Rafael Simmons, 2026-27 Barton Men's Head Soccer Coach

Bio

Rafael Simmons enters his fifth season leading the Barton men’s soccer program, as well as his third season directing the women’s team.

Program Success:
- Overall record at Barton: 61-21-10
- Conference record: 30-10-4
- 2 NJCAA National Tournament appearances (2023, 2025)
- 3 Region 6/Plains District Championship Match appearances (2023-25)
- 2 Jayhawk Conference Championships (2022, 2023)

Coaching Honors:
- 2 KJCCC Division I Coach of the Year honors (2022, 2023)
- 2025 United Soccer Coaches Junior College Division I Atlantic Region Staff of the Year

Player Development:
- 3 NJCAA All-America selections
- 3 United Soccer Coaches All-America selections
- 3 United Soccer Coaches Scholar All-America selections
- 5 United Soccer Coaches All-West Region selections
- 1 KJCCC Player of the Year
- 1 KJCCC West Defensive Player of the Year

All-Conference/Region Honors:
- 31 All-KJCCC players (17 First Team, 10 Second Team, 4 Honorable Mention)
- 26 All-Region 6 players (15 First Team, 7 Second Team, 4 Honorable Mention)

Since arriving on the Hill in 2022, Simmons has maintained Barton’s status as one of the NJCAA’s premier programs in the nation.

Over his first four seasons, Barton has compiled a 61-21-10 overall record and a 30-10-4 mark in Jayhawk Conference play while capturing two Jayhawk Conference championships (2022, 2023), advancing to two NJCAA national Tournaments and reaching the Region 6/Plains District Championship matches in three consecutive seasons.

Barton has also flourished individually under Simmons. During his tenure, the Cougars have produced three NJCAA All-America’s, three United Soccer Coaches All-America’s, five United Soccer Coaches Scholar All-America’s, a conference Player of the Year, a conference Defensive Player of the Year and more than two dozen All-KJCCC and All-Region 6 selections.

The 2025 season saw Barton return to the NJCAA National Tournament after a 17-5-2 campaign. Simmons and his staff earned United Soccer Coaches Junior College Division I Atlantic Region Staff of the year honors while the Cougars produced one NJCAA All-America, three United Soccer Coaches All-America’s and seven All-KJCCC/Region 6 selections.

Simmons arrived at Barton after spending two seasons with Tulsa Soccer Club as the Director of the Elite Clubs National League (ECNL) Regional League while coaching two elite club teams. He also served as an assistant coach for Tulsa SC of the Women’s Premier Soccer League (WPSL), helping the club capture the 2021 Red River Conference North championship. During his time with the club, four players were selected in the National Women’s Soccer League Draft.

Prior to Tulsa, Simmons spent five seasons as head coach at Neosho County Community College, where he led the men’s program to the 2017 Jayhawk East Conference championship and a No. 5 national ranking while compiling a 57-35-3 overall record.

Simmons also revitalized the Neosho women’s program, ending a 37-match winless streak and guiding the Panthers to the program’s first national ranking within three seasons. During five seasons at Neosho, he coached 28 All-Conference selections, 13 All-Region honorees and 11 Scholar All-America’s while helping more than 30 student-athletes transfer to four-year institutions.

In addition to his collegiate responsibilities, Simmons served as an assistant coach for Ozarks FC of the National Premier Soccer League during the 2017 season.

Simmons began his collegiate coaching career at Prince of Peace College Preparatory in Clinton, Iowa, before joining Dakota Wesleyan University. At Dakota Wesleyan, he helped the Tigers to their first winning season in a decade while working primarily with the defensive unit and goalkeepers. During his time there, Simmons also served as head coach of Dakota Alliance Soccer Club and coached within the Dakota Olympic Development Program.

A native of Nova Friburgo, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Simmons moved to Bristol, England at age 10, where he developed in the Bristol City FC academy before competing for Bristol Manor Farm FC. He later moved to the United States to continue his playing career, earning two All-Region selections at Crowder College before receiving All-Conference honors at Ashford University.

He holds a United Soccer Coaches Premier Diploma and a United States Soccer Federation (USSF) B License.

Simmons is fluent in English and Portuguese. He and his wife, Sarah, an assistant coach for the Barton volleyball program, have two sets of twins: Mikael and Mylah, and Annika and Avery.