it. 

And I certainly didn't think anyone important would read it.

And I absolutely didn't think any of the coaches would read it!

I posted it early one morning, got a few likes and as the day went on, I figured it would fade off into the vastness of the internet. The first bit of shock came that evening when Chattanooga's Scott Mackenzie tweeted about the article, which, let me tell you, is not something that I expected. It kind of snowballed after that to the point where Northern Colorado's Eamon Zayed and Richmond's Darren Sawatzky are talking about it on podcasts. People start asking if I'm going to do handsomeness ratings for front office staff or team owners (that's still a no). It was fun but overwhelming.

All that to say that last year, I felt zero pressure or expectations when it came time to rank the handsomeness of our League One Managers. Now, however, I have to live in the fear that it's actually somewhat probable that people might read it. But we can't let that fear deter us from our purpose here. Managers are here and need to be ranked and I have taken this solemn task upon myself. We all have our burdens to bear and this is mine. I don't take this undertaking lightly. 

A caveat before we go any further. Every one of the 14 gentleman on this list is strikingly handsome, just as every contestant in the Miss America pageant is beautiful. Someone has to finish last, but that person is still  handsome. We should all be so fortunate. 

Finally, we bid adieu to four managers from last year's list. Reigning Most Handsome Manager Eamon Zayed (Northern Colorado) and Jermaine Jones (Central Valley) saw their teams leave League One and are no longer eligible. Darren Powell and Lexington moved up to the USL Championship where he's taken on a different role in the organization. Finally, Mike McKeever and One Knox "mutually agreed to part ways" 

All that means we're going to get a new Most Handsome Manager this year. In addition to new Manager in Knoxville, we've got five new teams which means more managers to be rated. Six of the 14 coaches for 2025 are new. That's enough buildup, let's get to it. 

Just like last year, the process is fairly straightforward. I enter the manager's name and team into Google Image Search and look at the first few rows of results. It's handsomeness, not brain surgery so a detailed process is not necessary. 

14. Dominic Casciato (Union Omaha) - Once again, I'm imploring someone at Omaha to create a wikipedia page for Coach Dom. He's one of five managers on this list without one. Anyway, Casciato seems to be doing just fine without a wiki page as Omaha continues to be one of the top teams in the league, winning their second title in 2024 and he took home 2024 USL League One Coach of the Year after winning the same award in 2023. That kind of resume deserves a wikipedia page. I'm just saying. If he uses this ranking as motivation to destroy the league again 2025 then I apologize (or, you're welcome, Omaha fans.)

13. Rick Wright (Greenville Triumph) - Wright enters his second year as the head man in Greenville, taking over for John Harkes who departed following the 2023 season. I'm pretty sure he took last year's ranking (11th out of 12) as a personal slight as Greenville just absolutely wrecked Tormenta last season, outscoring them 14-4 in their four games in 2024. I hesitate to give Wright and the Triumph more bulletin board material, but the thought of the Greenville staff printing out this blog and posting in where the players could see and also being motivated by it is an amusing thought, so it's a risk I am willing to take. I don't know Wright's marital status (another manager without a Wikipedia page), but when his coaching career is over, he could be the Golden Bachelor if that's something he'd be interested in.

12. Mike Jeffries (Charlotte Independence) - The Hermann Trophy winner of 1983 (awarded to the best Mens and Womens collegiate soccer player) had three appearances with the USMNT. He's also earned an electrical engineering and public policy and a Masters Degree from Tulane. I hope he's not one of the coaches who reads this because doing so might actively make him dumber and I don't need that on my conscience. The man exudes authority. I stand by my belief that the glasses help him, but that may just be because I also wear glasses and want to believe it makes guys look more handsome. 

11. Brian Kleiban (AV Alta FC) - Our first coach who wasn't on the list last year, Brian Kleiban has 20 years of coaching experience along with stints as an intern with the Argentinian National Team (2004) and Spanish clubs FC Barcelona and FC BArcelont Atletic (2008-13), according to the team's press release. I doublechecked this on wikipedia, where I found he does not have a page of his own. This picture here looks like a high school math teacher's yearbook photo. I don't actually have a lot to go on as there aren't many photos of Kleiban using my search parameters. I know photos of players in action are what people want to see, but if the AV Alta FC staff read this, could you please get some photos of Kleiban coaching on the sideline this year? That would be most helpful for 2026.

10.  Bobby Murphy (Portland Hearts of Pine) - Not to be confused with the Bobby Murphy who created Snapchat, this Bobby Murphy played his college soccer at Clemson before transferring to New Hampshire College and then turned his attention to coaching. He spent time with Orlando City, including two different stints as Interim Head Coach and also served as an assistant for Union Omaha from 2021-2022 which means he was on the sideline for the first ever Tormenta game I covered back in 2022. I'm sure he doesn't remember me. I'm not sure why Portland did their introductory press conference at a distillery with barrels behind Murphy, but if soccer doesn't work out, he has the look of the owner of a distillery already. 

9. Darren Sawatzky (Richmond Kickers) - Richmond recently unveiled a new logo, which has nothing to do with this but it came up in my research and I thought I'd be nice and share it. Last year I described Sawatzky as "the angry dad who just discovered you'd totaled the family's Ford Focus." Upon further reflection, I stand by that, though we'd also accept Middle School History teacher who just found out he got passed over for a promotion to Vice Principal and now has that class of kids he doesn't really like. What I'm trying to say is the man scares me, ok. I'm not ashamed to admit that. He may be a nice guy for all I know. (Checks Tormenta's schedule, realizes they open by hosting Richmond). In fact, I'm sure he's a nice guy. The nicest. Wouldn't hurt a fly or a bespectacled reporter. "A true gentleman" and "criminally underrated in the handsomeness ratings" is all I hear people say about Darren Sawatzky.

