PITTSBURGH – Point Park University Vice President of Athletics Scott Swain has announced the hiring of Colin Baker as the Head Women's Soccer Coach for the Pioneers.
 
Baker comes to Point Park following two seasons as an assistant coach at highly successful Missouri Western State University, a NCAA Division II institution in St. Joseph, Missouri.
 
"I'm very excited to have Colin Baker joining the Pioneer Athletics family as our Head Women's Soccer Coach," Swain commented. "We had a highly qualified group of applicants for this opening and throughout the search process, Colin proved he would be the ideal person to take our program to the next level in the Mountain East Conference and NCAA Division II. 
 
"With Colin's coaching success at several NCAA Division II institutions, he has the experience our program needs at this time. The future will be a very exciting time for Pioneer Women's Soccer," Swain added.
 
Working alongside head coach Jacob Plocher, Baker helped Missouri Western to a record of 21-11-9 over the past two seasons, including a mark of 16-3-3 during the 2024 campaign. This fall, Missouri Western recorded its best record in program history and also advanced to the second round of the NCAA Women's Soccer Tournament. The program's 2-1 win over Concordia-St. Paul in the tournament's opening round was Missouri Western's first NCAA postseason win in program history.
 
For their success, the Missouri Western coaching staff garnered Central Region Coaching Staff of the Year honors from the United Soccer Coaches (USC) association. On the field, MWSU ranked in the top 10 in the nation in scoring, shutouts and goals against average, while also having 11 players garner MIAA postseason honors this fall. The postseason honors included MIAA Defensive Player of the Year Lauren Nylund and Goalkeeper of the Year Keely Kroonenberg. Both players went on to earn D2CCA All-Central Region honors, while Nylund was named third team All-America by D2CCA – becoming the first player in program history to be voted an All-American.
 
"I am very enthusiastic to welcome Colin Baker to Point Park University and our women's soccer program," said Assistant Director of Athletics and Senior Woman's Administrator Laura Schaefer. "I am confident that he will be successful in his role and show what it means to be a Pioneer on and off the field. I look forward to the future of this team and all the experience and knowledge Colin brings with him to Pittsburgh."
 
In 2022, Baker served as the interim men's soccer coach at Western Oregon University, leading the Wolves in their first season as a collegiate program. That season, Western Oregon earned its first-ever GNAC win and had four players named to postseason all-conference teams.
 
"I am incredibly humbled and excited for the honor to lead the Pioneer women's soccer program," said Baker. "Point Park is a special place with a rich history and tremendous athletics staff. I'd like to thank Scott (Swain), Laura (Schaefer) and Dan (Trocano) for their support and leadership throughout this process and appreciate their confidence in me as the next leader of Pioneer women's soccer.
 
"It's such an exciting time at Point Park as we continue our transition to NCAA competition. It's time to get to work, implement some LCR (Love-Courage-Resilience) in everything we do, and bring out the confidence I see in this group to achieve their goals both individually and collectively," Baker added. "Additionally, I'd like to thank coach (Jacob) Plocher for his mentorship and leadership. Because of him I'm a better person, professional and competitor today."
 
Prior to his tenure at WOU, Baker spent three seasons as the head women's soccer coach at Adams State University. Baker led the Grizzlies to their first postseason appearance in 15 years in 2021, while mentoring eight players to all-conference honors while with the program. Despite the COVID-19 pandemic in the in the spring of 2020, Adams State set a program record for team GPA (3.58).
 
Baker also had coaching stops as a men's soccer assistant coach at Carroll College (2017-18), University of Providence (2015-16) and Southwestern College (2013-14) early in his coaching career.
 
While at Carroll College, Baker helped the program to the conference semifinals, while picking up four wins over teams ranked in the NAIA Top 25.
 
At the University of Providence, Baker helped lead the program to a pair of conference championships while ranking as high as No. 8 in the NAIA national rankings in 2015. Six players went on to earn NAIA All-America honors during his two seasons.
 
Originally from Tulsa, Oklahoma, Baker earned his bachelor's degree in English from Southwestern College in 2013. He obtained an MBA, with an emphasis in organizational leadership, from Southern New Hampshire University in 2021.
 
Baker holds three soccer certifications, including the United States Soccer Federation 'B' License, the United Soccer Coaches (USC) Premier Diploma, and the USC Goalkeeper "Level II" Diploma.