FORT MYERS, Fla. – Florida Gulf Coast women's soccer head coach Jim Blankenship announced the addition of assistant coach Austin O'Connor on Tuesday. O'Connor will serve as the goalkeepers coach after most recently holding the same position at Florida. He will also assist with recruiting, player development and opponent scouting at FGCU.

"We are very excited to add Austin to our staff," Blankenship said. "He brings diverse experience from every level of the game, including most recently at the SEC level. His commitment to fostering a positive student athlete environment and developing players will fit in perfectly with our program. He is also an elite recruiter and will be a massive asset in our efforts to attract top players to FGCU!"

"I am so grateful to be joining the program at FGCU," O'Connor said. "I have long admired the incredible job Coach Blankenship and his staff have done throughout the years. They have consistently competed for championships, helped players graduate, and guided young women to grow into outstanding members of their community. I will give everything I have in pursuit of this continued excellence and I can't wait to get started!"

O'Connor was the goalkeepers coach at Florida for three years. During those seasons, he oversaw 22 shutouts, including nine in SEC play. The Gators earned a pair of ranked wins during his tenure, 2-1 over No. 12 Mississippi State in 2025 and 2-1 over No. 22 Texas in 2024. He helped Florida to five ranked SEC ties, including against No. 4 Tennessee and No. 17 Georgia in 2025, No. 20 Kentucky in 2024, No. 13 South Carolina in 2023 and No. 15 South Carolina in 2025.

O'Connor coached Paloma Peña to a National Player of the Week nod and a  pair of SEC Player of the Week honors. Alexa Goldberg earned an SEC Player of the Week recognition under his tutelage.

Prior to his time at Florida, O'Connor was a women's soccer assistant coach at Marshall from February 2020 to February 2023, helping the team advance to the conference tournament and win a match for the first time since 2015. O'Connor served as a goalkeeper coach, recruiting coordinator and camp director for the Thundering Herd.

Prior to his collegiate coaching experience, O'Connor worked at Jacksonville Armada Youth Academy as the Ponte Vedra Armada director of coaching from 2019-2020. He built the curriculum and provided education for all coaches in the academy. O'Connor oversaw all boys and girls teams based out of Ponte Vedra for the Armada, running camps, tournaments, clinics and any events hosted by the club. O'Connor also performed similar duties as the South Campus Academy director for Jacksonville Armada Youth Academy from 2017-2019.

O'Connor was a staff coach at Pro Sports Pathway Center of Excellence in 2017. He coached players with goals to improve the technical, tactical, physical and psychological part of soccer. This program is for athletes hoping to pursue soccer at the highest level. Several alumni of the program are at Orlando City Youth Soccer, Florida Elite Soccer Academy and Jacksonville FC.

His coaching career began at Ponte Vedra Soccer Club in 2015, managing the girls technical training at the club.

From 2012-2014, O'Connor assisted youth in his area by working for Premier Soccer Development. Here he aided in managing training clinics for athletes involved with Ponte Vedra Soccer Club, Jacksonville Football Club, Jacksonville Youth Soccer Club and Creeks Krush. O'Connor also offered private lessons for athletes in the area.

As a student-athlete, O'Connor played at Flagler College from 2011-2014. He aided Flagler to the 2011 NCAA Quarterfinals, the 2011 Regional Championship and sweeping the 2011 Peach Belt Conference tournament and regular-season titles. The Saints were a 2012 NCAA Regional Semifinalist and advanced to the 2013 NCAA Regional Quarterfinals. O'Connor was named the Flagler Athletics Comeback Player of the Year in 2014.

He spent his freshman season at Gardner-Webb University. The Runnin' Bulldogs advanced to the semifinals of the 2010 Big South Tournament.

For more information on FGCU women's soccer, follow @FGCU_WSoccer on Instagram, X (Twitter) and Facebook, and visit fgcuathletics.com.