Troy Lesesne

Head Coach

Lesesne started his coaching career in 2005 when he joined the College of Charleston in NCAA Division I as their assistant coach. Lesesne spent 10 years with the College of Charleston Cougars, compiling an 82-76-14 record and was selected to the United Soccer Coaches NCAA “Top 30 Under 30” coaches' program in 2013. Lesesne was then hired by the Vancouver Whitecaps to be an assistant coach with the Charleston Battery as part of their MLS/USL affiliation in 2014. He helped the Battery finish fifth in the regular season and earned them a playoff spot before being named the first assistant coach for the newly expanded USL Championship team, Charlotte Independence in 2015. Lesesne spent four years with Charlotte Independence, qualifying for the Round of 16 in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup in their inaugural season and making back-to-back playoff appearances in 2016 and 2017. Then in 2018, Lesesne was announced as the first Head Coach and Technical Director of the USL Championship expansion club, New Mexico United. In three seasons, Lesesne led New Mexico United to a 34-25-29 record with two playoff appearances and reached the quarterfinals of the 2019 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, defeating the Colorado Rapids and FC Dallas. Lesesne was named the 2020 USL Co-Coach of the Year after helping New Mexico secure its first playoff win in club history. He led the club to a third winning season in 2021, while helping launch the Diversity Fellowship Program and a fully-funded youth academy, which produced its first homegrown signing in Cristian Nava. On Jan. 25, 2022, Lesesne ascended to the MLS and joined the New York Red Bulls as an assistant coach.

Lesesne achieved his U.S. Pro Coaching License in 2020 and holds a Bachelor and Master of Arts in Communication from the College of Charleston.