Stacey Balaam

Stacey Balaam
Personal information
Date of birth (1985-09-09) 9 September 1985
Place of birth Suffolk, England
Position Midfielder
College career
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2005–2008 Montevallo Falcons 71 (25)
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2009–2010 ÍR Reykjavik – (1)
2011–2014 Atlanta Silverbacks – (1)
International career
2003–2004 England U19
Managerial career
2007–2012 North Georgia (assistant)
2017–2022 West Georgia
2023–2025 Vanderbilt (assistant/associate)
2025– Sporting JAX
* Club domestic league appearances and goals

Stacey Balaam (/ˈbeɪləm/ BAY-ləm; born 9 September 1985) is an English-born former football player and current head coach of Sporting JAX in the USL Super League. As a player, she played as a midfielder and captained the Atlanta Silverbacks to the 2011 USL W-League championship and earned accolades playing in Iceland. She has held collegiate coaching positions at Vanderbilt University, the University of West Georgia, and the University of North Georgia, helping lead the Vanderbilt Commodores to the NCAA Division I Sweet 16 in 2023.

Early life and playing career

Born in Suffolk, England, Balaam represented the England U‑19 national team before moving to the United States to play college soccer at the University of Montevallo, from 2005 to 2008. At Montevallo, she was a two-time NCAA Division II All-American, three-time All-Region, and four-time All-Gulf South Conference (GSC) selection. She finished as the school’s all-time leader with 100 points and 50 assists, and helped the Falcons win their first GSC tournament; she was later inducted into Montevallo’s Hall of Fame and the GSC's All-Decade team. She also scored 25 goals for the Falcons.[1][2][3][4]

After college, Balaam played semi-professionally in Iceland—where she scored a game‑winner and earned a Team of the Week selection—before returning to the US to captain the Atlanta Silverbacks in the USL W‑League. She led the team to a league championship in 2011 and continued as captain through 2013.[5][6]

Coaching career

University of North Georgia

Balaam served six seasons as assistant coach for the North Georgia Nighthawks, from 2007 to 2012, contributing to a 91–24–10 record that included five NCAA Division II Tournament appearances and a program-best No. 2 NSCAA national ranking in 2015. She earned her USSF B‑licence and NSCAA coaching diplomas during this period.[6]

University of West Georgia

In March 2017, she became head coach for the West Georgia Wolves. Over six seasons, she led the Wolves to 40 victories, including their first Gulf South Conference Tournament final appearance in 2021. The 2020 season was impacted by COVID-19, and Balaam departed in early 2023 to join a Division I program.[7][8]

Vanderbilt University

In February 2023, Balaam joined the Vanderbilt Commodores as assistant coach under Darren Ambrose. She was promoted to associate head coach in February 2025. During her tenure, Vanderbilt scored 45 goals in a season—tied for 10th-most in program history—and reached the NCAA Sweet 16 in 2023.[2][9][10]

Sporting JAX

On 2 April 2025, Balaam was appointed the first head coach of Sporting JAX’s women’s USL Super League team.[11]

Sporting JAX earned its first-ever competitive victory on 30 August 2025, when the team defeated the defending champion Tampa Bay Sun FC 3–2 in their second-ever match.[12]

On 22 November, Sporting JAX earned its first-ever home win, a 2–0 victory over Fort Lauderdale United FC at Hodges Stadium on the campus of the University of North Florida (UNF). Prior to that match, the team had recorded one home friendly win and four away victories.[13]

At the midway point of Sporting JAX’s inaugural season, the club occupied first place in the league standings, posting a record of seven wins, three losses, and four draws.[14]

For her coaching efforts in December 2025, Balaam was named USL Super League Coach of the Month. The team went 2–0–1 and took the lead in the league standings over Lexington SC.[15] She was subsequently named Coach of the Month for February 2026, following the midseason break.[16]

