University of Cincinnati

University of Cincinnati Athletics
 Richard E. Lindner Ctr 2751 O'Varsity Way Cincinnati, OH 45221
Division 1 Ohio Midwest
Public Very Large National competitor
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Coaches

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Erica Demers

Cincinnati head coach Erica Demers heads into her second season at the helm of the Bearcats and is poised to continue to elevate the program following the inaugural season in the Big 12 in 2023.


Hired by University of Cincinnati Director of Athletics John Cunningham on December 7, 2022, as the sixth women's soccer head coach in program history, Demers has compiled a record of 54-46-26 in seven years as a head coach with the Bearcats and UAB


Demers ushered in a new era of UC soccer in 2023 as the program transitioned from the American Athletic Conference to the Big 12 in her first season. Cincinnati made its first appearance in the Big 12 Championship Tournament behind Demers’ leadership and picked up its first tournament victory after defeating Baylor 3-2 in the opening round.


She spent six seasons leading the University of Alabama at Birmingham to unrivaled success before becoming Bearcat.


Demers was honored as the 2022 Conference USA Coach of the Year following a 9-4-5 overall and 6-1-3 Conference USA record that featured a program-best 10-match unbeaten streak. The Blazers had a league-best six student-athletes named to All-Conference teams and the conference's Defensive Player of the Year in Asha Zuniga.


During her time in Birmingham, Demers coached the Blazers to 23 All-Conference selections, 16 conference All-Academic honorees and an overall record of 50-38-19.


Hired on May 22, 2017, Demers orchestrated one of the best turnarounds in the NCAA in her first season at the helm by increasing the team's win total by nine games and leading the Blazers to their most wins since 2004.


Prior to her tenure with the Blazers, Demers spent 12 seasons on Dave Dilanni's staff at Iowa and Grand Valley State. She helped lead Iowa to 29 victories, coached three All-Big Ten performers and 31 Big Ten All-Academic selections in three seasons.


At Grand Valley State, she helped guide the Lakers to three NCAA Division II national titles, nine GLIAC championships and nine NCAA regional championships. She spent her final two seasons as associate head coach of the program.


Demers started her coaching career at The Citadel, where she served one season as a graduate assistant.


As a student-athlete, Demers led Oakland to four-straight Mid-Continent Conference titles and three-straight NCAA Tournament appearances. She was a two-time First Team All-Conference selection and was named Conference Player of the Year in 2002.


Demers competed for the Canadian U-21 National Team and was part of the 2000 Canadian National Championship Team. In 1997-98, she played for the National Training Centre team and was a member of the Ontario Provincial Team for five seasons.


The Welland, Ontario, Canada native graduated from Oakland with a Bachelor of Health Science in 2004 and earned her Master's in Education while at Grand Valley State in 2009.

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Paul Babba

Paul Babba joined the Cincinnati women's soccer staff in March of 2024 and enters his first season at UC as an assocaite head coach.


Babba spent the last two seasons as the head coach of Bellarmine's women's soccer program. He has more than 16 years of collegiate soccer coaching experience, including other head coaching roles at Delta State, Bryan College and Kentucky.


During his two-year stint at Bellarmine, he led one of the top defensive units in the ASUN. The Knights ranked second in the conference in goals-against average (0.88) while tying for third in shutouts (eight) in 2022.


Prior to joining Bellarmine, he spent two seasons as an assistant coach/recruiting coordinator at Kentucky, where he also assumed the role of interim head coach for the final three games of the fall 2021 campaign.


Before heading to Lexington, Babba served as an assistant coach/recruiting coordinator at Elon and helped lead the Phoenix to a 12-6-2 season and the program's first-ever berth in the Colonial Athletic Association tournament.


In 2017 he was recognized as the Appalachian Athletic Conference Coach of the Year as he led Bryan College to its first-ever AAC regular-season championship and berth in the NAIA National Tournament while posting the winningest season in program history at 12-7 overall and 9-2 in conference play.


Under his guidance that season, the Lions also garnered AAC acknowledgments for Offensive Player of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year and Freshman of the Year. In his two seasons at Bryan College, the program accumulated nine All-AAC and 13 All-Academic Team honors.


Babba's first head-coaching job at the collegiate level came at Delta State University, a Division II program in Mississippi, and led the program for five years (2011-15).


He played collegiately from 2003-06 at Belhaven University, where he was a team captain his last two seasons and ranked third all-time at the school in points (92) and tied for third in goals (37). After college, he played two summers for Mississippi Brilla FC.


Babba earned a bachelor's degree in sports administration at Belhaven and a master's degree in athletic administration at Mississippi College. He possesses a USSF National 'A' Senior License, which is the highest qualification for coaches at the university level.


A native of Jos, Nigeria, Babba has a wife, Laura, and three children: Noah, Micah and Hannah.

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Rachael Collins

Rachael Collins is in her first season with Cincinnati women’s soccer after she was announced as an assistant coach in February 2023.


Collins joins the staff after spending the last two seasons in the same role with Erica Demers at the University of Alabama Birmingham from 2021-22. In her stint with the Blazers, the pair compiled a 16-13-8 record and earned 11 All-Conference selections.


Prior to UAB, Collins served as a volunteer assistant coach for two seasons at Alabama from 2019-20. With the Crimson Tide, she helped develop five All-SEC performers, including midfielder Reyna Reyes who played on the Mexican Senior National Team and was named to the United Soccer Coaches' All-Southeast Region Third Team.


Colllins spent two seasons as an assistant coach at UC Davis from 2017-18. In her time with the Aggies, she coached four All-Big West honorees. Collins was instrumental in the development of goalkeeper Alexis Smith, who finished as UC Davis’ all-time leader in shutouts and saves.


Prior to her coaching career, Collins was a standout midfielder for four seasons at Pepperdine University from 2013-16 after earning a place in the starting lineup in her freshman season. Her two-way playing style on the pitch helped lead the Waves to a pair of NCAA Tournament appearances, including a Sweet 16 berth in 2014.


Collins earned West Coast Conference Commissioner's Honor Roll, WCC All-Academic Honorable Mention and Scholar-Athlete accolades; while also being named a Maurice Hilliard Award recipient, which is awarded annually to a student-athlete that exemplifies the attributes of Christian faith, character and leadership.


Collins has a USSF D license.


She graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Sports Medicine degree from Pepperdine in 2017 and a Master in Sports Administration from Alabama.

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