Adam Grant enters his third season as the Head Coach at Cal State Bakersfield in Fall of 2025. Grant previously served the Roadrunners as Associate Head Coach during the 2022 season. He took over as Interim Head Coach on July 25th, 2023, and eventually removed the Interim tag in Winter of 2024.
In his first two years at the helm of the `Runners, Grant led his squads to upset the expectations of the Big West Coaches' Preseason polls, which slated CSUB to finish last both years. Bakersfield finished seventh in Grant’s first season before the 2024 team played with a chance to win the regular season title in the final match of the season.
Grant's 2023 squad put together a nine-match unbeaten streak and posted the 18th-best Goals Against Average (0.824) in all of NCAA Division I. In two seasons, 12 `Runners earned All-Conference nods, including four First Team honorees. Academically, CSUB has enjoyed seven `Runners earning College Sports Communicators Academic All-District honors while 13 men have claimed Academic All-Conference recognition.
Grant came to Bakersfield after spending twelve seasons at Cumberland University in Lebanon, Tenn., including six as the head coach of the men's team.Â
Grant began his Cumberland career as a graduate assistant with the women's program, before spending one season as the team's assistant and two more as the club's bench boss. In five seasons with the Phoenix women, he was a part of two Mid-South Conference Championships, 77 victories and a pair of trips to the NAIA National Tournament. Sixteen female student-athletes earned NAIA All-American honors on his watch.
Â
In his first season with the Cumberland men, Grant led the Phoenix to a 2017 Mid-South Tournament Championship and earned conference Coach of the Year honors. He was the league's top coach again in 2018, leading CU to the regular season title. Grant mentored 27 All-Conference honorees and four All-Americans, reaching a pair of NAIA National Tournaments and winning 67% of his games on the men's side.
Â
Grant also served as the head coach of the USL League 2 side Tennessee Soccer Club since January of 2022, leading the team to a winning record in the club's first season as a member of the South Central Division.Â
Grant worked at the club level with Tennessee United and Nashville United Soccer Academy since 2012 and holds USSF C and D coaching certificates, as well as NSCAA Goalkeeping Level 1 & 2 associations. Â
Â
A native of Dublin, Ireland, Grant graduated from Pobalscoil Neasain before playing collegiately at Lambuth University, where he earned First-Team All-Conference honors as a freshman and was a Second-Team All-League selection as a junior. He completed his bachelor's in Business Administration and Sports Management at Martin Methodist College and holds a master's degree in Sport and Exercise Pedagogy from Cumberland University.
Grant and his wife have a daughter.
