Derek Neidlinger - Men's Soccer Coach - UNC Asheville Athletics

Derek Neidlinger

Title:
Assistant Coach
Email:
dneidlin@unca.edu
Phone:
258-7719

Asheville posted a 7-7-2 record in Neidlinger's first season in Asheville, qualifying for the Big South Conference tournament. The Bulldogs earned four weekly awards over the course of the season, with Rodrigo Mendes earning Offensive Player of the Week honors on Sept. 2 and Top Drawer Soccer Team of the Week Honorable Mention honors on Sept. 3. Arnor Hardarson was named the Big South Conference Co-Freshman of the Week on Sept. 8, while Lucca Barros was named the Co-Defensive Player of the Week on Sept. 15. Later in the season, Louis Beckett was named the Big South's Offensive Player of the Week on Oct. 13 while also earning Top Drawer Soccer Team of the Week Honorable Mention honors on Oct. 14. Five Bulldogs earned All-Conference honors with Neidlinger's help in his first season, with Lennart Granzow earning a First Team All-Conference honor while being named to the All-Academic Team. Mendes, Ragnarsson and Benian Yao were named to the All-Conference Second Team, while Barros was named to the All-Freshman Team.

Derek Neidlinger joined the UNC Asheville Men's Soccer staff in June 2025.

Neidlinger joins Frid’s staff from Old Dominion, where he had been an assistant coach for the past two seasons. In Neidlinger’s two seasons on staff at ODU, the program has bolstered its national presence in recruiting while also achieving a 10-match unbeaten streak which was the longest for the program since 2004. Neidlinger serves as the lead recruiter on ODU’s current recruiting class which ranks No. 24 in Division I, while the team also achieved a Top-40 recruiting class ranking last season by Top Drawer Soccer.

Prior to joining the staff at his alma mater, Neidlinger served as an assistant coach at Windsor High School. As a player at ODU, he was a two-time Conference USA Academic Honor Roll selection. Prior to joining the Monarchs, Neidlinger was the Big Eight Defensive Player of the Year, a First Team All-Region and Second Team All-America selection and a First Team Scholar All-American at Santa Rosa College in 2019.

Neidlinger holds a bachelor’s degree in sport management from Old Dominion (2022) and a master’s in business administration from Corban University (2023). He is also currently pursuing his United States Soccer Federation (USSF) D License.