MSU Denver Athletics

Ken Parsons finished his 11th season at Metro State in 2014 and has led the Roadrunners to four NCAA tournament berths in the past nine seasons, and an RMAC tournament appearance in each of his 11 years. MSU Denver now has 12 consecutive seasons with 10+ wins, the longest streak in the RMAC (the second longest is six consecutive seasons).

Parsons has coached four of the past seven RMAC players of the year and the 2013 RMAC defensive player of the year Andrew Mejia, and three of the past four RMAC freshmen of the year. No Metro State men's soccer coach has led more teams to the NCAA tournament and Parsons carries the highest winning percentage (.651) in school history as well.

During his 11 seasons at Metro State, Parsons has a 138-69-21 record, ranking 27th among active Division II head coaches in winning percentage (.651) and 38th in victories entering the 2015 season. He has coached 10 All-Americans, 41 NSCAA/adidas all-region players and 31 first team all-RMAC honorees during his tenure. His 2004, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2011 and 2012 teams earned NSCAA academic team honors.

2010 senior Steven Emory signed a professional contract with the Colorado Rapids of Major League Soccer, the first Metro State alum to sign an MLS contract.  It was the third player Parsons has coached in his career to sign with an MLS team. In 2012 Emory signed with a professional team in Finland.

Parsons led the Roadrunners to a 10-8-0 record in 2014, the 12th consecutive season with at least 10 wins. None of the team's 11 starters was a senior, but the young squad had three players emerge as all-region and first team all-conference. The team started strong, reaching a ranking as high as No. 8 in NCAA Division II after wins over No. 6 Regis University and at St. Edward's, a team that made the NCAA Tournament. Things turned south late as the Roadrunners dropped six games by just one goal. As usual, Parsons' team was excellent in the classroom with seven academic all-RMAC athletes and posting a 3.31 GPA as a squad during the school year.

The 2013 season was his 11th consecutive season with 10+ wins, posting a 10-6-3 mark, despite returning just five starters from 2010. The highlight of the season was a six-game stretch in October when the Roadrunners ran off five wins, including three by shutout. Senior Andrew Mejia garnered RMAC defensive player of the year honors, making it the seventh consecutive year that Metro State has had one of the RMAC player of the year awards (including defense and freshman). Defender Tyler Trujillo earned RMAC freshman of the year.

Parsons took a team that lost All-America forward Scott Grode to graduation and turned it into a winner in 2012. His Roadrunners went 12-7-1 overall, including 8-5-1 in the RMAC. His young squad went 5-1-1 over its final seven games of the season, including a win over Fort Lewis in the RMAC tournament. In addition to his success on the field, Parsons' team was strong in the classroom. Senior Marc Herschberger was named Academic All-America of the Year, becoming the first RMAC player to earn the award. He was also named RMAC academic player of the year for the second year in a row. Danny Arrubla was named RMAC freshman of the year.

After narrowly missing the NCAA tournament in two straight seasons, Parsons returned his Roadrunners as one of the two teams from the Central Region selected to the postseason in 2011. Metro State went 14-7-1 overall and finished third in the RMAC, just one point out of second place. Needing a win over Regis at the conference tournament to qualify for the postseason, Metro edged the Rangers 1-0 in the semifinals in Durango, Colo., to advance to its third RMAC tournament final in four years. The Roadrunners suffered a first-round defeat at Fort Lewis to open the NCAA tournament before the Skyhawks went on to their second national championship in three years.

Parsons earned his 100th career win in memorable fashion, upsetting No. 1 Fort Lewis 1-0 on the road in Durango on Oct. 14. The win turned out to be the only blemish on Fort Lewis's national championship season.

Parsons coached three All-America players in 2011, including Grode, Mejia and Chris Yoder. Grode also earned RMAC player of the year and Central Region player of the year honors, the fourth straight season a Metro State player took home the honor. Grode finished the season fifth in Division II in goals scored and the Roadrunners ranked 17th in goals per game and 44th in goals against average. Herschberger earned RMAC academic player of the year honors and was also named Capital One Academic All-America. T.J. Thiebaut was chosen as the RMAC freshman of the year.

The 2010 squad was led by Emory, who was named RMAC and Central Region player of the year for the second straight season and became the school's first-ever first team All-American.  The Roadrunners posted a 12-6-2 record, including 8-4-2 in the RMAC.  None of the six losses were by more than one goal and four came in overtime.  Emory was joined by defender Tyler Wilson and goalkeeper Issa Bissau as first team all-conference honorees.  The Roadrunners ranked ninth in the nation in goals per game and 13th in shutout percentage.

