Bio

Ryan Joiner has taken the Gulf Coast women’s soccer program to new heights in three short years, and in 2026, he’s aiming to repeat the massive success of last year.

The Bulldogs earned a berth in the NJCAA Championship for the first time in school history, finishing a win away from the semifinals. They picked up the first win at the national tournament for any Gulf Coast squad by beating Rock Valley 2-0 in the first game in Wichita, Kansas.

Joiner’s squad finished 13-4-1 in 2025, the program’s most wins since 2011. They went 9-1-1 in MACCC play, the best conference winning percentage since 2008. After tying for second in the conference, they advanced to the NJCAA Gulf South Championship semifinals before losing to eventual national champion Northwest Mississippi by one goal.

Three Bulldogs earned NJCAA All-American honors, matching the number from all previous years combined. Defender Millie Jebb-Geer and keeper Laurel Conley earned spots on the First Team, with Anna Katherine Thriffiley on the Second Team. Seven Gulf Coast players were named to the All-MACCC team, and Conley earned College Sports Communicators Academic All-American, the most prestigious of all such awards.

Joiner’s teams have won 32 games in his three seasons in charge, the most for any such span at Perk since 2010-12. The Bulldogs went 9-5-1 in 2024, advancing to the NJCAA Gulf South District quarterfinals following a sixth-place finish in the MACCC race.

His first season saw the Bulldogs go 10-6-1, winning seven more games than the previous season and reaching the 10-win plateau for the first time since 2016. They finished fifth in the MACCC after failing to make the playoffs the previous two seasons, advancing to the NJCAA Gulf South District quarterfinals.

Joiner, an Ocean Springs High School graduate, arrived at Perk after five successful seasons at East Central Community College and three state championships at St. Stanislaus.

He compiled a 37-22-5 record in his final four seasons at Decatur, including taking the Warriors as high as No. 2 in the NJCAA rankings. His team in spring 2021 finished 11-3-2 and second in the MACCC North, advancing to the Gulf District Tournament semifinals. The following year’s team made it to No. 2 in the poll and finished 9-5.

In 2019, Joiner’s ECCC team finished 9-7-1 and lost in penalty kicks to Jones in the MACJC quarterfinals.

Joiner’s St. Stanislaus boys teams won MHSAA Class 4A state championships in 2014, 2015 and 2016. The Rockachaws had a 57-15-3 record in his three seasons, and he was named Mississippi Coach of the Year three times by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America. He was also the Sun Herald’s South Mississippi Coach of the Year three times and the Clarion-Ledger Mississippi Coach of the Year in 2014.

Joiner returned to his alma mater in 2016, where he was the girls soccer coach. He led Ocean Springs to a Class 6A runner-up finish in 2017.

Joiner was a standout keeper for OSHS before playing college soccer at Meridian Community College. He was twice named to the All-MACJC First Team and the All-NJCAA Region 23 Team, earning NJCAA All-American Honorable Mention in 2006.

He started his coaching career in 2010 at Meridian before beginning his championship run in high school.

Joiner has a bachelor’s degree in interdisciplinary studies and a master’s in teaching in community college education from Mississippi State University. He holds a United States Soccer Federation B License, United Soccer Coaches National Diploma, and Level III Goalkeeper Certificate.

He and his wife Kylie have one daughter, Lennon Layne Joiner, 5, and Monroe Reese Joiner, 1.