Bio

Paul Wright enters his sixth season as the Head Men's Soccer Coach at the University of Saint Joseph (USJ) in 2023. Men's soccer, which debuted in 2018, is currently 45-20-7 under Wright and have made the postseason in all four seasons (2020 season canceled due to COVID-19), including a Great Northeast Athletic conference Championship in 2022.

In 2022, Wright guided the Blue Jays to its most successful season in program history, capturing the Great Northeast Athletic Conference Championship in the fifth season of the young programs history, upsetting second-seeded Johnson & Wales University on the road. The Blue Jays went on to make their first NCAA Tournament appearance, falling in the first round to Franklin & Marshall. The GNAC title marked the 10th conference championship across all sports in USJ history. Wright also coached midfielder Michael Torres, who became the first student-athlete in USJ history to receive GNAC Athlete of the Year Honors. He also saw Torres be named to the United Soccer Coaches (USC) All-Region I Second Team, as well as four players who were named All-Conference.

Wright brought a wealth of soccer knowledge and Connecticut recruiting connections with him to USJ. Prior to joining the Blue Jays, he was an assistant coach at New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) member Trinity College in Hartford. Wright was on a Bantam staff that saw one player earn All-NESCAC First Team honors, as well as ten players who were named to the NESCAC All-Academic Team.

Before entering back into the college coaching realm with Trinity, he spent the 2016 season as the head men’s soccer coach down the road at the Kingswood-Oxford School in West Hartford. Wright was an assistant coach at his alma mater, Central Connecticut State University, from 2006 to 2012, and coached at Plainville High School and Maloney High School in Meriden prior to taking over the Kingswood-Oxford program.

In 2007, Wright and Division I Central Connecticut State completed the most successful season in any sport in the university’s history, when the Blue Devils won the Northeast Conference (NEC) Championship, and advanced to the NCAA Division I Sweet 16. In 2011, Wright and CCSU tied for the NEC regular season championship with a 7-3 conference mark. Blue Devil student-athletes Yan Klukowski and David Tyrie were both named to the MAC Hermann Trophy (top college soccer player in the nation) Watch List under Wright’s guidance in 2007. The pair also received National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA)/Adidas All-Region honors three times each, as well as All-NEC accolades in their four college seasons.

Wright earned his bachelor’s degree in exercise science from CCSU in 1999, was a two-time All-Mid-Continent Conference performer, and was an All-New England honoree twice. He tied the NCAA single-game record for goals, scoring eight times against Maryland-Eastern Shore in 1995, and also added an assist in the game, setting a Blue Devil record with 17 points in one match. Wright ranks second in CCSU history with 23 goals in one season (1996), as well as fourth in single-season points, scoring 50 that same year.

Following his playing career with the Blue Devils, Wright played for three seasons with the Western Massachusetts Pioneers of the USL D-3 Pro League, where he was a member of the 1999 championship team. He also played for the Philadelphia Kixx of the Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL) in 2002, leading them to the league finals. Wright even has professional playing experience abroad with Real Balonpedica of the Spanish "Segunda B" league. He holds a USSF “B” license, and received his USSF “A” license in 2011. He is currently the FSA 2002 boys head coach in addition to his work at USJ.

Wright resides in West Hartford with his wife, Emily, and sons Liam and Frederick.

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