Bio

Ruy Vaz begins his sixth season as head coach of the Cowley College men’s soccer program.

This past season, Vaz helped Cowley advance to the semifinals of the national tournament.

During the 2021 season, Vaz led Cowley to a school-record 18 wins as the team advanced to the semifinals of the national tournament before suffering its lone loss of the season.

The Tigers also captured its second straight conference title (10-0) and were Midwest District Playoff champs.

In his first year as head coach, Vaz led the Tigers to their first-ever national tournament appearance and was named the Jayhawk East Coach of the Year after leading Cowley to an unbeaten conference season (10-0) and a record of 17-3.

Year two under Vaz’s tutelage was one of the most successful seasons in the program’s history. Cowley repeated as conference champions, captured its first-ever district title, and won its first-ever game at the national tournament. The Tigers’ 15 wins were just two off the school record set during the 2018 season.

Year three was much of the same as Cowley captured another conference title and was ranked in the top five during the regular season. The Tigers advanced to the Region VI title game before having their season come to an end with a record of 11-3.

Before becoming head coach of the Tiger soccer team, Vaz spent two seasons as an assistant men’s and women’s soccer coach at Cowley College. In two seasons as an assistant coach for Cowley’s men’s team, he helped the Tigers to back-to-back second-place finishes in the conference.
Before getting into coaching, Vaz had a decorated career as a member of the Cowley men’s soccer team. At Cowley, Vaz was named the school's January 2012 and September 2012 Student-Athlete of the Month and was the college's 2013 Male Student-Athlete of the Year.
Vaz served as a leader on the soccer field and in the classroom. He was named the National Soccer Coaches Association of America 2012 Junior College Men's Scholar Player of the Year.
Along with the award, he became the Tiger soccer program's first two-time All-American and had a grade point average of 3.95 at Cowley.
As a freshman at Cowley, he was named a First-Team All-American and the Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference Offensive Player of the Year. Vaz set a school record with 19 goals and 41 points scored on the season while helping the Tigers finish the year with a record of 13-3-2 overall and 8-2 in the Jayhawk Conference.
He scored 11 goals and added six assists in 12 games as a sophomore as he exemplified the word student-athlete.
Vaz, who came to Cowley from Sao Paulo, Brazil, was named the Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference Offensive Player of the Year each of his two years as a member of the Tiger soccer team. He finished his Cowley career with a school-record 30 goals and nine assists as the Tigers went 25-6-2 during his two seasons at the school.
After Cowley, Vaz transferred to Oklahoma City University, where he was the Sooner Athletic Conference Offensive Player of the Year in 2014 and a First-Team All-Conference selection as he helped the Stars capture the conference title.
He was a two-time Academic All-Region and Academic All-American at OCU. He went on to have playing experience in Europe, playing for GD Braganca and Morais Futebol Clube in Portugal and Polimia Calcio in Italy. Vaz also played the PDL in 2012 for the West Virginia Chaos.

He completed a Master of Arts in Liberal Studies from Wichita State University and has a USC Premier Diploma.

Vaz also holds a national diploma from the National Soccer Coaches Association of America and received a Specialist in Strength and Conditioning certification through the International Sports Science Association (ISSA).

Sporting Wichita recently announced the hiring of Ruy Vaz as head coach for its first United Premium Soccer League (UPSL) team. Coach Vaz has been selected to lead the team through its inaugural season, which is expected to run from May to August.
He and his wife, Micah, have a son named Giovanni.
Vaz can be reached at ruy.vaz@cowley.edu