UC Davis Athletics

UC Davis men’s soccer head coach Dwayne Shaffer continues to solidify his legacy as one of the most successful coaches in collegiate soccer, entering his 29th season in 2025 after leading the Aggies to their fifth NCAA Tournament appearance (1999 D-II; 2007, 2008, 2019, 2024 D-I). With a career defined by developing top-tier talent, Shaffer has built UC Davis into a powerhouse program that consistently competes for championships and produces professional players.

Ranked among the top 15 winningest active coaches in Division I men's soccer history, Coach Shaffer has cemented his legacy as one of the sport's most accomplished leaders. With an astounding 17 winning seasons at UC Davis, his program has become synonymous with sustained excellence. On September 12, 2024, Shaffer etched his name into an even more exclusive pantheon, securing his 250th win with the Aggies—a milestone achieved by only ten active Division I coaches with their current school. Now boasting an incredible 258 wins at UC Davis and 317 career victories, Shaffer stands shoulder-to-shoulder with the true legends of the game, solidifying his place among soccer’s all-time elite.

Shaffer rewrote the UC Davis record books during the program's early Division I era, achieving a series of program firsts that established the Aggies as an emerging force in collegiate soccer. In 2007, he became the first coach to lead UC Davis to an NCAA Tournament appearance in the Division I era - a feat he immediately followed by guiding the Aggies to back-to-back tournament berths in 2007 and 2008. The 2008 season saw Shaffer's team make more history, becoming the first UC Davis squad to both host and win an NCAA Tournament game at the Division I level with their emphatic 4-0 victory over Denver at Aggie Soccer Field. These groundbreaking achievements laid the foundation for the program's sustained success in subsequent years.

The program's unprecedented NCAA Tournament success reached new heights in 2019 when UC Davis earned another historic first - becoming the first team in school history across all sports to receive a national seed in the NCAA Tournament at the Division I level. As the No. 14 overall seed, the Aggies earned a coveted First Round bye and the privilege to host Second Round opponent Louisville at Aggie Soccer Field. This remarkable achievement not only set a new standard for UC Davis athletics but also demonstrated how Shaffer had elevated the program into the national conversation of collegiate soccer's elite.

In 2024, Shaffer's success and the continued dominance of UC Davis Men's Soccer were again apparent. The Aggies were able to secure their spot in the NCAA Championship with a 2-0 victory over UC Santa Barbara in the Big West Championship Final, clinching one of the 22 automatic bids in the field. It was UC Davis’ fifth appearance in seven seasons of making the Big West Championship Final. The Aggies' incredible run to the NCAA Tournament was further complemented by their representation with five selections to the end-of-season awards: Carson Hammond, Lucas Fernandez-Kim, Zack Lillington, Keegan Walwyn-Bent, and Cason Goodman.

Shaffer’s ability to develop professional talent is unmatched. In 2024 alone, three Aggies—Ethan Hoard, Ryan Dieter, and Sean Bilter—signed professional contracts. Hoard, who began his professional career with Northern Colorado Hailstorm FC in USL League One, recently made the move to Europe, signing with Serbian SuperLiga side FK Jedinstvo Ub. His transition to one of Europe’s competitive leagues underscores the global reach of Shaffer’s program and its ability to prepare players for opportunities at the highest levels of the game. Keegan Walwyn-Bent, a 2024 United Soccer Coaches All-Far West Region Second Team selection, recently signed with MLS Next Pro side The Town FC, joining a growing list of Aggies who have turned pro under Shaffer’s guidance.

The program’s most notable success story is Max Arfsten, a 2023 MLS Cup champion with the Columbus Crew. Arfsten, who earned his first senior call-up to the U.S. Men’s National Team in 2025, has become a standout professional, recording four goals and eight assists in 30 regular-season appearances for the Crew in 2024.

Shaffer has also played a pivotal role in advancing his student-athletes to international competition, seeing current Aggie Jason Hsu and former Aggie Derrek Chan represent Chinese Taipei in the Asian Football Confederation's World Cup Qualifiers this summer.

In April 2022, Shaffer signed a three-year extension that will keep him on the sideline at Aggie Soccer Field through the 2025 season. 

In 2021, Shaffer led the Aggies in their return to play after the 2020 season was canceled by the Big West Conference due to the COVID-19 pandemic. UC Davis went 9-10-1 and advanced to the Big West Conference Tournament semifinals, defeating CSU Bakersfield 3-1 in the quarterfinal round. 

