Lumumba Shabazz Selected as Old Dominion Athletic Conference Men’s Soccer Coach of the Year

By Brian Laubscher
November 20, 2024

Lumumba Shabazz, head men's soccer coach at Washington and Lee University, was selected as the 2024 Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) Men's Soccer Coach of the Year in voting conducted by the league's coaches.

Shabazz led W&L to its eighth ODAC title in his first season with the program, tallying a 14-3-5 overall record, including an unbeaten 6-0-4 mark in conference play. The Blue & White is currently on an 18-game unbeaten streak dating back to a 3-0 loss to Covenant College on Sep. 7.

The Blue & White earned the No. 2 seed for the ODAC Tournament and received an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament with a 1-0 victory over top-seeded University of Lynchburg in the ODAC championship game on Nov. 9.

The 21st-ranked Generals opened the NCAA Tournament with a 1-0 win over Otterbein University on Nov. 16 and then played to a 1-1 draw with 15th-ranked Johns Hopkins University on Nov. 17 the following day. W&L advanced to the Sweet 16 on penalty kicks, claiming a 4-2 advantage over the host Blue Jays.

The Generals next face No. 20 Williams College on Nov. 23 in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. The advancing team plays the winner of a game between 17th-ranked Buffalo State College and sixth-ranked Dickinson College for the right to advance to the NCAA Final Four. W&L has progressed to the NCAA semifinals twice in the last three years.

Shabazz joined the W&L faculty in July 2024 after 12 seasons as the head men's soccer coach at Kalamazoo College. He boasts a 114-85-32 (.563) overall record as a head coach. Shabazz holds a Bachelor of Arts in history from Florida International University and an MBA from the Real Madrid International Graduate School.

If you know a W&L faculty member who has done great, accolade-worthy things, tell us about them! Nominate them for an accolade.