Lee coach Matt YeltonAfter 13 seasons and the most success of any coach in any sport in Lee University history, Matt Yelton is leaving the NCAA Division II school in Cleveland, Tenn., to join his brothers with the Samford University women's soccer program.
Todd Yelton has been the head coach for the Southern Conference team since 2002, and Jay Yelton has assisted him since 2003. Matt, meanwhile, directed the soccer Lady Flames to a 252-42-2 record, 11 conference championships, four consecutive NAIA national championship (2008-11) and the 2014 National Christian College Athletic Association championship.
The Lady Flames went 89-0-1 in the Southern States Athletic Conference under Yelton and have gone 18-2 in Gulf South Conference matches since the school's move up in classification, but they were not allowed yet to compete for GSC and Division II postseason honors.
Chris Hennessey, a Lady Flames assistant coach the past three years, is taking over the program for spring practices and at least the 2015 season. He was a 2006-09 standout for the Lee men's team.
"Coach Yelton has groomed Chris for the job of head coach, and I believe he will step up and lead our girls through this transition," Dr. Paul Conn, the school president, said in a release Thursday.
"We know what a close bond there is among the three Yelton brothers, and they are a great soccer coaching family," Conn said. "We also understand that Coach Yelton will be spending this time to step back from the pressure of head coaching while he makes a transition to some other opportunities that are developing."
The president also thanked his departing coach for making the move now instead of later, when it "would have left us in a real short transition."
"First I want to say how much I appreciate Dr. Conn and all the support he has given to me and the women's soccer program," Yelton said in the release. "He has been an outstanding example and mentor to me, and I am a better coach today because I had the opportunity to work for him. He and his wife Darlia are exceptional examples of what Christian service and leadership should resemble."
Yelton went on to praise the "amazing group of coaches" with whom he worked and to thank athletic director Larry Carpenter "for his leadership and friendship, but more importantly his daily support in all the years I have been at Lee."
The departing coach admitted that "this has not been an easy decision for me, but I do believe that this is the best choice for my family, and that's what this decision is ultimately about. ... I realize how very lucky I was to get to coach so many wonderful young women, and I am so proud of what the Lee women's soccer family was able to accomplish. I blieve that our current team is poised to achieve great things.
"I have always been blessed with exceptional coaches to work with on our women's soccer staff. My current staff is absolutely some of the best in the business. I am confident that they will continue to lead the program in the right direction. Chris is completely ready for this challenge, and I know the team is in the best hands it possibly could be."