It marked the fourth straight season Shaffer led the Aggies to at least the semifinal round, a stretch that included three championship game appearances.

Seven Aggies picked up All-Big West Conference honors under Shaffer's watch in 2021 with Maximilian Arfsten named the Big West Conference Offensive Player of the Year and Robert Mejia named the Big West Conference Midfielder of the Year. Jake Haupt joined those two on the All-Big West First Team, Max Glasser made the second team and Grant Fidler and Andy Velasquez were honorable mentions. Turner Humphrey rounded out the group with a selection to the all-freshman team. 

Prior to the Big West canceling the 2020 season, from 2017-19 no Big West team won more overall games than Shaffer's squads. In each year, UC Davis earned a berth in the championship game of the Big West Tournament and battled for a coveted spot in the NCAA's College Cup.

In 2019, following the program's third Big West regular-season title, the Aggies entered the league's playoff as the event's No. 1 seed and used that home-field advantage to earn their inaugural Big West Tournament crown. This marked the first time in program history that UC Davis won the league's double by winning its regular-season and Big West Tournament championships.

That victory led to UC Davis clinching the conference's automatic berth at the NCAA Tournament, a First Round bye as the event's No. 14 seed, and the first home NCAA Division I Tournament Second Round game in program history when the Big West champions faced Louisville.

Competing in an always-difficult Big West Conference, the Aggies posted the second-highest conference win total (61) among all Big West schools. During that span, they have 18 wins and eight draws against nationally ranked competition—including six results against top-10 competition—and victories over eventual NCAA semifinalists UCLA in 2011 and New Mexico in 2013.

Shaffer’s career has been highlighted by recruiting and developing top student-athletes since taking over the position in 1997. A four-time conference Coach of the Year (1999 CCAA; 2007, 2017, 2019 Big West), Shaffer has led the Aggies to five NCAA Tournament appearances—including a pair in the program’s first two seasons of eligibility at the Division I level in 2007 and 2008—saw two of his student-athletes become Major League Soccer professionals (Mark Schulte and Quincy Amarikwa), and another four—Ryan Shaw, Roy Boateng, Wallis Lapsley, and Nabi Kibunguchy—drafted by MLS teams.

Throughout his tenure at UC Davis, Shaffer’s teams have consistently competed at the highest level, earning 93 All-Big West honors, 32 All-Far West Region awards, and nine All-America selections.

In the classroom, men’s soccer student-athletes earned 16 Academic All-District awards, with five of those going on to earn Academic All-America honors. Highlighting that list is two-time Academic All-American Mustafa Chopin (2011-12) and a pair of recipients of the prestigious NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship in Academic All-American Matt DeJong (2000-01) and two-time Academic All-District award winner Brian Ford (2014-15). Also among the list of Aggie notoriety is Wallis Lapsley who represents one of just three UC Davis athletes ever to earn the prestigious Fulbright Scholarship since the Fulbright Program was established in 1946.

Leading the only program to make the Big West Tournament in each of the last 13 seasons—including a North Division title and an appearance in the championship match in 2012, 2017, 2018, and 2019—Shaffer was named the conference’s Coach of the Year in 2007 after leading the Aggies to a 12-5-3 overall record, a 7-3-2 mark in conference play, and an NCAA berth in the program’s first official Division I campaign, falling to Bay Area rival California, 2-1, after two overtimes.

The next year, Shaffer led the Aggies to a program Division I-record 13 wins and a trip to the second round of the NCAA Tournament, defeating Denver at home for their first postseason win before falling to No. 14 Michigan, 2-1, in the following round.

In 2017, UC Davis posted a league-high 11 victories overall and a 7-2-1 mark in Big West play to clinch the North Division title by seven points over UC Santa Barbara. In recognition of their accomplishments, Shaffer and his staff of associate head coach Jason Hotaling and assistant coach Chris Leer were named the United Soccer Coaches’ Far West Region Coaching Staff of the Year at the end of the season.

In 2019, the Aggies won their first Big West double by capturing regular-season and tournament crowns, competed in their first NCAA Division I Tournament home game, and matched two program records: most D-I victories in a single season with 13 overall (tying the 2008 squad) and five wins against Big West teams (2014).

