Kevin Kalish is an American

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

coach and former player who, as of 2018, was serving as head coach of the

Saint Louis Billikens The Saint Louis Billikens are the college athletics in the United States, collegiate athletic teams that represent Saint Louis University, located in St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri. The Billikens compete in NCAA Division I, Division I of the Natio ...

men's soccer team. He played professionally in the National Professional Soccer League.

Youth

In 1995, Kalish graduated from St. Thomas Aquinas-Mercy High School. During his four-year prep soccer career, Kalish was three-time All State as Aquinas-Mercy won the 1992 and 1993 State Championships. His senior season, he was the MVP of the Midwest Championship and a

Parade Magazine ''Parade'' was an American nationwide Sunday newspaper magazine, distributed in more than 700 newspapers nationwide in the United States until 2022. The most widely read magazine in the U.S., ''Parade'' had a circulation of 32 million and a read ...

High School All American. In 1995, Kalish entered the

University of Connecticut The University of Connecticut (UConn) is a public land-grant research university system with its main campus in Storrs, Connecticut, United States. It was founded in 1881 as the Storrs Agricultural School, named after two benefactors. In 1893, ...

where he was a two-year starter on the men's soccer team. He played defender as well as attacking and holding midfield. Following his sophomore season, he transferred to

St. Louis University Saint Louis University (SLU) is a private Jesuit research university in St. Louis, Missouri, United States. Founded in 1818 by Louis William Valentine DuBourg, it is the oldest university west of the Mississippi River and one of the oldest ...

. He finished his collegiate career with two seasons as a Billiken. He was a 1998 First Team All American. He graduated in 1999 with a bachelor's degree in marketing. In 2007, St. Louis University inducted Kalish into its Athletic Hall of Fame. During his collegiate career, Kalish continued to play club soccer with Scott Gallagher, winning the 1998 U-23 National Championship with them.

Professional

In 1998, the St. Louis Ambush of the National Professional Soccer League drafted Kalish. He did not sign with them. On February 8, 1999, the

Kansas City Wizards Sporting Kansas City is an American professional soccer club based in the Kansas City metropolitan area. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference. The administrative offices are located in downtown K ...

selected Kalish in the third round (26th overall) of the

1999 MLS College Draft The 1999 Major League Soccer College Draft was held on February 6 and 7, 1999 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The first round of the draft took place on February 6 with the second and third rounds on February 7. The College Draft was followed by th ...

. The

Nashville Metros The Nashville Metros were an American association football, soccer team based in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1989, the team most recently played in the Premier Development League (PDL), the fourth tier of the American Soccer P ...

also drafted Kalish. On November 16, 1999, Kalish signed with the Ambush. When the Ambush folded at the end of the season, Kalish moved to the

Buffalo Blizzard The Buffalo Blizzard was a soccer club that existed from 1992 to 2001 in Buffalo, New York. History The team was originally owned by the Knox brothers who owned the Buffalo Sabres at the time, and additionally by the Riches who owned the minor l ...

. On January 26, 2001, the Blizzard traded Kalish to the

Kansas City Attack The Kansas City Attack, previously the Atlanta Attack and later known as the Kansas City Comets, were an indoor soccer team based for most of its existence in Kansas City, Missouri. In its various incarnations the franchise played in the National ...

for Chris Handsor.

Coach

In 1999, Kalish served as an assistant coach with the

. In 2000, he moved to

Southern Illinois University Edwardsville Southern Illinois University Edwardsville (SIUE) is a public university in Edwardsville, Illinois, United States. Located within the Metro East of Greater St. Louis, SIUE was established in 1957 as an extension of Southern Illinois University Ca ...

as an assistant. In 2008, he became the Cougars' head coach. On December 6, 2013, he resigned to assume a position with the St. Louis Scott Gallagher Soccer Club that would allow him to spend more time with his family. On January 20, 2018, he was named head coach of his alma mater, St. Louis University,

Record by Year

*=2020 season curtailed due to the

Covid-19 Pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

References

External links

College player profile

Saint Louis Billikens bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kalish, Kevin 1977 births Living people Sportspeople from Florissant, Missouri American soccer coaches American men's soccer players Buffalo Blizzard players UConn Huskies men's soccer players Kansas City Attack players National Professional Soccer League (1984–2001) players SIU Edwardsville Cougars men's soccer coaches Saint Louis Billikens men's soccer coaches Saint Louis Billikens men's soccer players St. Louis Ambush (1992–2000) players Sporting Kansas City draft picks Soccer players from Missouri All-American college men's soccer players Men's association football defenders