East Mississippi Community College

East Mississippi Athletics
1512 Kemper St. Scooba, MS 39358

NJCAA Mississippi Southeast

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Chris Rash

Former NJCAA All-American Chris Rash is in his second year as the head coach of the East Mississippi Community College men’s and women’s soccer programs that were reinstated prior to the 2023 season.

From last year’s debut season for the Lions, defender William Slay moved on to NCAA Division III member Huntingdon College. As a team, the EMCC women posted a 3.32 composite team grade point average during the 2023-24 academic year, which featured six players earning NJCAA All-Academic individual honors.

Rash, who was a two-time NJCAA All-American at Hinds Community College during the 2003 and 2004 seasons, served as an assistant men’s soccer coach at Hinds for five seasons prior to earning his first collegiate head coaching opportunity at EMCC. During his time at Hinds as a coach, the Eagles made the postseason all five years, including four consecutive appearances in the NJCAA Region 23 semifinals.

Having assisted both current Hinds head coach Robert Gardner and retired head coach Doug Williams with on-field coaching, running practices, training players and recruiting student-athletes since 2018, Rash was instrumental in the recruitment and development of as many as 30 players who collected postseason individual honors for the Eagles.

Prior to entering the collegiate coaching scene at Hinds, Rash earned his first head coaching experience while working for the Pearl Public School District. Following brief stints as an assistant men’s soccer coach at Jackson Academy (2007-08) and Pearl High School (2009-10), he served as the district’s head men’s soccer coach for seven seasons (2011-18). As a result of the Pirates’ two-year run (2014-15) as the Mississippi High School Athletic Association (MHSAA) Class 5A state champions, Rash was awarded the 2014 Coach of the Year Award for the state of Mississippi by the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) in addition to being selected for the prestigious Tour of Champions that same year by MaxPreps.

During his successful decade working at the prep level in the Jackson metro area, Rash also served as the director of coaching for the Pearl Youth Soccer League for 10 years (2009-18). In addition, he held the position as a staff coach for the Olympic Development Program within the Mississippi Youth Soccer Association.

With an associate’s degree from Hinds in applied science of early childhood education, Rash is certified with a national D license and a national youth license by the United States Soccer Federation. He has also been a certified 3D coach for the Fellowship of Christian Athletes.

As a two-time NJCAA All-America and NJCAA All-Region 23 forward at Hinds, Rash helped lead the 2004 Eagles squad to the MACJC State Championship as well as to the program’s first Region 23 title in more than a decade. Having totaled 136 career points during his Hinds career with 50 goals and 36 assists, Rash ranked third among NJCAA scoring leaders as a freshman with 66 points (24/18) and sixth nationally with 70 points (26/18) as a sophomore. He then continued his collegiate soccer playing career at Mississippi College.

During his high school career playing for head coach Brad Biard at Pearl, Rash set the school record with 97 career goals scored in being named All-District First Team all four years and All-State First Team three times. The two-time team captain and MHSAA All-Star helped lead the Pirates to back-to-back MHSAA Class 4A state championships in 2001 and 2002.

Rash and his wife, Katherine, have two sons – Ezra, 4, and Moses, 2.

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Ryan Theriot

Former EMCC student and Hinds soccer alumnus Ryan Theriot is in his first season on the Scooba campus, having been reunited with second-year head coach Chris Rash this past July as the new assistant soccer coach for the men’s and women’s teams at East Mississippi Community College.

Theriot, who was an EMCC student on the Golden Triangle campus in Mayhew during the 2019-20 academic year, played soccer for Hinds Community College during the spring 2021 season while Rash was an assistant coach with the Eagles. Theriot helped lead Hinds to a 7-4 record, including a seven-match win streak that earned the Eagles a postseason playoff appearance. The Vicksburg native scored goals in consecutive wins over Northwest Mississippi and East Central.

Theriot was a two-time, all-county standout forward at St. Aloysius High School in leading the Flashes to consecutive Midsouth Association of Independent Schools (MAIS) Class AAA championships during the 2018 and 2019 seasons. After scoring 49 goals as a junior for the 14-5 St. Al team, he followed up with 55 goals to earn The Vicksburg Post’s 2019 Boys’ Soccer Player of the Year award after leading the Flashes to a 21-1-1 record, including a 17-match unbeaten streak to close out a second straight MAIS championship season.

In addition to scoring 104 total goals during his junior and senior seasons after moving to the striker position for head coach Scott Mathis’ St. Aloysius soccer team, Theriot was also an all-star wide receiver on the Flashes’ football squad. He caught 34 passes for 536 yards and five touchdowns as a senior to become St. Al’s career leader in receptions (82) and receiving yards (1,391). Theriot also totaled 16 career touchdown catches to finish one shy of the school record. In helping lead the St. Aloysius team to a 6-4 record and an appearance in the 2018 MAIS Class AAA football playoffs, the two-sport standout participated in the MAIS Class AAA/AAAA All-Star contest to close out his prep career on the gridiron.

After earning 2020-21 NJCAA All-Academic Second Team honors as a Phi Theta Kappa member at Hinds, Theriot transferred to the University of Southern Mississippi to complete his academic career. He received his bachelor’s degree in sport management in 2023 while also interning with the Southern Miss athletic marketing department in ticket sales. Theriot teamed with USM classmates to claim a No. 21 national ranking in the 2023 National Collegiate Sports Sales Championship and Conference (NCSSC) in Atlanta, Georgia. He was also a member of the National Society of Leadership and Success (NSLS) as well as the Southern Miss College of Business and Economic Development.

Theriot continued his education at Southern Miss during the 2023-24 academic year by receiving his master of business administration (MBA) degree while working as a graduate assistant for the National Center for Spectator Sports Safety and Security, which is the only organization that offers a certification recognizing expertise in sport security management. His primary responsibility was managing clients’ profiles for the organization’s Certified Sport Security Professional (CSSP) certification program.