NASHVILLE, Tenn. (March 5, 2025) – Nashville Soccer Club announced today it has appointed Darren Powell as its new Academy Director. Powell, who has held multiple responsibilities at the Orlando City SC and Inter Miami CF academies including serving as Director, has more than 25 years of coaching experience at the sport’s highest levels and joins the Nashville SC Academy from Lexington SC of the USL Championship where he was Head Coach since 2023.
“Darren has a tremendous track record of helping develop pro player pathways within Major League Soccer, and he has played a chief role in helping grow future First Team players,” said Nashville SC General Manager Mike Jacobs. “We are very excited to have someone with Darren’s level of experience within the MLS ecosystem and throughout every level of the game here in the United States.”
"I am excited to join the Nashville SC Academy and very much appreciate the opportunity to work with the staff, players, and parents,” said Powell. “I am thankful to everyone involved in the interview process, including Ian Ayre, Mike Jacobs, and B.J. Callaghan, and for their insights into the Academy and the vision for its growth. We all look forward to inspiring and developing players on the club's pathway to the First Team.”
Powell, who hails from Nottingham, England, played collegiate soccer at the University of North Carolina Greensboro from 1991 to 1994, serving as team captain and becoming the first player to record more than 100 career points for the school at the Division 1 level. He began his coaching career with NCAA Division III Greensboro College in 1998, taking the school to three-straight NCAA Tournament appearances before returning to his alma mater and serving as an assistant from 2001 to 2004.
In 2005, Powell was named Head Coach at Division I Elon University. The Englishman holds the record for most wins in program history with 94 and was a four-time Southern Conference (SoCon) Coach of the Year award winner. He won five SoCon regular season and tournament championships while guiding the school to three-straight NCAA Tournament appearances, including its first-ever in 2011.
At Elon, Powell coached four future MLS players (Clint Irwin, Colorado Rapids, Toronto FC, Minnesota United; Steven Kinney, Chicago Fire; Gabe Latigue, New England Revolution; Dan Lovitz, Toronto FC, CF Montréal, Nashville SC), four SoCon Players of the Year, two SoCon Freshmen of the Year, seven Academic All-Americans, and 47 all-conference selections.
Following his time at Elon, Powell was named Orlando City SC Academy Director in 2014. From 2014 to 2016 he served as Head Coach for Orlando City’s U23 and U18 squads while overseeing academy operations. Under Powell’s guidance, the Orlando City SC Academy produced five homegrown players for the First Team and was named U.S. Soccer Development Academy’s most-improved Academy in 2015.
In 2016, Powell moved to the professional ranks when he was named the inaugural Technical Director and Head Coach for USL Championship expansion club San Antonio FC, leading the team to 59 wins in four seasons while founding and overseeing its five-team Academy program.
From 2020 to 2023 Powell served in multiple roles with Inter Miami CF, where he worked alongside current Huntsville City Football Club Head Coach Chris O’Neal, including Academy Director, Inter Miami CF II Head Coach (USL League One, MLS NEXT Pro), and First Team Assistant Coach and Director of Player Development. At Miami, he coached eight players who signed homegrown player contracts with the First Team, 30 Academy players who made their professional debuts (MLS, MLS NEXT Pro, USL), and 17 MLS NEXT Pro players that went on to play for the First Team.
Powell holds a US Soccer Pro License, US Soccer Academy Directors License, and United Soccer Coaches Premier Diploma as well as a B.S. in Leisure Studies Management from UNC Greensboro and a master's degree in Sporting Directorship from the Global Institute of Sport.
He and his wife Elise have two children, both of whom play soccer—daughter Naomi who plays professionally in the SWPL with Hearts and son Caleb who plays for UNC Wilmington and was with Sarasota in USL League Two the past two summers.
