GREENSBORO, N.C. --- The Guilford College Athletics Department is pleased to announce the hiring of Dakota Rock as the 13^th head coach in the history of the Quakers women's soccer program, the department announced on Monday.

""I am very pleased to welcome Dakota Rock back to Guilford Athletics," Director of Athletics, Bill Foti said. "As an alum, he will bring a unique perspective to his work as our Head Coach for Women's Soccer. He clearly stood out from a very large applicant pool as the best person to lead our program to new heights in the ODAC."

"I am very excited to be coming back to the Guilford College community in this full circle moment, and want to thank Mr. Foti for giving me this opportunity," Rock added. " From the moment I stepped back on campus, I knew it was the place for me. After meeting the department and players I could feel how special the culture was. I look forward to getting on campus and continuing to grow the women's soccer program."

Rock makes his return to Guilford after spending the last three seasons at Millsaps College out of the Southern Athletic Association (SAA). Despite the team posting a record of 6-38-6 during his time at the helm of the Majors, the program made marked improvement year-over-year. MC's offensive numbers improved in each season over the previous one while in 2022, they conceded the fewest goals and completed their most shutouts in a season since 2009. On an individual level, eight Majors were named All-Conference during his time as head coach. Meanwhile, off the pitch, their team GPA improved each year, showing the culture of well-rounded student-athletes that he instilled.

Prior to his time in Mississippi, Rock had a trio of assistant coaching stops at Rhodes College, Otterbein University, and Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) rival Randolph College. His three seasons with the Lynx culminated in an SAA Tournament Championship and an NCAA Tournament berth in 2021 while helping set the foundation for a program that has three-straight SAA Tournament runner-up finishes since. Assisting with coaching the Cardinals men's team in 2018, he helped guide OU to an 8-8 mark in his one season there. Rock cut his teeth in the coaching ranks at Randolph. In his first year with the WildCats, in 2016, he aided in the program making the conference tournament for just the fourth time since the turn of the century and earning their first postseason win since 1985 and just their third in program history overall.

Rock graduated from Guilford in 2015 with a degree in Sports Management, competing in his final two collegiate seasons in Greensboro after transferring in from Washington & Jefferson College. He was a 2014-2015 Academic All-ODAC Team honoree and three-time member of Guilford's Student-Athlete Honor Roll. He then continued his education, earning his master's at Liberty in Sports Administration 2018.

The Quakers women's soccer program that Rock will inherit possesses strong positive momentum after posting four-consecutive double-digit win seasons and making the ODAC Tournament in each season and are just two years removed from their most successful season in program history, matching the program-best mark for wins and registering their best winning percentage ever.