Kurt Albrecht enters his first season serving as an assistant coach for Illinois State soccer.
Albrecht came to Normal after helping Lamar women’s soccer to a pair of NCAA Tournament appearances, two Southland Conference regular-season titles, and a pair of Southland Conference Tournament championships in his three-year stint with the Cardinals. The Cardinals posted a 35-13-11 overall record and a mark of 22-4-6 in the Southland Conference during his tenure.
His first two seasons in Beaumont, Texas, saw Lamar win consecutive Southland Conference championships in both the regular season and the tournament, the first time any SLC team achieved this feat since the conference's inception.
The Cardinals posted a 15-3-3 record overall and went undefeated in the conference at 9-0-1 in 2023, to earn a bid to the NCAA Tournament. The 2023 campaign also included a memorable 1-0 upset win over No.17 Xavier, marking the program’s first-ever win over a ranked team. Albrecht helped the Cardinals to a program-best 10 all-conference honorees, including first teamers Arely Alaniz (Defender of the Year), Alana Clark (Midfielder of the Year), Hollie Massey (Player of the Year), Nicole Panis (Goalkeeper of the Year), Cariel Ellis, Kaisa Juvonen, and Isela Ramirez, along with second teamers Caragan Childs, Trinity Clark, and Maddie Janolo.
In his first season at Lamar, Albrecht helped guide the Cardinals to a 15-2-2 (10-1-1, SLC) record overall and the double by winning both the 2022 Southland Conference regular season title and the conference tournament. Albrecht assisted Lamar to an NCAA tournament bid for the first time since 2019. The Cardinals recorded the best start in program history with a 9-0-1 record to open the season. Albrecht helped guide seven athletes to all-conference honors, including six all-conference first teamers (Arely Alaniz, Cariel Ellis, Kaisa Juvonen, Christine Kitaru, Nicole Panis, and Isela Ramirez) and one second teamer (Trinity Clark). Alaniz was named Southland Conference Defensive Player of the Year. Panis, who broke the school record for wins and shutouts, was selected as Goalkeeper of the Year.
Before arriving in Beaumont, Albrecht served as the head men's soccer coach at Millsaps College for three seasons. While there, he guided the Majors to the SAA Conference Tournament semifinals and coached four All-Conference team honorees, including Second Team All-SAA Brett Judd and Jacks Dowdy.
Albrecht brings a wealth of experience at the NCAA DIII and NAIA levels, which includes three stops in the state of Illinois. He is the second all-time winningest men’s coach in program history at Illinois College (2015-2019) and also worked as an assistant coach on the women's side at his alma mater, Augustana College (2008-09) and on the men’s side at Elmhurst University (2009-12). He helped Augustana to a then-program record of 13 wins in 2008. He also helped Elmhurst to the program's first-ever conference championship and an appearance at the NCAA Tournament. At Elmhurst, Albrecht guided goalkeeper John Reglin to All-American honors.
Albrecht worked as a graduate assistant and JV head coach at St. Ambrose University in Davenport, Iowa, from 2012-14 on the NAIA circuit. During his three seasons with the Fighting Bees, he helped coach the varsity team to their first winning season in five seasons, as well as leading them to their first conference tournament final.
A graduate of Buffalo Grove High School in Illinois, Albrecht played two seasons at DePaul before finishing his collegiate soccer career at Augustana. Albrecht has a master's degree in organizational leadership from St. Ambrose University in Davenport, Iowa to go along with a BA degree in Psychology from Augustana College in Rock Island, Illi. He also has a National "C" License from the U.S Soccer Federation and the NSCAA Advanced National Diploma.
