Tony Galeano Returns to Lead CSM Men's Soccer Program

College of Southern Maryland Athletics has announced they have hired Tony Galeano to be the next head coach of the men's soccer program.

This is Galeano's third stint as head coach of CSM's men's soccer program. He previously was head coach of the Hawks for nine seasons from 2002-2011 before returning for another year for the fall 2017 season. He began his career at CSM as an assistant coach with former Charles County Community College (now College of Southern Maryland) men's soccer head coach Carlos Silva for two years before taking over as head coach in 2002. Galeano was also CSM's women's soccer head coach for the fall 2015 season after serving as the associate head coach with Adam Sanchez for the 2012, 2013, and 2014 seasons. He had a one-year stop with Prince George's Community College as men's soccer head coach for the 2018 season.

Galeano attended Charles County Community College from 1994-1995, playing for the Hawks when they won the Maryland JUCO championship both years. After his sophomore season, he was awarded All-Maryland JUCO, All-Region XX, and NSCAA All-Mideast team honors.

Galeano said of his return to CSM, "CSM is home to me and I have a very rich history there as a student-athlete and a coach. As a player and a coach, we were a nationally-ranked program, and I want to see the program get back to those levels. Mentoring and coaching student-athletes is something I truly enjoy."

"I am fortunate to say there is already a strong history in place," Galeano said of the CSM men's soccer program. "This program was once a nationally-ranked program from the 1990s-2011. The history is very strong and we want to put our program back on the map. We want our players to be good people that happen to do very well on the field. We want the community to know who we are."

Galeano wants to see the men's soccer program return to the level of prominence they reached during his time at the school, but knows that it will take some work to get there. "Our goal is to build a program that can compete at the highest level," Galeano said. "It will not be easy; we compete in one of the best conferences. We want to be competitive against the top teams in the conference and then go from there."

Galeano is ready to use the knowledge he gained in the past to help the Hawks achieve success again. "I have a ton of experience coaching in JUCO matches," Galeano said. "Our coaching staff have won some very big games and we have lost some. In our first tenure, we were fortunate to win 12 first-place trophies between coaching men and women, so hopefully the experience and knowing what qualities these teams possessed will help prepare us to be successful."

Galeano is a seven-time NJCAA Coach of the Year. He took 12 of his men's and women's teams to Maryland JUCO or Region XX championship matches. Fifteen of his teams were nationally-ranked, and five of them at one point were ranked inside the top five. He has also coached 16 collegiate All-Americans.

"The coaching staff will lead by example, working very hard on and off the field, and we expect our players to do the same," Galeano said. "We want them to be humble, dedicated to being a student first, and committed to what it will take to be successful on the field but in life as well."

After attending Charles County Community College, Galeano went on to receive a scholarship and play at Wingate University from 1996-1997. He was named to the All-Tournament team at the Nike Challenge held at Presbyterian College his junior year. After suffering an injury that season, he was able to shadow his head coach, Gary Hamill, and that is when he said "I knew I would coach college soccer."

Galeano transferred back home and received his bachelor's degree in mass communications with an emphasis in public relations from Towson University in 1999. He also obtained an associate of arts degree in arts and sciences from College of Southern Maryland in 2019.

After college, Galeano spent time playing in the USL Professional League and with the Southern Maryland Futsal Club.

Galeano's first experience coaching came at the age of 16 when he coached youth teams. He also coached travel soccer while at Wingate. He has 20 years of experience coaching youth soccer, including spending six years as Director of Coaching with local youth soccer clubs.

"I love every part about coaching, but I am most excited to help our players reach their goals off the field and help prepare them for life," Galeano said. "The best part of the job is helping a player transfer to a four-year school, or help them prepare for whatever career they choose to do. I am very excited to compete on the field and try to get the best out of our team."

Galeano graduated from Thomas Stone High School in 1994, playing soccer all four years while garnering All-SMAC and All-State recognition. During his time there, he and his team won two SMAC titles, three 3A titles, made it to the state semifinals in 1993 and 1994, and were a state finalist in 1992.

"I would like to thank the athletic department for bringing me back on board to a place I call home," Galeano said. "They took a chance on me when I was just starting out and here they are now 20 years later giving me another chance. I am very thankful. I truly hope that we build something the school, community, and alumni will be proud of."

Galeano currently lives in Mechanicsville, Maryland, with his wife Molly and their daughter and son, with a little boy on the way in early July. Galeano is also a physical education teacher at Benjamin Banneker Elementary School in Loveville, Maryland.