Individually, the program earned a collective 93 All-Big West honors, including Offensive Player of the Year in Amarikwa in 2008, Midfielder of the Year Dylan Curtis in 2008, Goalkeepers of the Year Omar Zeenni in 2013 and Wallis Lapsley in 2019, Freshman of the Year Matt Wiesenfarth in 2011, and Defender of the Year Roy Boateng in 2017. The eight All-Big West selections and the three first-team honorees in 2017 were the most in the program’s history until the 2019 campaign when the Aggies earned 10 All-Big West awards, including three First Team honors.

In addition, Amarikwa and Curtis went on to earn Division I All-America honors in 2008—making UC Davis one of just six schools to have multiple All-America selections that season—while 25 student-athletes have earned United Soccer Coaches (formerly known as the NSCAA) All-Far West Region laurels since that season, an esteemed list that includes Wallis Lapsley in 2019 (second team), Roy Boateng (second team), and Nabi Kibunguchy (third team) in 2017. Curtis was also named a 2008 Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award First-Team Senior All-America selection.

Aggie Soccer Field has become one of the toughest for opponents to play in, as shown by a nine-game win streak the Aggies posted from Oct. 27, 2007, until Sept. 13, 2009. Over the past 16 seasons, Shaffer’s teams have posted a strong 77-44-23 (.616) home mark and were unbeaten at home during the entire 2008 campaign (7-0-3) and the 2019 regular season (5-0-1). The seven wins at home in 2017 matched the 2008 squad for the most victories at Aggie Soccer Field in the program’s Division I history; a total the 2019 roster equaled by winning five regular-season and two playoff games on its home turf.

In his career at UC Davis, Shaffer’s teams have nearly averaged double-digit wins and have compiled an overall record of 258-203-75 (.551). He picked up his 200th career coaching win on Sept. 8, 2017, against Loyola Marymount and his 200th win with the Aggies against Sacramento State on Oct. 29, 2017—both of those coming in front of the hometown crowd.

In the Aggies’ last six years in the California Collegiate Athletic Association, Shaffer guided the team to two first-place and four second-place finishes. In 1999, he led the program to a school-record 16 victories and the school’s first appearance in the NCAA Tournament quarterfinals in 23 years. That year, he was named CCAA Coach of the Year as well as the NSCAA West Region Coach of the Year.

The Aggies set a program record in 1999 by going unbeaten in 13 consecutive games.

In 2006, the university’s final year of the Div. I transition, Shaffer’s program proved itself worthy of collegiate soccer’s highest level. The Aggies won nine games, including a 1-0 victory over the year’s eventual NCAA champion, UC Santa Barbara. That win also served as a milestone for Shaffer—it was his 100th at UC Davis.

Prior to coming to UC Davis, Shaffer spent one season as the head coach at Dayton, where he recruited future MLS player Mark Schulte. Four more of his players were drafted by the A-League. Shaffer’s season at Dayton followed a three-year stint as assistant head coach at Clemson, where he helped guide the Tigers to a 47-18-3 record and second-round appearances in the NCAA Div. I tournament. On two occasions, Clemson was ranked the No. 1 team in the nation. At Clemson, Shaffer helped recruit and coach a total of nine players who would go on to play in the MLS. He also helped mentor the nation’s leading scorer in 1993 and 1994.

Prior to Clemson, he served four years as head coach at Santa Rosa Junior College, where his teams won 52 games. Shaffer coached two All-Americans in his four-year stint at Santa Rosa JC. He also coached the leading scorer in the state as well as the most valuable player of the Northern California region.

Shaffer’s standout collegiate playing career, which featured a .795 winning percentage, began at Santa Rosa JC, where he was named all-conference and led the team to a two-year record of 39-7-2 and a pair of conference championships. As a sophomore, Shaffer played central defender on a unit that allowed just seven goals in 24 games, including 13 consecutive shutouts. Following Santa Rosa, he went on to play two seasons at Chico State and helped lead the Wildcats to a 29-9-2 record and an NCAA Div. II Tournament appearance as a junior. He has also served as a Region IV Olympic Development Program staff member.

Shaffer earned his bachelor’s degree and his master’s in physical education with a teaching/coaching emphasis from Chico State in 1988. He enjoys fishing, watching, and supporting Major League Soccer. Shaffer and his wife, Lara, have two daughters: Shay and Skye.