Emmanuel Awotula enters his third season as Head Women's Soccer Coach at Wheeling University for the 2024-25 season, and has a career record of 11-22-3 with the Cardinals
Along with his duties as Head Women's Soccer Coach, Awotula also serves as the Athletic Department's Diversity and Inclusion Designee as well as the Student-Athlete Advisory Commission (SAAC) Liasion. Under his leadership, SAAC Treasurer Batson Sheets was selected to attend the 2023 NCAA Student-Athlete Leadership Forum in 2023.
The Cardinals continued their success under Awotula during the 2023 season, finishing 5-11-2 overall and 2-10-2 in MEC play. During the season, the Cardinals had three separate hat tricks, the first hat tricks since the 2014 season, including the first since that time when Medina Doka scored three goals against Davis & Elkins on October 1st in a 6-3 win. Under his watch, three Cardinals would earn All-MEC honors, with Mary DiFonzo and Olivia Kqira leading the group as Honorable Mention All-MEC. DiFonzo would earn the first All-Region award of her career, taking home Second Team All-Region honors from the Divsion II Conference Commissioner's Association (D2CCA).
In his first season at the helm of the Cardinals, Awotula led the team to their first-ever MEC Tournament appearance, going 6-11-1 overall, including a 6-9-1 mark in conference play. Wheeling clinched their playoff spot on the final day of the regular season, when they beat West Liberty 3-2 to earn the #4 seed in the MEC North Division. They would face #1 seeded Frostburg State in the Quarterfinal round, but ended up falling 4-0, putting an end to their season. Awotula helped lead sophomore Mary DiFonzo to her second career All-MEC honor, earning Honorable Mention All-MEC, and saw Mikayla Yarwood break the program's career saves record with 282 across her five seasons.
Awotula comes to the Cardinals after spending the last six years as the Head Women’s Soccer Coach at Lincoln University. While with the Lions, Awotula quickly turned a two-win program into a 6-11 team by the 2017 season. Under Awotula’s watch, the team joined the East Coast Conference (ECC) in 2018 and every year the team saw more and more success both on the field and in the classroom. During the 2021 season, Awotula helped lead Lincoln’s first-ever All-ECC honoree. Freshman Parker Moss burst onto the scene for the Lions and was named the school’s first All-ECC honoree thanks to her efforts. The team also had several athletes earn a spot on the ECC All-Academic list during his six seasons as he emphasized success both on the field and in the classroom.
Prior to Lincoln, Awotula spent two seasons at Oakland City University, where he combined to lead his teams to a 16-14-1 record. He still holds the highest single-season winning percentage in Mighty Oaks history and recruited 24 student-athletes, more than any other coach at the University. He began his collegiate coaching career at his alma mater, Tennessee Temple University, in 2011 after playing there for two seasons. A career ending injury thrust him into a coaching role during his senior season, and he took over as head coach after graduation. In his first season as head coach, he produced the best single season record in school history and had two players on the All-Academic team. While at Tennessee Temple, he also was responsible for beginning the Track & Field program.
Awotula and his wife, Jennifer Awotula, have three sons: Noah, Isaiah and Micah.
| Season |
Record |
Highlights |
| 2022 |
6-11-1 |
MEC Tournament Qualifier |
| 2023 |
5-11-2 |
|
| 2 Seasons |
11-22-3 (.306) |
1x MEC Tournament Qualifier |