The 2009 team posted a record of 11-7-3 overall, including 8-4-2 in the RMAC.  The team fell just short of qualifying for the NCAA tournament as just two teams were selected from the Central Region.  Fort Lewis, which handed Metro State three of its losses, ended up winning the national championship.  Junior midfielder Steven Emory was named RMAC player of the year and Daktronics Central Region player of the year on his way to second team All-America honors.  Metro State's team goals against average of 1.14 was the lowest since 2004.

Parsons' 2008 squad featured three All-Americans as Kellen Johnson, Ryan Vickery and Ola Sandquist all earned All-America honors from the NSCAA and Johnson also became Metro State's first Daktronics All-American, earning honorable mention honors.  In addition, Johnson was named RMAC player of the year and Daktronics Central Region player of the year.  Metro State also had six players earn NSCAA all-region honors and a pair of players named first team all-RMAC (Johnson and Sandquist). The Roadrunners reached the NCAA Tournament for the third consecutive year and posted and overall record of 12-7-3, including 8-3-3 in the RMAC to finish as runners-up in the conference standings.

Metro State won the RMAC regular season title in 2007, Parsons' first league crown after three straight second-place finishes. The Roadrunners advanced to their second consecutive NCAA tournament and posted a 16-3-3 overall record. Metro State had three NSCAA/adidas all-Midwest Region players, as Phillip Owen, Garrett Sadusky and Kellen Johnson were all named to the second team. Sadusky was also named RMAC defensive player of the year.

The Roadrunners went 14-7-1 in 2006 and advanced to their first NCAA tournament since 2000. Parsons and Metro State advanced to the RMAC tournament championship game after finishing second in the conference during the regular season. Antonio Porras (first team), Mark Cromie and Shaun Elbaum (second team) all earned NSCAA/adidas all-Midwest Region honors, while five players earned all-RMAC recognition.

Parsons led the 2005 team to a 12-7-2 overall record, a spot in the RMAC tournament and a second-place finish in the RMAC with a 7-5 league mark. Porras was named second team All-America, while Porras and Cromie (first team) and Elbaum and Owen (second team) were named to the NSCAA/adidas all-Midwest Region teams. Five players earned all-RMAC accolades.

During his inaugural 2004 campaign, Parsons guided the Roadrunners to a 15-4-2 overall record and the RMAC tournament title. Parsons coached three NSCAA/adidas all-Midwest Region players - Owen, Danny Bills and Preston Borrego, as well as four first team all-RMAC selections during his first season.

Prior to coming to Metro State, Parsons was the head men's and women's soccer coach at Mesa Community College in Mesa, Ariz. While at Mesa, he coached former Roadrunners Ricky Fetherston and Nagui Sabbagh, and led the Thunderbirds to a combined 67-18-4 record in his two seasons. Parsons was named the ACCAC and Region I Coach of the Year for his efforts in 2003.

While in Arizona, Parsons was also the head boys' varsity soccer coach at Mountain Pointe High School in Phoenix. While at Mountain Pointe, he led his team to four regional championships and qualified for the state tournament five times (2000-04). The Pride compiled a 70-26-4 record and Parsons earned four Central Region Coach of the Year awards.

Parsons has also served as the head girls' varsity soccer coach at Cibola High School in Yuma, Ariz., where he earned East Valley Region Coach of the Year honors in 1997. His team posted a 27-16-5 record during his time there. 

He has served as the NSCAA South Central Region chair for the all-region/All-America committee since 2008 and has been on the NSCAA regional rankings committee since 2013. Previously, he also served on the NCAA tournament selection committee.

Parsons earned bachelor's degrees from Marycrest International University (Iowa) in 1993 with a bachelor's of science degree in biochemistry and secondary education, as well as a bachelor's of arts in psychology. While at Marycrest, he was a four-year soccer letterwinner and served as team captain from 1992-1993. He went on to earn his master's degree in secondary education from Northern Arizona University in 1999. Parsons holds a United States Soccer Federation (USSF) "B" license, a USSF "National Youth" license, a NSCAA "Premier" diploma, a NSCAA "National (Level III)" goalkeeping diploma and the Royal Netherlands Football Association Youth and Advanced Coaches Certificate.

Parsons' Collegiate Head Coaching Record