Columbia College Athletics

John Klein began his tenure as head men's soccer coach at Columbia College on February 11, 2000. In 2012, Klein was appointed as the first women's soccer coach at the college. In just nine years, the women's squad has advanced to the national championships eight times and have picked up six conference tournament championships and five regular season championships.
 
In his first season at the helm, Klein led the Cougars to the American Midwest Conference regular season and postseason tournament championships. The squad finished with a record of 16-5-1. In his second campaign, the Cougars completed a 14-6-1 season, winning the American Midwest Conference tournament title and advancing to the NAIA Region V Playoffs for the second consecutive year. In 2002, the Cougars again prevailed as AMC regular season champs, finishing with a mark of 13-8.
 
In 2003, the Cougars made the program's first appearance in the NAIA National Tournament. Columbia finished the AMC regular season with a mark of 7-0. Despite falling to Lindenwood University in the Region V final, the squad secured Columbia an at-large berth into the national playoff. In 2004, the Cougars again scored the AMC regular season title, finishing with a record of 14-3-2. In 2005, the Cougars took a defeat in the AMC play-in tournament. In 2006, the Cougars advanced to the Region V semifinals and ended the season with an overall record of 11-7-1.
 
The 2009-2013 seasons were among the most successful in Cougar soccer history. After winning the American Midwest Conference regular season title in 2009, the Cougars went on to win the postseason championship and advance to the Opening Round of the NAIA National Tournament. Columbia defeated Midland Lutheran College 3-0 to advance to the tournament in Fresno, Calif. The Cougars finished the season with a 16-5-1 record. In 2010, Klein led his team to an AMC Tournament title after defeating Park University in overtime. They would move on to play in the opening round of the NAIA National Championships, before falling in overtime and recording a 12-6-3 record. Klein led the Cougars to a 15-3-1 mark in 2011, finishing AMC play with a 6-1 record, good for second in the league. Columbia enjoyed a historic year in 2012, earning a No. 4 national ranking and finishing the regular season undefeated for the first time in program history at 13-0-5. The Cougars finished as the AMC tournament runner-up and received an at-large bid to the NAIA national tournament, where they advanced to the second round. Columbia finished the year with an overall record of 14-2-6 and ranked No. 12 in the NAIA Postseason Poll. The 2013 campaign saw the Cougars finish as the AMC regular season runner-up once again before falling in the tournament quarterfinals to end year. In 2014, the Cougars advanced to the AMC championship game, but fell to Lindenwood-Belleville 4-0.
 
Klein led the Cougars to a historic 2015 season as the men's squad advanced to the elite eight for the first time in history. Columbia defeated Baker 2-0 to advance before falling to Lindenwood-Belleville 2-1 to end the season. Klein coached the Cougars to a 19-1 overall record and a perfect 11-0 mark in conference play, picking up the regular season championship.
 
In the 2016 season, the Cougar men’s soccer team produced a 12-7-2 record achieving the AMC Tournament title. This led them to the opening round of the NAIA National Championships dropping their first game to the University of Northwestern Ohio.
 
The following year, Columbia returned to the NAIA National Championships defeating the University of Northwestern Ohio and Baker bringing them to the quarterfinal match. In the competitive quarterfinal match up, Columbia fell in 5-4 in PK’s to Wayland Baptist. The Cougars completed the 2017 season with a record of 19-2-3 and an AMC Tournament Championship. This was the second winningest season in the history of Cougar men’s soccer.
 
In the 2018 season, Columbia finished first in the AMC regular season making it to the opening round of the NAIA National Championships. The Cougars finished with a final record of 13-6-1.
 
In both 2019 and 2020-21 seasons, Columbia took home back-to-back AMC Tournament titles while making it to the semifinals of the NAIA National Championships. In 2019, the Cougars gained post season wins against Embry-Riddle, Baker, and Oklahoma Wesleyan. Their only loss of the season came in the semifinal matchup against Hastings College, 2-1. Columbia produced the best single-season winning percentage in program history with a 23-1 record. Klein led the Cougars to a 16-3 overall record in the 2020-21 with post season wins over Sterling (Kan.), Northwestern Ohio, and Bellevue (Neb.).
 
Following the success of the men’s side in the 2015 season, Klein led the women’s team to a historic finish in 2016. The Cougars finished eighth in the postseason poll with a record of 19-2-3 and were crowned the American Midwest Conference tournament champions for the third time. With the AMC tournament championship, the Cougars earned a spot in the NAIA National Tournament and made a run to the quarterfinals before being defeated by the University of Northern Ohio.

Columbia finished with their best record to date in 2017 for a combined 21-2 record and an AMC tournament title. They made it to the second round of the NAIA National Championships grabbing a win against Siena Heights, 1-0.
 
From the 2018-2021 seasons, the women’s squad finished first in the AMC regular season, took home the AMC Tournament title, and made it to the opening round of the NAIA National Championship. In 2020, the Cougars obtained a 15-3-1 overall record.
 
In the 2022 season, Klein posted a men's record of 15-4-3, securing an AMC Tournament Championship, receiving an automatic bid to the NAIA National Championship. The Cougars fell in their second game 2-1 (2OT) to No. 5 Georgia Gwinnett. 

On the women's side, the Cougars went 17-3-2 on the year, posting a perfect 8-0-0 AMC record. Columbia was crowned AMC Tournament/Regular Champions while Klein grabbed his fifth AMC Coach of the Year honors. The Cougars advanced to the Second Round of the NAIA Championships, dropping a 0-0 (2OT) PK 7-6 contest versus No. 5 William Carey (Miss.).

Heading into the 2023 men's campaign, the Cougars produced a 13-4-5 record, taking home back-to-back AMC Tournament titles. Columbia closed out the year in the Round of 16 facing No. 7 Oklahoma Wesleyan in a draw of 2-2 (2OT) PK - 5-4.

The Cougar women took home their ninth-straight AMC Tournament title in 2023, accumulating an overall record of 17-1-1. Their only loss came to NCAA Division I Southeast Missouri State in their first contest of the season, falling 1-0. Klein earned his 500th career win in the 2-0 shutout over Benedictine (Kan.) on Sept. 2, 2023. Columbia finished AMC play undefeated for the fifth-straight year and have won 45-straight conference games to date. Coming in at No. 5 in the NAIA, Columbia earned a First Round bye, following with a double overtime loss 1-0, in the Second Round to No. 24 Benedictine.

Klein is currently the winningest men's soccer coach in Columbia history with a career record of 331-120-46. On the women's side, Klein holds a 195-48-12 record following 11 years of play.

Klein served as the assistant coach at Columbia College during the 1995 and 1996 seasons while pursuing a master's degree in business administration from the University of Missouri. 
 
A native of St. Louis, John played two seasons at Duke University (1983-84) before returning to complete his career at St. Louis University (1985-86).
 
Upon graduation from SLU, Klein played eight years professionally. He played outdoor (American Professional Soccer League) for the Colorado Foxes (1990-91) and the Miami Freedom (1992). His professional indoor experience includes time with the St. Louis Ambush (1992-96, National Professional Soccer League), the Kansas City Comets (1990-91, Major Soccer League), and two stints with the St. Louis Storm (1989-90, 1991-92, Major Soccer League).
 
John's wife, Julie, and their son John D Klein III and daughters Molly and Emily, reside in Columbia. Klein enjoys golfing and spending time with his family in his spare time.
 


Last Updated 1-23-24