OKLAHOMA CITY (May 28, 2021) – Former Rogers State player Mitchell Sowerby, who enjoyed considerable success across Oklahoma City in his first head-coaching job at Mid-America Christian, was named earlier this week as OC's new men's soccer coach.

Sowerby, from Newcastle, England, played for Rogers State from 2012 to 2015 and was an assistant with the Hillcats for three seasons before becoming the head coach at MACU, where he's guided the Evangels to a 35-7-4 record the past two seasons.

During that time, MACU won the 2019 National Christian College Athletic Association title and the 2021 spring Sooner Athletic Conference tournament championship before making a run to the final 10 in this spring's NAIA tournament.

At 27, he's one of two head coaches of NCAA sports at OC who's under 30, along with 29-year-old men's basketball coach Kendre Talley.

Here is an interview with coach Sowerby conducted shortly after his appointment:

Why and how did you make the journey to Oklahoma from England?
"Just playing soccer from a young age and loving it. Around the age of 17 or 18, I was looking for a different experience, looking to kind of get out and see the world and do something different that people around me weren't doing. I knew someone who was involved in getting people over to America, so I went though him. I managed to get here. I ended up at Rogers State University and played there from 2012 to 2016. I was meant to go to Incarnate Word (in San Antonio) originally and then Rogers State came in late. That's how I ended up here. It turned out to be a very good decision."

You have a lot of experience playing games here at OC. What are some of your memories of the games you played here when you were at Rogers State?
"This was the only away game my parents came to during my four years playing at Rogers State. We usually had pretty close matches. They were never easy."

What happened when you graduated from Rogers State?
"I was 22 when I graduated. It got fortunate that Scott (Parkinson), who was the men's assistant, took the women's head coaching job at RSU and I got the (men's) assistant's job straightaway. I played against Scott, I played for him when he was an assistant and then I kind of coached with him when I was at Rogers State. We have a good relationship. I finished playing in the fall (of 2015) and the spring went and then that following fall, I was hired as the assistant."

How did you become the MACU head coach?
"The MACU job opened up two years ago. Fortunately enough, the (athletic director) took a chance on me as a young coach with no head-coaching experience, which you don't get a lot of anymore. Not many people do that, so I'm obviously forever thankful to him for doing that. He's really put me on the map and sent me off."

At your age, in a foreign country, landing such a job like that – was it intimidating?
"I think by the time I actually took the job, I was 25. Wow, that is young. That is a little bit intimidating. You don't know how you're going to do as a head coach when you've never been one. The big question is, are you ever going to win a game? How is the program going to look? How are you going to affect it? So it was definitely nerve-wracking in that role, but one that I really enjoyed straightaway, from the get-go. It was definitely a challenge being young. I think there was a player on the team the same age as me, but he was great about it. That was a worry I had at the start, but it went away within about three days."

You're certainly not the only young coach here at OC.
"I think I am starting to see a trend now. A lot more young coaches are being given the opportunity and they're starting to do well across a lot of different sports. Even at a professional level, in soccer, in European countries, there are a lot of young coaches getting chances, especially in the German leagues and they're doing really well."

What was your formula to win at MACU?
"Good players! I think the formula was a bit of everything. Obviously, it wasn't like walking into a team that was unsuccessful. They had just made a run at the (NAIA) Sweet 16 at the time. They'd finished fifth in the conference and managed to go on a nice run, win the conference tournament and get into the national tournament. For us, it was about building on that success, making sure we had a culture that, first of all, make sure all of the players are good people, have good characters within the team. Make sure there is a lot of respect amongst everyone. Then, on the field, it started to come a little bit easier, because we knew we had the right people who bought in and wanted to succeed, not just at soccer but succeed in life in everything we did. It was a little bit of a mix of everything. We were fortunate to get a good group of boys to start off with."

It always helps when you have talent already there.
"The goal always was, right at the start, was to win a national tournament and to do that, we didn't want to be a team that wasn't successful within conference. We wanted to be the No. 1 team in conference. We wanted to be the best team, so the last two years, we started to put MACU on the map a little bit and now a lot of people know who MACU are."

How do you translate that success across town to OC?
"The very first thing and the starting point will be the culture and creating a winning mentality. I think that the boys need to understand that losing is not acceptable, holding them to high standards, making them accountable, making sure the character within the team is good, that we have good people. They will know whenever they leave OC they are valuable people in society. If you get that, the soccer comes a little bit easier, because the soccer is the part they all want to do. That's the fun part to them. Definitely, the first year, creating a new culture and a new identity within the team, hopefully making people proud and getting alumni back out and then go from there."

What do you know about OC's program coming in?
"I actually know quite a bit about the program. We played against OC when I was in college. I think at the time, we were both NAIA programs, and then you guys transitioned (into NCAA Division II) and we transitioned. In the NAIA, I knew that OC was a really strong program. Obviously, they've got some history behind them and a good bit of background. When I was looking into the job, I spoke to Neil (Hilton), who's an alumni, asking more about the school, about the program, what he thought, and he gave me great insight into it and definitely helped me and made me feel good about the situation. The program, looking from the outside in, is set up to be successful and compete at a high level. What's here, the area, what's on campus, it can be a really successful program. It's just piecing it all together, really, and starting to turn the tables."

You will have the advantage of having the new soccer facility by the field.
"It's right on the field, so that's exciting. It helps the recruiting. I know as players, as a former player, they want to see a locker room. By the field, it makes them feel like they've got a home, they've got a safe space, a place where relationships can be built. It's definitely a massive pro to the school. I'm obviously going to be fortunate enough to experience it. It's good timing."

How soon do you think we could have a winning season?
"I don't want to write this fall off. I definitely think the fall is potentially (a time when we can) turn around and get back to winning ways. Obviously, the hard part of that is, I don't know the players yet. I know what I've seen. I'm definitely going to watch games back from this spring and try to figure out the players. I would like to start as soon as this fall, but one to three years, I think the program will be competing at the highest level. That's the goal."