Justin Oliver is in his third season as the head coach of the St. Olaf men's soccer program in 2025-26 after being named to the position on July 19, 2023. He is in his sixth season overall on the program's coaching staff.
Oliver was an assistant coach for the program for three seasons from 2019-21 before being promoted to associate head coach in December of 2021. After being named head coach prior to the 2023 season, Oliver led the Oles to their first NCAA Division III national title in his first season leading the program.
Through two seasons, Oliver has guided St. Olaf to a record of 35-7-7 (.786), including an unbeaten mark of 16-0-4 (.900) in the Minnesota Intercolleigate Athletic Conference MIAC). The Oles have won MIAC regular-season and MIAC Playoff titles in each of his two seasons and appeared in the NCAA Tournament in both seasons, including the 2023 national title.
Through two seasons as head coach, Oliver has coached three United Soccer Coaches All-Americans, eight United Soccer Coaches All-Region honorees, two MIAC Offensive Players of the Year, nine All-MIAC honorees, two Honorable Mention All-MIAC selections, and six MIAC All-Playoff Team members. Academically, St. Olaf has produced 31 Academic All-MIAC honorees, 12 College Sports Communicators (CSC) Academic All-District honorees, a two-time CSC Academic All-American (first in program history), one United Soccer Coaches Scholar All-American, and two United Soccer Coaches Scholar All-Region honorees.
In Oliver's first season, St. Olaf won the MIAC regular-season title and the MIAC Playoff crown prior to outscoring its six opponents by a 19-7 margin over its six wins in the NCAA Tournament en route to the national title. The Oles defeated UW-Superior and No. 12-ranked Carleton at home, UW-Eau Claire and No. 21-ranked UChicago in Chicago, and No. 18-ranked Washington (Md.) and No. 13-ranked Amherst in Salem, Va. to claim the national title. In the championship game, No. 11-ranked St. Olaf trailed Amherst 1-0 early in the second half before coming back to claim a
2-1 overtime victory to become the first MIAC institution to win a men's soccer national title and the first Minnesota collegiate soccer program to claim a national championship. On the back of the national title, St. Olaf earned its first-ever No. 1 ranking in the United Soccer Coaches year-end poll.
Oliver and his coaching staff were named the United Soccer Coaches NCAA Division III National Coaching Staff of the Year, adding the national accolade to United Soccer Coaches NCAA Division III Region IX Coaching Staff of the Year. The staff led the Oles to their eighth MIAC regular-season title with an 8-0-2 record, a second consecutive MIAC Playoff title, and an overall record of 20-3-3 to establish a single-season program record for wins and tie Messiah for the most victories in the country. After starting the season 1-3-0, St. Olaf went 19-0-3 the rest of the way to end the season on a program-record 22-game unbeaten streak. The Oles led the country in points (215) and were second in goals (77), second in assists (62), and seventh in goal differential (+51), while also establishing single-season program records in goals, points, shots (461), and shots on goal (210). After graduating from St. Olaf in May, three Oles - Hakeem Morgan to Loyola Marymount, Victor Gaulmin to Akron, and Casey McCloskey to Charlotte - went on to use their final seasons of eligibility at NCAA Division I programs.
St. Olaf followed up its national-championship season with a 15-4-4 overall record in 2024 that included an identical 8-0-2 run through the MIAC regular season. After earning a share of the MIAC regular-season title, the Oles knocked off Augsburg University and fourth-ranked Gustavus Adolphus College to claim an unprecedented third consecutive MIAC Playoff title. After a 3-1 win over Wartburg College to open the NCAA Tournament, St. Olaf bowed out in penalty kicks in the second round to UW-Superior following a 2-2 tie.Â
For the second year in a row, St. Olaf had one of the top offenses in the country in 2024, ranking fifth in corner kicks per game (8.00), sixth in assists per game (2.74), total assists (63), and shots per game (19.39), ninth in total points (187), 10th in total goals (62), 14th in goal differential (+37), 15th in points per game (8.13), 18th in shots on goal per game (8.87), and 19th in goals per game (2.70). The team's marks for goals, goals per game, assists, assists per game, points, points per game, shots, shots per game, shots on goal, shots on goal per game, and wins all ranked in the top five in program history.
After coming to the Hill in January 2019, Oliver helped build St. Olaf into one of the top programs in the MIAC and the region, winning a pair of MIAC titles and making back-to-back appearances in the "Sweet 16" of the NCAA Tournament. In addition to winning the 2021 MIAC regular-season title with an unblemished 10-0-0 record - just the fifth time a team accomplished the feat in conference history - and winning the 2022 MIAC Playoffs, the Oles matched their deepest-ever runs in the NCAA Tournament with consecutive "Sweet 16" appearances in 2021 and 2022, becoming one of just five NCAA Division III men's soccer programs to do so. In total, St. Olaf went 43-18-3 (.695) overall during Oliver's four seasons on the staff, including a mark of 22-7-1 (.750) in MIAC play.
In Oliver's four seasons with the program as an assistant coach, St. Olaf produced three United Soccer Coaches All-Americans, four D3soccer.com All-Americans, eight United Soccer Coaches All-Region honorees, four MIAC major award recipients, 12 All-MIAC selections, four Honorable Mention All-MIAC honorees, and 30 Academic All-MIAC honorees. Oliver was also part of the 2021 United Soccer Coaches Region IX Coaching Staff of the Year. After not appearing in the national rankings since the end of the 2015 seasons, the Oles were ranked in the United Soccer Coaches Top 25 nine times over the last two seasons and ended both the 2021 and 2022 seasons ranked in the top 15 nationally.
A Second Team All-American for the University of St. Thomas in 2017-18, Oliver joined then-head coach Travis Wall's staff after serving as the head coach at North St. Paul High School in 2018, leading the team to a 14-4-0 record. He also coached at St. Croix Academy from 2015-19.
Oliver transferred to St. Thomas after three years at Division I Eastern Illinois University, where he recorded 10 goals and five assists in 54 appearances. In his one season as a Tommie, Oliver scored 16 goals and added five assists in 23 appearances, leading to United Soccer Coaches Second Team All-American honors. He was also a First Team All-Midwest Region pick by the United Soccer Coaches and a First Team All-Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) selection, as St. Thomas advanced to the national quarterfinals and won MIAC regular-season and playoff titles.
After playing with Kaw Valley FC and Minneapolis City SC following graduation, Oliver went on trial with two-time defending USL champion Louisville City FC. While with Minneapolis City SC, he was twice named to the National Premier Soccer League Team of the Week in 2018.
Oliver was a standout at North St. Paul High School and ranks third all-time in Minnesota with 154 career points on 92 goals (fifth all-time) and 62 assists (sixth all-time). He was a two-time All-Midwest Region and All-State selection and was named Minnesota's Mr. Soccer and Gatorade Player of the Year, as well as an NSCAA All-American. His teams went a combined 66-9-3.
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| THE OLES UNDER JUSTIN OLIVER |
| SEASON |
OVERALL |
PCT. |
MIAC |
PCT. |
MIAC / MIAC PLAYOFFS / NCAA TOURNAMENT / NOTES |
| 2023 |
20-3-3 |
.827 |
8-0-2 |
.900 |
1st (Regular Season Champions) / MIAC Playoff Champions / NCAA National Champions |
| 2024 |
15-4-4 |
.739 |
8-0-2 |
.900 |
t-1st (Regular Season Co-Champions) / MIAC Playoff Champions / NCAA Tournament Second Round |
| TOTAL |
35-7-7 |
.786 |
16-0-4 |
.900 |
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