1/15/25
 
SCRANTON, Pa. – The Lackawanna College Athletics Department is pleased to announce the hiring of Craig Wilkinson as the next head coach for the men's soccer team, effective as of the spring 2025 semester.
 
"We are thrilled to welcome coach Wilkinson as the new head men's soccer coach at Lackawanna College," said Lackawanna College Director of Athletics Erik Larson on the hire. "Coach Wilkinson brings a wealth of knowledge, passion, and leadership to our program."
 
Wilkinson comes to Lackawanna after spending the previous three seasons as the head women's soccer coach at King's College in Wilkes-Barre, PA. Wilkinson was 16-25-10 at King's in three years, coaching four All-MAC Freedom conference selections. His first season at King's (2022), the Monarchs started out with six wins and two draws in their first eight games, the best start for the program in its history. He ended up with seven wins and four draws in 2022, marking the most games where the Monarchs did not record a loss since the 2013 season.
 
"I am extremely excited about joining the Falcon family," said Wilkinson about the opportunity. "I see nothing but positives from coaching at an institution like Lackawanna College. I feel like it's a great place to develop student-athletes, give them the necessary tools to advance in their college career, and to set them up for a great future."
 
Wilkinson has extensive coaching experience at the collegiate level, having spent nearly two decades coaching soccer. Wilkinson, a graduate of Nyack College in 2006, immediately hopped into coaching at Dominican College as an assistant for the men's soccer team. He bounced around from there, spending time at Suffolk County CC as an assistant, then was named as an associate head coach with Dominican, before taking an assistant coaching position at Centenary. His first head coaching spot came at Concordia College for two seasons in 2011. He's also had head coaching stints at Colby-Sawyer College, Medaille College, and at Bridgton FC and with the Bridgton Academy, where he coached soccer, was Director of Operations for the club, and was an admissions counselor for the academy.
 
"For me, the biggest thing about working in junior college is development," said Wilkinson. "I've worked at the junior college level before, and at the post graduate level, and I love the ability to help a student-athlete get better on the field and in the classroom as well."
 
"His dedication to fostering both athletic and academic excellence aligns perfectly with our mission," said Larson. "We are confident he is the right fit to lead our team into a successful future."
 
Wilkinson will be inheriting a Lackawanna College men's soccer program that has experienced unprecedented success over the last three seasons. After wallowing in mediocrity through most of its early run since 2016, the Falcons have won 17 games over the last three seasons, including a 4-6-0 campaign this past year under interim head coach and athletics administrator Danny Berg, who officially took the job a month before the season started.
 
Wilkinson's philosophy and coaching style will be one he believes can drive the Falcons forward and will help the program build towards the future.
 
"Our style of play will be aggressive, fast-tempo, and on the front foot," said Wilkinson on what he expects from his future squad. "We want to give the players here freedom to express themselves on the pitch, to take players on when they have the chance, and to see our patterns of play that will be trained on during the week. We want to be the team that everyone talks about!"
 
With the students returning to campus at the end of January, Wilkinson is excited to hit the ground running and get his team up to speed, while also hitting the recruiting trail.
 
"It's great to be at a place like Lackawanna College where everyone has the same goals and vision of the program, and wants to see the growth of the men's soccer team," said Wilkinson about his excitement to get started. "I'm itching to get going on day one and start recruiting. I want to make Lackawanna College men's soccer a draw for all students and to bring success to the college community."