Will Thomsen enters his first year as head coach of the Guilford College men's soccer program in 2025, after being promoted into the interim role in July of 2025 after serving as the assistant coach of the Quakers men's soccer program for three seasons prior.
Featuring over 15 years of coaching experience at the collegiate, club, and youth soccer levels, Thomson has spent the last three years with the Quakers as the top assistant on Mike Bair’s coaching staff. A standout first season saw Guilford go 6-8-4 in their initial season heading GC, with their 4-5-1 record in league play being good for an ODAC Tournament berth on the back of a massive upset victory over No. 7/9 nationally ranked Washington & Lee University in the final game of the regular season. With much of that roster graduating at that season’s conclusion, Guilford has spent the last two seasons rebuilding with a young core of contributors, many of whom are becoming upperclassmen.
This stands as Thomsen’s second stint as head coach with the interim tag, after also doing so from 2014 to 2015 at the conclusion of a highly successful four-year stint at Greensboro College. The strength and conditioning coach, as well as the men’s soccer assistant coach on the staff of John Trice beginning in 2011, the Pride went 4-7-5 in his first season before exploding into a contender in the USA South the following season. Going 11-5-4 in 2012, it was the first of what would extend to eight-consecutive seasons with double-digit wins for the program, a streak that extended beyond Thomsen’s tenure with the college, thanks in part to the recruiting classes he helped bring in. Greensboro then claimed their first USA South Tournament Championship and NCAA Tournament appearance since 2007 in 2013 with a 13-6-2 campaign, following that up with a 12-7-0 season in 2014 in which the Pride captured their first USA South Regular Season Title in over a decade with a 9-1-0 mark in league play. Cumulatively, the green and white went 40-25-11 during Thomson’s tenure, dominating their home pitch with a 20-4-6 mark, while producing 24 USA South All-Conference recipients, 32 USA South Academic All-Conference honorees, and a quartet of NSCAA All-Region picks.
In addition to his role at Guilford, Thomsen has spent the last few years heading the coaching staff with the MLS Next Academy team, Carolina Core FC. That serves as just the tip of the iceberg of his club coaching background, having also served in various roles with North Carolina Fusion GSO (formerly G.U.S.A.), including Head Coach from 2015 through 2020, and Director of Coaches for U11-U14 Boys from 2017 to 2020, as well as with the Burlington Soccer Club, Greensboro United Soccer Association, and North Carolina Olympic Development Program. From 2020 through 2021, he also spent time as the Interim Sports Director with the Jamestown Youth League.
Earning his Master of Science in Sports Medicine from Armstrong State University, now Georgia Southern University (Savannah), with a concentration in Strength and Conditioning in 2010, he is a member of the Radford University class of 2008, getting his degree in Exercise Sport and Health Education. A five-year member of the roster, Thomsen was a four-year contributor with the Division-I Highlanders, appearing in 60 career games in the midfield, scoring four goals with one assist.
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