The success the Kansas Wesleyan men's soccer team enjoyed this fall might have surprised some. First-year head coach Ryan Palmbaum was not among them, though.

"I kind of knew that I could do it from day one," said Palmbaum who guided the Coyotes to a 13-4-3 record that included a 9-2-2 slate and third place finish in the Kansas Conference. "I'd been an assistant coach with the program for a couple of years and already had that base set, so I knew what I was getting into and I knew the expectations that I had."

He replaced his father Bruce as head coach in February and never looked back.

"I think part of it was I set very clear expectations from day one with the players, and we all knew exactly what our goal was, and we all knew exactly how we were going to get there," he said. "I think a big reason we were so successful was the relationships that I was able to build with the team, coach to player and also player to player. It was one of the most connected groups I've ever been a part of as a player or coach."

The Coyotes finished strong winning their last four regular season games and defeating Tabor in the quarterfinals of the KCAC Tournament. The season ended with a loss to Ottawa in the semifinals.

Palmbaum credits his father for helping to shape him as a coach.

"I think my dad and I are very similar in how we coach. I think he's one of the best coaches in the country," he said. "He's relationship based. He taught me how to connect with players in a different way than other coaches have and how to build belief in a program. That along with all my experience playing overseas and at different levels around the country."

There were numerous highlights during the 2025 season, but points to four in particular – the Coyotes' 3-0 victory over McPherson, their 2-1 victory over Southwestern and the 4-1 playoff victory over Tabor. KWU tied McPherson and Southwestern during 2024.
Palmbaum said the team's 2-1 loss to then No. 1-ranked Oklahoma Wesleyan in mid-October at JRI Hospitality Stadium was as beneficial as any match the Coyotes played.

"I think from a metaphorical standpoint that was probably a big high point for us because we came out of that game saying 'wow, we led the number one team in the country for the longest amount of time that any team in the country has this year and only lost by one goal.' After that we kind of had a new lease on life, a little bit in our belief in ourselves."

The fall semester was a huge success in the classroom as well as 14 Coyotes were named Daktronics NAIA Scholar-Athletes.

"We recruited a lot of smart guys; that's really what it was," Palmbaum said with a smile. "We supported them and helped them. The guys are accountable because we create a culture of accountability. I'm checking every week who's missing assignments, who's missing class. I have class attendance requirements. I don't care what your GPA is, I need you to be going to every single class and putting in effort. No headphones on and you're paying attention."

Palmbaum said 10 seniors will graduate and he anticipates 48 will return for the spring semester.

"That's high retention semester to semester," he said.

Partial credit, according to Palmbaum, goes to the developmental program that keeps younger athletes participating and engaged. KWU's developmental squad played 12 matches and finished with a 6-6 record.

"I think it's important because they're able to develop and play at a pace that we need them to," he said. "I like using the developmental team as what it is supposed to be – a way for you to develop and get to the varsity team. We had five guys that started on developmental this year and moved up to varsity and became starters for us. It helps because you can get fit, you can get playing time, you can play at a pace that you need to play and that's important. The varsity level is very fast and playing at the developmental level is that next step to build you up."

Palmbaum considers his first season a success.

"I think it went about as good as it possibly could have," he said. "I was lucky to be the youngest head coaches in the country (age 25) with 10 wins; I was the youngest head coach in the country with a top 50 team. I'm very proud of what we did with the team: best non-conference record in 13 years, best overall record through conference in eight years… We hit a lot of milestones that we wanted to hit this year.

"I wasn't too concerned with the record or the awards or anything, I just wanted to go out there be competitive and we were."