David Casper joined the Rebels in March 2022 as an assistant men's soccer coach after four seasons as head coach at East Tennessee State in Johnson City, Tenn. Under Casper, the Bucs set records on the field and in the classroom. Casper recorded the program’s best two-year record in his first two seasons as head coach and instantly raised the bar for academic achievement as his first squad broke a 10-year record for team GPA.
Casper tested his Southern Conference squad against the best, facing national powers on a regular basis by scheduling nine top-25 opponents across his three seasons not interrupted by COVID-19. His 2018 team, which finished 9-7-1 and second in the SoCon, had the second-highest non-conference strength of schedule in all of Division I men’s soccer.
In the spring of 2021, senior defender Jordan Broadwater became the first ETSU men’s soccer player to be selected to the CoSIDA Academic All-District First Team. Broadwater earned a 4.0 GPA in chemistry while starting the final seven games as right back.Â
Thirteen Bucs earned all-conference honors, five were named to the SoCon All-Freshman Team and Josh Perryman was named SoCon Goalkeeper of the Year under Casper’s guidance.
Prior to ETSU, Casper elevated Kentucky into one of the nation’s top defensive units. The Wildcats finished among the top 20 in goals-against average in four of Casper's five years as an assistant. Casper coached goalkeeper Callum Irving, who set program records for shutouts (27) and goals-against average (0.86) becoming an NSCAA Scholar All-America, two-time All-American, Conference USA Player of the Year, Defensive MVP and Golden Glove winner.Â
Casper helped guide St. Francis (Pa.) to its five-ever back-to-back 10-win seasons in 2010 and 2011. While working with the goalkeepers, St. Francis set the school record for shutouts in a season (11), ranked third in the NCAA in shutout percentage (0.61), sixth in save percentage (.864) and 11th in goals-against average (0.65).
Casper also has stops at William Paterson (Wayne, N.J.) that, in 2008, won its first postseason championship since 1975, Timothy Christian High School in Piscataway, N.J., and Somerset Christian Academy in Zarepath, N.J.
He has additional experience as a trainer for the N.Y. Red Bulls Regional Development School (2006-08), where he worked with under-14 field players and goalkeepers. In 2008, he was the trainer for Competitive Goalkeeping in Bridgewater, N.J., training a variety of different ages and levels of keepers.
Casper had a standout player career as a goalkeeper at Wheaton College (Ill.) and Messiah College (Pa.). While at Wheaton, he had a 0.63 goals-against average in 2001, with five shutouts. After transferring to Messiah College, he served as the starter on the 2002 Division III National Champions, totaling a 0.40 goals-against average and a school-record 16.5 shutouts. In 2006-07, he served as the starting keeper for William Paterson, posting eight shutouts. Following his collegiate career, Casper had a trial with Independiente de Medellin, in the Colombia First Division. Â
Casper earned his bachelor’s in physical education from William Paterson and received his master’s in education from St. Francis University.
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