Now entering his third season at the helm of the Davenport women's soccer program, Joe White has quickly established himself as a rising force in collegiate soccer. After laying the groundwork in year one, he guided Davenport to an impressive turnaround in his second season. Under his leadership, the program achieved a winning record of 8-4-8 in 2024. The Panthers also had a record of 5-2-7 in the rugged GLIACÂ slate, which placed them as the fifth place team. The eight wins were the most in a season at DU since 2017, when the team joined NCAA Division II and the GLIAC. White led the team to a 1-0 victory in the GLIAC Tournament Quarterfinals at Ferris State. It was the first win in the GLIAC Tournament and first-ever victory over the Bulldogs in program history. The Panthers had a pair of Second Team All-GLIAC performers in Arianna Diemer and Haley Diekevers.
White guided the Panthers on a historic run to open the 2023 season, posting four-straight shutout victories that included a conference win over Saginaw Valley State (1-0) on Sept. 15 after a last-minute goal. The team finished 5-7-6 overall to mark DU's third-most victories since merging with the GLIAC in 2017, their fifth win also coming against SVSU in a dominant 4-0 shutout against the Cardinals. White had a pair of players receive conference honors, with Haley Diekevers and Gabby Scholten being named Second Team All-GLIAC and Honorable Mention All-GLIAC, respectively.
PRIOR COLLEGE COACHING EXPERIENCE
White previously served as an assistant coach for both the men’s and women’s programs at Aquinas College. The women’s team in 2022 had a tremendous season going 21-3-1 and 11-0 in the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference. They defeated three nationally-ranked teams during the season and advanced to the NAIA National Quarterfinals before falling 0-1 to No. 1 Keiser. The men’s team also saw success in 2022, going 10-7-3 and 6-4-1 in the WHAC. Their season came to an end in the semifinals of the WHAC Tournament in penalty kicks.
He also served as lead assistant coach for men’s soccer at Auburn University at Montgomery (NCAA DII) for three years from 2019-21. The Warhawks compiled a 11-5-4 record in 2021 and were 7-2-2 in the Gulf South Conference. They advanced to the NCAA Tournament and picked up two wins against Tampa (1-0) and Young Harris (0-0, 5-4 PK). White was named AUM Assistant Coach of the Year for 2019-20 and he was part of the coaching staff in 2019 that was GSC Co-Coaching Staff of the Year. That squad went 9-6-3 and 6-2-3 in the conference.
Prior to Auburn Montgomery, White was a part of the Saginaw Valley State men’s and women’s soccer programs as a volunteer coach during the 2018-19 season. He worked with the goalkeepers and the Cardinals saw success with the men’s team going 11-3-6 and winning the GLIAC regular season and advancing to the NCAA Tournament. The women’s team went 12-4-4 overall and also made the NCAA Tournament.
CLUB SOCCER COACHING EXPERIENCE
White is currently employed by Midwest United Football Club in Grand Rapids and is the USL Pre-Professional Women’s Team Head Coach. In addition, he is the head coach for the U14 and U13 ECNL teams. White was also recognized by United Soccer Coaches for their 30 Under 30 program which selects the top 30 coaches in the country under the age of 30.
PERSONAL
White earned his bachelor’s degree from Hastings College (Neb.) in economics and business administration in 2018. He followed that up with a master’s degree from Auburn University at Montgomery in business administration in 2021. He was a standout as a student-athlete at Hastings for two seasons leading the team to a combined record of 43-3-2 in the NAIA ranks. He was part of the 2016 NAIA National Championship team and was a two-time NAIA All-America selection in 2016 and 2017.
