4 Years • Career Record: 109-39-12 • 1 CC Coach of the Year • 2 CC East Division Titles • 3 CC Championships • 5 NCAA Tournament Appearances • 6 All-Americans
Sam Holmes is entering his fourth season as head coach of the Francis Marion University women's soccer program. In just three seasons, he has revived the program and made consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances for the first time in program history (2025, 2026).
In 2025, he directed the Patriots to a historic 17-3-0 overall mark, matching the best record in program history. Francis Marion registered a 14-0-0 record to begin the season, which was the best start in team history. The Patriots were featured in the United Soccer Coaches Top 25 poll in the final eight weeks of the 2025 season. FMU claimed the Conference Carolinas East Division title, earned the No. 1 overall seed in the league tournament, and made consecutive appearances in the NCAA Tournament. Additionally, Holmes was voted the 2025 Conference Carolinas Coach of the Year.
The Patriots featured a trio of All-Americans in forward Tehya Dave’, defender Alana Hunt, and goalkeeper Erin Grabeel. Francis Marion had five players garner United Soccer Coaches All-Southeast Region status, while Dave’ was named the 2025 Conference Carolinas Offensive Player of the Year and Hunt was voted league Defensive Player of the Year.
As a team, FMU led the country with a .750 shutout percentage while ranking fourth with a .400 goals-against average. Grabeel finished third in the country with 14 shutouts, and Dave’ ranked 12th nationally with 34 total points (13 goals, 8 assists).
The Patriots secured the College Team Academic Award from the United Soccer Coaches organization in 2025 for a third-straight year -- the 15th time in the past 23 seasons Francis Marion has earned that award.
Holmes guided Francis Marion to a 12-3-4 record in 2024, the Conference Carolinas East Division crown, the conference tournament title, and the program's third NCAA Tournament appearance. The Patriot program garnered a College Team Academic Award for a second-straight year. Forward Kristina Syragakis was named the 2024 Conference Carolinas Offensive Player of the Year and earned D2CCA First-Team All-American honors.
In his first season at FMU, he led a resurgence in the Patriot program. He directed Francis Marion to an 8-6-4 mark, a second-place finish in the East Division standings, and an appearance in the semifinals of the 2023 Conference Carolinas Tournament. He received the school's Frankie Award for Head Coach of the Year at the awards gala, and his squad earned a College Team Academic Award from the United Soccer Coaches organization.
Holmes came to FMU from Limestone University, where he has been the head coach for six seasons. He compiled a 72-27-4 coaching mark and guided the Saints to three NCAA Division II National Tournament berths (2017, 2018, 2022). Additionally, four of his five squads at Limestone earned United Soccer Coaches Team Academic Awards. His squads produced a pair of All-Americans and 13 All-Region selections.
He was an assistant coach on the Limestone staff for three seasons before taking over the head coaching reins in 2017.
He also served as an assistant coach at Minot State University in North Dakota for four seasons, during which time the Beavers registered 42 victories.
A native of Bexley, Kent, England, he earned his undergraduate degree in business administration from Flagler College in 2008 and a master’s degree in management from Minot State in 2012.
Holmes is the seventh head coach in the history of the 30-year-old program. Francis Marion has earned four NCAA Division II National Tournament berths (1998, 2000, 2025, 2026), with Holmes being responsible for two of those appearances. The Patriots competed as NCAA Division I independents from 2005 to 2015 before returning to Division II affiliation.
| Sam Holmes Head Coaching Record |
| Year |
W |
L |
T |
Win% |
Notes |
| 2017 |
17 |
3 |
1 |
.833 |
CC Tournament Champion, NCAA Tournament |
| 2018 |
17 |
3 |
- |
.850 |
CC Tournament Champion, NCAA Tournament |
| 2019 |
10 |
9 |
- |
.526 |
CC Tournament (SF) |
| 2020 |
6 |
3 |
- |
.667 |
SAC Tournament (Final) |
| 2021 |
10 |
5 |
1 |
.656 |
SAC Tournament (QF) |
| 2022 |
12 |
4 |
2 |
.722 |
SAC Tournament Champion, NCAA Tournament |
| Limestone Career |
72 |
27 |
4 |
.718 |
- |
| 2023 |
8 |
6 |
4 |
.556 |
CC Tournament (SF) |
| 2024 |
12 |
3 |
4 |
.737 |
East Division Champion, CC Tournament Champion, NCAA Tournament |
| 2025 |
17 |
3 |
- |
.850 |
East Division Champion, CC Tournament (Final) |
| FMU Career |
37 |
12 |
8 |
.719 |
- |
| Career |
109 |
39 |
12 |
.719 |
- |
