Chicago, Ill. - Dylan Milkent has been named the new head coach of Illinois Tech men's soccer.
Milkent, a native of Wheaton, Illinois, comes to Illinois Tech after serving as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator for the men's and women's soccer programs at Loras College in Dubuque, Iowa for the last year.
Milkent takes over the program from previous head coach Marlon McKenzie, who accepted an assistant coaching position for women's soccer at Division I University of Denver after piloting the Scarlet Hawks men 's program for the last two seasons.
"We are thrilled to welcome
Dylan Milkent as the next Head Men's Soccer Coach at Illinois Institute of Technology," said Assistant Vice President, Director of Athletics
Usha Gilmore. "Dylan brings an outstanding combination of recruiting success, player development, competitive excellence, and leadership experience at every level of collegiate soccer. His passion for building relationships, developing student-athletes, and creating a championship culture made him the right fit to lead our program into its next chapter."
"I want to thank Usha and the rest of the search committee," said Milkent. "I am incredibly honored to be the next Head Men's Soccer Coach at Illinois Tech. This institution is a special place that blends some of the brightest minds with high-level college athletics. I could not be more excited to get started!"
Milkent's time at Loras College saw the program have its fewest losses since 2013. Additionally, the team earned five all-conference award winners, one all-region award, and ARC Rookie of the Year.
Prior to Loras, Milkent spent six years at Wheaton College as the first assistant men's soccer coach. During Milkent's tenure as Wheaton, the team won the 2024 CCIW Conference Championship while appearing in four consecutive CCIW conference tournaments. The Thunder earned the United Soccer Coaches Team Academic Award each year that Milkent was on staff. Under Milkent's direction as the Goalkeeper Coach, Hasten Biddlecome would go on to break Wheaton's all-time career shutout record in the 2021 season with 29 career shutouts while Mason Escalante would win the Goalkeeper of the Year award in 2023 and 2024.
Milkent also has club coaching experience with the Chicago Dutch Lions (USL 2) during the 2023 season, as well as with the Chicago Rush Soccer Club from 2015-2019, where he was the Director of Goalkeeping and Assistant Director of Coaching.
Milkent is a graduate of Glenbard South High School, where he was an All-Region and All-Conference player. He went on to play collegiately at Loras College. Milkent was a two-time IIAC All-Conference goalkeeper and earned a 42-4-4 overall record during his time there, while recording 24 career shutouts. Milkent led Loras to back-to-back NCAA Final Four appearances in 2012 and 2013 as the starting goalkeeper. He also made NCAA Tournament appearances in 2010 and 2011 and was an Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC) champion in 2010, 2012, and 2013, and regular season IIAC champion from 2010-2013.
Along with his playing accomplishments, Milkent holds a National Soccer Coaches of America (NSCAA) National Diploma and Goalkeeper License. Milkent graduated from Loras College with a degree in public relations and a minor in general business. He graduated from North Central College in 2016 with a master's degree in Leadership Studies specifying in Sports Leadership.
Milkent and his wife, Amanda, reside in Wheaton with their daughter Baylee and dog Leo.
Dylan Milkent