Martin Melchor - Men's Soccer Coach - Bowling Green State University Athletics

Martin Melchor

Title:
Assistant Men's Soccer Coach
Email:
mgmelch@bgsu.edu
Phone:
419-372-7071

Martin Melchor joined the men's soccer staff at Bowling Green State University in early August of 2022. In his first season with the Falcons, he helped the program reach numerous milestones.

BGSU went 6-5-5 overall in 2022, and the Falcons went 4-2-2 in MAC play to finish third in the standings in the league's final year. The Falcons navigated an arduous non-league schedule, then went 4-2-1 in the final month of the season, outscoring opponents by a 16-4 count in those seven matches.

BG's final MAC game saw the Falcons blitz Northern Illinois, 6-0, at Cochrane Stadium. The goal total was the Falcons' highest in a MAC match in over a quarter century.

The 2022 Falcons set a school record for fewest goals allowed in a season, surrendering just 10 in 16 matches. BG's goals-against average of 0.63 was the second-lowest in school history. Brendan Graves played every second between the posts, and his individual GAA (0.63, obviously) was the lowest since 1995.

Graves was named the MAC's co-Goalkeeper of the Year in 2022, with Joey Akpunonu and Sergi Martinez joining him on the All-MAC First Team. Six players were named to the College Sports Communicators (formerly CoSIDA) Academic All-District Team, with Akpunonu going on to be named an Academic All-American.

Akpunonu was named to the 2023 MLS Generation adidas class, and was a first-round pick (22nd overall) by FC Cincinnati in the MLS SuperDraft. Akpunonu became the first player in school history to be drafted in the first round.

Melchor, a standout player at Coastal Carolina University, joined the Falcons after a stint at UT Tyler.

"I could not be more excited to be joining Eric and the rest of the BGSU Men's Soccer program," said Melchor at the time of his hiring. "The program has demonstrated recently that it belongs among the best in the nation. After speaking with Eric and others in the athletic department, I knew BGSU was filled with people whose personal values and ambitions align with my own. I am beyond grateful for the opportunity to be joining the Bowling Green family and can't wait to get started!"

Melchor served a brief stint as assistant on the women's soccer coaching staff during 2022. Prior to joining the Patriots, he spent three seasons as head coach of both the men's and women's soccer programs at Jacksonville College in nearby Jacksonville, Texas, during which time he orchestrated a program turnaround for both teams.

Melchor led the women's program to their first ever national ranking in school history in 2020 and oversaw both programs' deepest postseason runs in school history.

"Martin's character and ambition are a perfect match for our program," said Nichols. "For a young coach, Martin has an array of skills and experiences that will undoubtedly help us continue to move forward."

Both Jacksonville teams improved each year under the direction of Melchor as the women's team posted records of 4-14 in his first season in 2019, a 7-7-1 record in 2020, and an 8-6 record in 2021. The men's side also saw a steady rate of improvement under his guidance, improving their yearly records from a 3-13 mark in 2019, to 7-6-1 in 2020 and 8-7 in 2021.

The success of both programs came as a result of an expanded recruiting base for the Jaguars that included the addition of players from all over the world. The majority of those additions also went on to compete at the NCAA Division I, II or III levels following their development and guidance from Melchor.

In addition to his collegiate coaching experience, Melchor also served as the FC Dallas-East Texas Director of Jacksonville.

A native of Jacksonville, Texas, he graduated from Jacksonville High School as the school's all-time leader in career goals (114) and went on to a successful collegiate career at Coastal Carolina University. Melchor helped lead CCU to three conference championships and four trips to the NCAA Division I National Tournament from 2014-2017.

A two-time All-Sun Belt Conference Second-Team selection at CCU, Melchor played in 82 career matches, making 41 starts. He had 49 career points on 19 goals and 11 assists with the Chanticleers.

Melchor graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Recreation and Sport Management from Coastal Carolina University in 2017 and earned a Master of Science degree in Athletic Administration from Texas A&M-Commerce University in 2020. He is currently pursuing a Ph.D of Sport Management from Troy University.