Bio

Chris Handy’s Gulf Coast squad made the NJCAA Tournament for the second time in four years last season, and he’s reloaded the Bulldogs roster for 2025. It’s his 14^th season in charge of the men’s soccer team, and he starts the year four games away from the 150-win mark.

For the second straight year, Gulf Coast lost only one MACCC game, finishing as runners-up. The 12-3-5 overall mark earned them a trip to Huntsville, Ala., to play in the national tournament for the second time in school history. They lost a pair of one-goal games there, including taking eventual semifinalist Pima to overtime.

Handy’s teams have won 10 or more games in 10 of the last 12 seasons, compiling a 146-67-19 record during his time at Perk. Eight of his players from the 2024 team moved on to play for NCAA teams, and 14 Bulldogs have gone on to play at NCAA Division I schools. Five of his former players have played professionally, including Gulf Coast stars Guy Mizrahi and C.J. Smith.

Handy’s teams are also top performers in the classroom. They have won MACCC Academic Team of the Year, given to the men’s soccer program with the highest GPA, five of the last six years. They finished with a 3.54 GPA, and stressing the importance of academics helped get eight of his players from that roster to the Next Level with NCAA schools. The Bulldogs have had nine NJCAA All-Americans since he’s been the head coach, including keeper David Ruiz Ospina and defender Alexander Mink in 2024.

He’s also been a big contributor on the national scene. In 2024, he was presented a Letter of Commendation from the United Soccer Coaches. Handy, who has been a member since 2007, has been the Junior College Men's Scholar All-America National Chair since its inception in 2013. Under his guidance, the program has risen to prominence and has grown exponentially each year. Gulf Coast has had 14 players earn that award

Gulf Coast went 10-1 in MACCC play in 2023 to win the MACCC title for the second time in three years.

The 2022 team advanced to the NJCAA Region 23 semifinals before falling in overtime. That was a year after the Bulldogs won the MACCC/Region 23 championship.

The Bulldogs were MACCC South Division runners-up, then won three matches on the way to the title. In the championship, Gulf Coast tied archrival Pearl River, which was ranked third in the country, 2-2 after regulation and two overtime periods. The Bulldogs won a penalty shootout that stretched to eight rounds to earn the program’s first trip to the NJCAA National Championship tournament. Gulf Coast lost a pair of one-goal matches in pool play in Wichita, Kansas. Handy earned MACCC, NJCAA Region 23, and NJCAA South District Coach of the Year after his team’s sensational season, and he and his staff were named United Soccer Coaches South Region Staff of the Year.

Gulf Coast had previously made trips to four MACJC championship games, including the 2016 and 2017 seasons which saw the Bulldog blitz the MACJC South Division undefeated with an 18-0 record.

Handy wore both men’s and women’s coaching hats in taking the teams to the 2013 postseason and was named 2014 South Region Men’s Coach of the Year by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America.

Handy was the assistant men’s coach at Tyler Junior College from 2007-11, where the teams went 89-9-6 with back-to-back NJCAA titles in 2009-10. He played and interned at Florida International University in 2005-6, where he graduated with a degree in strength and conditioning. Handy also has a master’s in education in kinesiology from the University of Texas at Tyler.

The Austin, Texas, native played at Tyler Junior College, where he was an All-Region and two-time Academic All-Region selection. He has three children: Jazzlyn, 13, and Jaxon, 10, and Jayce, 6.