8. Matt Glaeser (Forward Madison) - Last year I described him as a big teddy bear with a heart of gold, but I don't think I appreciated just how tall he is until I saw him in person in Statesboro. He is a large man. I don't mean that in a bad way. Wikipedia lists him at 6'5" and I believe it. He's certainly a handsome gentleman as well. Some of that may be his youth (is 39 still considered young?), but he's objectively a good looking guy. He's got that "Man of the Woods" thing working for him. I know nothing about the state park system of Wisconsin, but if they're not using Glaeser as their spokesperson then they're missing an opportunity. 

7. Adrian Forbes (Texoma FC) - I know nothing about Adrian Forbes as a person. But I'm predisposed to like him simply because he and I share the exact same birthday. He went on to have a professional soccer career in England from 1996 to 2012 and I, well I did not. Forbes spent time with Norwich City, Luton Town, Swansea City, Blackpool, Millwall and Grimbsy Town before turning to coaching. Texoma FC is is his first head coaching position. I've spent time in Statesboro and a brief stint in Wilmington, North Carolina. So we're like, twinsies. I did enjoy the BBC headline when Forbes was announced as the first Texoma head man, "Meet the Head Coach of a team with no players" which, at the time, was harsh, but fair. I'm not sure I can explain it, but I really like the photo that went with that article. 

6. Leigh Veidman (Spokane Velocity) - Veidman led the Velocity to the USL League One title game in 2024 in the team's inaugural season, but fell just short in losing the championship to Omaha. His wikipedia page was updated in mid-November, 2024, but for some reason they didn't update his coaching record with Spokane. Veidman, started his coaching career coaching high school, in his case Westside High School in Omaha, Nebraska. I wonder how many of those players look back and realize their high school coach would go on to be a professional coach. Also, in some photos he looks like he could still be in high school. That is a compliment, for sure. 

5. Dave Carton (Westchester SC) - Carton, who spent more than a decade working with the Charlotte Independence, is Westchester's first Head Coach. He played his college soccer at Winthrop, where he  has three degrees, including a Masters Degree in International Sports Management. I took a few Sport Management classes in college and what I remember most from them is the professor was in the Canadian Football Hall of Fame. What I'm saying is that you should ask him your International Sport Management questions and not me. The Wexford, Ireland native has a lot more to his life than just what was announced in his press release of his hiring, but that is currently lost to history as he, too, lacks a wikipedia page. When he finally gets one, I hope the fact he finished 5th in the first season he was eligible for the Most Handsome Manager rankings make it onto the site. 

4. Matt Poland (FC Naples) - Yet another without a wikipedia page. From the press release on the USL League One site, it says that Poland has made Marco Island, Florida his "home base for the past 13 years." Left out of the release is where first, second and third base was for Poland. Previously he coached at Chicago House AC where he went 23-7-8. This is his and Naples first year in the league. In several of the photos clearly taken for his hiring announcement, Poland has a scarf draped over his shoulder that, if you glance quickly, looks like a sash worn by a beauty pageant contestant. And to be fair, you'd be forgiven if you thought he'd won second prize in a beauty pageant.  I also don't know Poland's marital status, but the average age of residents of Naples is nearly 67 years old, so if he's single, I imagine a lot of grandmothers will be trying to set him up with their granddaughters.

3. Ian Cameron (South Georgia Tormenta) - Back-to-back bronze medals for Tormenta's Ian Cameron, who finished third last year as well. Cameron has a Masters Degree in Quantitative Finance from the University of Glasgow. I read the entire wikipedia page on what that is and from what I can tell, I made the right decision not trying to study economics because I was lost just reading the summary. If he thinks about me at all, I think he goes home and wishes someone smarter was covering Tormenta. I'm quite sure the look from this press conference is him doing his best to hide the "I can't believe I have to answer questions from this guy" face after one of my questions. Despite that, he's engaging, thoughtful and, fortunately for me, doesn't give cliched answers to my sometimes cliched questions. 

2. Ian Fuller (One Knox) - Parents, if you want your son to rank highly in USL League One Handsomeness, name him Ian. Fuller gets his first head coaching position at One Knox after stints as an assistant with Charleston, Orlando City and Minnesota United. While I'm sure that was quite the honor for him, it pales in comparison to second place on this list. After his playing career ended at Clemson, he was taken 21st overall in the MLS Super Draft by the New England Revolution. Wikipedia tells me he's currently married to Susannah Collins of CBS Golazo Network's Morning Footy. Their Honeyfund site to allow people to contribute to their wedding/honeymoon was still active when I wrote this. Fuller looks like your friend's cool dad who went to high school with someone vaguely famous, but not really famous. Like his best friend's older brother was once the 4th best disc golf player in the world. 

1. Scott Mackenzie (Chattanooga RedWolves) - Last year's runner up, which may have been the high point for an otherwise disappointing season in Chattanooga, Mackenzie takes the top spot in the 2025 rankings. Mackenzie is another of the coaches on this list without a wikipedia page. I could try to find other sources, or I could tell you that he double majored in Molecular Chemistry and East Asian Literature and went on to get a Masters Degree in Education Leadership. I could tell you all that, but I'm pretty sure none of that is true. He was born in Dunfermline, Scotland, just 38 miles from where Ian Cameron was born in Glasgow. Parents, if you want your son to rank highly on this list, have them be born in a 25 mile radius between Dunfermline and Glasgow in Scotland.  I still think this is my favorite photo of any I came across in my research.