Alex Morais (more-AY-iss) is in his second season as the Head Men’s Soccer Coach at Catawba College.
In his first season at the helm of the Catawba’s men’s soccer team, Morais led the program to a 5-7-3 overall record in 2025. He guided the Catawba Indians to a season-best national ranking of No. 13 through September 16th after three straight victories over Francis Marion (3-2, 9/6), Mount Olive (5-1, 9/10) and Carson-Newman (2-1, 9/13).
Máté Kenyeres earned South Atlantic Conference Offensive Player of the Year and D2CCA All-Region honors after an eight-goal senior campaign. Kenyeres and Vito Venaría were selected to the CSC Academic All-District Team for their performances on the pitch and in the classroom.
Prior to Catawba, Morais boasted a diverse resume of coaching experience at the college level, ranging from NCAA Division I to NJCAA, most recently spending the 2024 season at Murray State College in Tishomingo, Okla. The Rio de Janeiro, Brazil native has also held positions at the University of Charleston, Lincoln Trail College and Southern Illinois University Edwardsville.
At Murray State, Morais guided the Aggies to their most successful season in school history featuring an 18-2-1 record, NJCAA Region II regular-season and tournament titles, and the Mid-South District crown. He earned Region II and Mid-South District Coach of the Year honors while three student-athletes were named NJCAA All-Americans.
Before his time in the Sooner State, Morais was the first assistant men's soccer coach at the University of Charleston for the 2023 campaign, fulfilling duties including game planning, recruiting, and serving as head coach of the UCWV reserve team. The Golden Eagles reached a national ranking of No. 3 en route to a 19-2 finish, collecting Mountain East Conference regular-season and tournament championships before making an NCAA Sweet Sixteen appearance. With Morais as the second in command, the UCWV coaching staff earned MEC and United Soccer Coaches Atlantic Region Staff of the Year awards.
Morais came to the NCAA Division II level from Lincoln Trail College, where he was the head coach of both the men's and women's soccer programs in 2022. After earning just three wins the season prior to Morais' arrival, the men's squad registered a 9-7-1 record. The women's team made a complete turnaround, going 8-6-1 under Morais following a winless 2021 season. Off the field, Morais headed a social media strategy that helped the teams' Instagram following increase tenfold in an eight-month period. Morais also oversaw significant growth in the classroom exhibited by the programs' 3.45 GPA and 12 NJCAA Region 24 All-Academic honorees.
Prior to obtaining his first full-time role at LTC, Morais spent two years as the graduate assistant men's soccer coach at Division I program Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. His primary responsibilities entailed assisting with daily operations, planning and execution of training sessions, scouting, recruiting, coordination of summer camps, and equipment inventory. Morais connected SIUE with multiple international agencies to improve the Cougars' footprint abroad.
Morais holds Division II experience as a student-athlete, playing soccer for two seasons at UCWV (2015-17) and three seasons at the University of Illinois Springfield (2017-19). He was a two-time team captain at UIS with 42 starts in 52 games played, making key contributions to help the Prairie Stars to their first three GLVC playoff appearances in program history.
Morais is a 2019 graduate of UIS, earning his bachelor's degree in business administration and management before obtaining his Master of Business Administration (MBA) at SIUE in 2021. He possesses a USSF B license with professional course certifications from Brazilian Football Confederation affiliates Universidade do Futebol and CBF Academy.
