Tafadzwa Ziyenge took over the women's soccer program in the spring of 2021, becoming the eighth head coach in program history.
Ziyenge, a coaching veteran with over 20 years of experience at the NCAA Division I and II levels, comes to Barry from Columbus State, where he was the goalkeeper coach for the Cougars. Prior to the Cougars, he was the head coach at Auburn-Montgomery for five years, the head coach at Arkansas State for five years and the head coach at his alma mater, Alabama-Huntsville for 12 years.
He has been a proven builder of programs, leading both Alabama-Huntsville and Arkansas State to the best records in school history at that point. At AUM, he helped the Warhawks make the challenging transition from NAIA to NCAA Division II.
Along with record-setting success on the pitch, Ziyenge's squads were also honored for outstanding work in the classroom. In both 2012 and 2014, the Red Wolves earned the Sun Belt Conference's Team GPA award. In 2012, A-State finished with a 3.599 team grade point average, the highest of any team in the conference. The team was also honored by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America for having the seventh-highest team GPA among all Division I women's soccer teams.
Before entering the coaching ranks, Ziyenge was a four-year lettterwinner with the Chargers from 1993-96. He currently holds, or is tied for, the single-game record for shots on goal (10) and the season record for game winning goals (8) and shots (72). Ziyenge is ranked third overall in goals scored, fifth in points and eighth in career assists. He is one of only six players to score 100 career points at UAH. During his senior year, he was named to the All Region first team, GSC regular season MVP and conference finals MVP.
Following his college playing days, Ziyenge played professionally in the Eastern Indoor Soccer League, where he played for 2 years with the Huntsville Fire. He finished the 1998 season as the club's second leading scorer. He also played in the USL A-League, where he spent two seasons for the Tennessee Rhythm.
A native of Marondera, Zimbabwe, Ziyenge holds his undergraduate degree in business administration from UAH (1997).
