Date Posted: 6/24/2008

MACON, Ga. – Mercer University has hired Brad Ruzzo to take over the men’s soccer program as announced by athletics director Bobby Pope on Tuesday.

"Brad is an outstanding hire for Mercer," said Pope. "He comes from a well established program and has been their chief recruiter for the last eight years. He is a self-described soccer junkie who lives, eats, and breathes soccer. He is very highly regarded and is extremely disciplined."

Ruzzo spent the previous eight years as the top assistant at Bradley University. After establishing an impressive track record in his first three years, Ruzzo was promoted to associate head coach prior to the 2003 season.

During his tenure at Bradley, Ruzzo helped the Braves secure four trips to the NCAA Tournament and a 101-54-25 (.631) record. The 2007 Braves captured their third straight Missouri Valley Conference regular-season championship and followed that up with their first State Farm MVC Tournament title. The best postseason run in program history saw the squad eventually advance to the quarterfinals of the NCAA Men’s Soccer Championship.

In Ruzzo’s eight seasons, the Braves have churned out eight All-Americans, six Major League Soccer SuperDraft selections, 37 All-Missouri Valley Conference selections, a Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year, two Valley Defensive Players of the Year, and two league Freshmen of the Year. During the same eight-year period, Bradley has produced eight ESPN the Magazine/CoSIDA Academic All-Americans and NSCAA Scholar All-Americans, 11 CoSIDA District V and NSCAA Region Scholar-Athletes, and 25 Valley Scholar-Athletes.

Related Links:
 • Full Article at MercerBears.com