Head coaching record

West Georgia

Statistics overview
Season Team Overall Conference Standing Postseason
West Georgia Wolves — Gulf South Conference (2017–2021)
2017 West Georgia 8–9–0 7–7–0 8th GSC Tournament
2018 West Georgia 7–9–3 7–5–1 6th GSC Tournament
2019 West Georgia 7–10–1 5–8–0 9th Did not qualify
2020 West Georgia 3–4–0 2–3–0 8th GSC Tournament
2021 West Georgia 9–8–2 7–6–0 6th GSC Tournament Finalist
West Georgia: 34–40–6 28–29–1
Total: 34–40–6 (.463)

      National champion         Postseason invitational champion  
      Conference regular season champion         Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
      Division regular season champion       Division regular season and conference tournament champion
      Conference tournament champion

Sporting JAX

Statistics overview
Season Team Overall Standing Postseason
Sporting JAX — USL Super League (2025–)
2025–26 Sporting JAX 12–4–4 – –
Sporting JAX: 12–4–4 –
Total: 12–4–4 (.700)

Personal life

Balaam was raised in Suffolk, England, and supports West Ham United. She holds a USSF B coaching licence and NSCAA credentials as a goalkeeper coach and regional diploma recipient.[5]

Honors and recognition

As player:

As coach:

References

  1. ^ "Hall of Fame: Stacey Balaam". MontevalloFalcons.com. University of Montevallo. Retrieved 26 June 2025.
  2. ^ a b "Stacey Balaam Associate Head Coach". VUCommodores.com. Vanderbilt University. 4 March 2023. Retrieved 26 June 2025.
  3. ^ "Stacey Balaam". UWGAthletics.com. University of West Georgia. Retrieved 26 June 2025.
  4. ^ "Montevallo hires full-time women's soccer assistant". ShelbyCountyReporter.com. Shelby County Reporter. 12 August 2009. Retrieved 26 November 2025.
  5. ^ a b Ashley, Kyle (2 April 2025). "Sporting JAX names Stacey Balaam first head coach of USL Super League women's team". News4Jax.com. News 4 Jax. Retrieved 26 June 2025.
  6. ^ a b "Stacey Balaam". UNGAthletics.com. University of North Georgia. Retrieved 26 June 2025.
  7. ^ "Stacey Balaam Coach". USSportsCamps.com. NIKE Sports Camps - USSC. Retrieved 29 June 2025.
  8. ^ Dyer, Dean. "UNG's Stacey Balaam Named Head Women's Soccer Coach at West Georgia". WRWH.com. WRWH. Retrieved 29 June 2025.
  9. ^ "Vanderbilt University Ambrose Announces Staff Addition". NashvilleStandard.com. Nashville Standard. Retrieved 29 June 2025.
  10. ^ Gaither, Joe (6 February 2025). "Vanderbilt Promotes Assistant to Associate Head Coach: The Anchor, February 6, 2025". SI.com. Sports Illustrated. Retrieved 29 June 2025.
  11. ^ "Sporting JAX names Stacey Balaam as first head coach of USL Super League women's team". SportingJAX.com. Sporting JAX. Retrieved 26 June 2025.
  12. ^ Freeman, Clayton. "Goal! Here's how Sporting Jax women's soccer nettted first-ever win vs. reigning champion". Jacksonville.com. The Florida Times-Union. Retrieved 1 September 2025.
  13. ^ Freeman, Clayton. "Finally: Sporting Jax women's soccer nets first home win". Jacksonville.com. The Florida Times-Union. Retrieved 23 November 2025.
  14. ^ Freeman, Clayton. "League leader: Sporting Club Jacksonville jumps to first place". Jacksonville.com. The Florida Times-Union. Retrieved 22 December 2025.
  15. ^ GainbridgeSuperLeague.com Staff. "Gainbridge Super League Team of the Month – December". GainbridgeSuperLeague.com. USL Super League. Retrieved 8 January 2026.
  16. ^ GainbridgeSuperLeague.com Staff. "Gainbridge Super League Team of the Month – February". Retrieved 16 March 2026.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.