Southwest Mississippi Community College Women's Soccer

Mills is now head coach for the mens.  He arrived in Summit from Petal High School where he coached the boys team for three years.   A 2006 Petal graduate, Mills was the Panthers leading scorer as a sophomore and senior. Also in his senior year, he was selected to play in the Mississippi High School All-Star game.   Mills played in the Olympic Development Program (ODP) for three years while in high school and, in 2004, was named to the ODP All-Region III team.   After high school, he attended Jones County Junior College for two years (2006-08). As a member of the Bobcats soccer team, he was named All-State as a freshman and All-State and All-Region as a sophomore.   Mills attended and played soccer at Delta State University in 2008-09 before transferring to the University of Southern Mississippi for his senior year. He graduated from USM in 2010 with a B. S. degree in Business Administration.   He returned to Petal in 2010 and led his team to the district championship in his initial season.   In between his second and third seasons at Southwest, Mills realized his dream of playing professional soccer when he signed with Olimpia FC based in Moquegua, Peru. During his five months in Peru, he led his team in scoring with 32 points.   He is currently working on a Masters degree in Spanish and a Masters in TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages).   Zach Mills Men's Head Coach After three seasons as assistant coach for the mens and womens soccer teams at Southwest, Petal native Zach Mills is now head coach for the mens.  He arrived in Summit from Petal High School where he coached the boys team for three years.   A 2006 Petal graduate, Mills was the Panthers leading scorer as a sophomore and senior. Also in his senior year, he was selected to play in the Mississippi High School All-Star game.   Mills played in the Olympic Development Program (ODP) for three years while in high school and, in 2004, was named to the ODP All-Region III team.   After high school, he attended Jones County Junior College for two years (2006-08). As a member of the Bobcats soccer team, he was named All-State as a freshman and All-State and All-Region as a sophomore.   Mills attended and played soccer at Delta State University in 2008-09 before transferring to the University of Southern Mississippi for his senior year. He graduated from USM in 2010 with a B. S. degree in Business Administration.   He returned to Petal in 2010 and led his team to the district championship in his initial season.   In between his second and third seasons at Southwest, Mills realized his dream of playing professional soccer when he signed with Olimpia FC based in Moquegua, Peru. During his five months in Peru, he led his team in scoring with 32 points.   He is currently working on a Masters degree in Spanish and a Masters in TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages).  

Former Southwest soccer player Nicole Daigle Cooper enters her third season as the Head Coach of the Lady Bears program. Her promotion to head coach came following a three-year run as an assistant coach for both the Bears and Lady Bears teams.   A graduate of Destrehan (LA) High School, Daigle Cooper played two years for the Lady Bears before receiving her Associate's degree in 2015. She was an Academic All-State honoree as a sophomore. In her first season as assistant coach, 10 Lady Bears and seven Bears received conference academic awards, with some receiving national. The Lady Bears combined for a 3.22 team GPA. In her second year, the Bears combined for a 3.26 and the Lady Bears an impressive 3.41 GPA.  During her first year at the helm of the women's program, her Lady Bears finished with a team GPA of 3.34 while garnering 11 National Junior College Athletics Association Academic honors and 15 from the Mississippi Association of Community Colleges Conference.   Daigle Cooper then spent 2015-17 at the University of the Southwest where she played for the Lady Mustangs and captained the team to an RRAC Tournament appearance before graduating in 2017 with a Bachelor's degree in Kinesiology. She also received the NAIA Character of Champions Award during her time as a Mustang.   Daigle Cooper is also actively working for a family business in Destrehan in addition to her duties as a head coach. She is currently pursuing a Master’s degree in Human and Sports Performance from Delta State University. She is scheduled to graduate in the Fall of 2024.  She is married to fellow Lady Bear Soccer Coach Dalton Cooper.    

Former Southwest soccer player Dalton Cooper finished his third year as an assistant coach for the Bears and Lady Bears programs.   A graduate of Gautier High School, Cooper played for Southwest from 2012-14 and was a team manager before receiving his Associate's degree in 2015. He was an Academic All-State honoree as a sophomore. In his first season as coach, 10 Lady Bears and seven Bears received conference academic awards, with some receiving national. The Lady Bears combined for a 3.22 team GPA. In his second year, the Bears combined for a 3.26 and the Lady Bears an impressive 3.41 GPA.   After Southwest, Cooper attended the University of the Southwest in Hobbs, NM in 2015-16 where he played one season for the Mustangs. He was honored with the NAIA Champions of Character Award during his time at USW. He had been Head Coach Zach Mills recruiter since 2018 as an outside source while working in the private sector before joining the coaching staff.