By Loyd McIntosh
Alabama is used to seeing its native sons rise to the top levels of American football. However, area native Jarred Brookins recently reached an important milestone in fútbol.
A Vestavia Hills native and former Vestavia Soccer Club youth coach, Brookins was named head coach of the Oregon State men’s soccer team following the resignation of former head coach Greg Dalby.
Brookins spent the previous two seasons as an assistant under Dalby, helping lead the Beavers to the NCAA semifinals in 2023—the most successful season in program history—and their fourth consecutive NCAA tournament appearance in 2024. During his two years as an assistant, Brookins coached four All-Americans and six Major League Soccer (MLS) draft choices.
“I am truly honored and grateful to be taking over as head coach of the Oregon State men’s soccer program,” Brookins said in a statement released on the Oregon State Athletics website, osubeavers.com. “This is a great program with a rich history that gives our student-athletes the ability to compete at the highest level and embodies the values of hard work and perseverance. I am very proud of the work we have done over the last two years, and I am excited to build on that success in the years to come.”
Brookins was vaulted to the top position after an extensive, month-long process. In the end, Oregon State Vice President/Director of Athletics Scott Barnes believed the program would be in great hands with the former Vestavia Hills Rebel. “We are excited to have Jarred take the helm as head coach of the program,” Barnes says. “He has been an integral part of the team’s success over the last two seasons. His focus on player development and team culture, along with his experience and coaching ability, will put the program in a position for continued growth moving forward. I look forward to watching our student-athletes develop under Jarred’s leadership.”
In his first collegiate head coaching position, Brookins realizes he is under a microscope, leading a successful program at one of the nation’s top universities. However, Brookins says he is ready for the challenge. “The expectation is to consistently compete nationally, and that’s obviously a lot of pressure, but at the same time, that’s why I wanted it,” Brookins says. “That’s why great players come here. They expect to compete at the highest level.”
Brookins was a standout at Vestavia Hills High School and with Vestavia Soccer Club. He played collegiate soccer at Birmingham-Southern College (BSC), under legendary head coach Preston Goldfarb, and was named team captain in 2013. The son of Bart and Kathy Brookins, Senior Pastor and Family Pastor, respectively, at Fullness Christian Fellowship in Vestavia Hills, Brookins’ journey to the head coaching job at Oregon State wasn’t part of his plan after graduating from BSC.
Brookins got his first taste of coaching in 2014 while helping out VHHS head coach Rick Grammer as an assistant coach during college. He was on the sidelines for one of the best soccer seasons in school history, as the Rebels finished 25-2-1 and captured their second consecutive state championship.
Although he excelled as a player and enjoyed early success as a high school assistant, Brookins never seriously considered coaching as a career. After graduating from BSC, Brookins was a chemical analyst for Alabama Power and coached a youth team with Vestavia Soccer Club in his spare time. However, it wasn’t long before the coaching bug bit Brookins, and he realized this was his calling.
“I decided to pick up a club soccer team on the side, and, basically, at the end of year one, I realized that I really loved coaching,” he adds. “I really didn’t like working in a lab, and I had very little interest in going back to school.”
Brookins spent the next five years coaching for Vestavia Soccer Club, winning seven USYS Youth Soccer State Championships between 2014 and 2018, before transitioning to assistant coaching roles at the collegiate level. Brookins was an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at Mercer University for three years, helping lead the Bears to an NCAA Tournament appearance in 2019. He then spent two years at Davidson College.
Looking to take his career to the next level, Brookins accepted the assistant coach role at Oregon State in 2023, moving to Corvallis, Oregon, with his wife, Sarah, and children, Leo and Sophie. Despite being 2,500 miles away from his hometown, Brookins has come to enjoy life in the Pacific Northwest and is excited to begin this new chapter. “I got to a point in my career where I knew I wanted to be a head coach. I didn’t know exactly what that looks like, but I felt like I needed to see what the top level of college soccer looks like,” Brookins says.
“Over the past few years, my love and appreciation for this place and how I identify with it have grown immensely,” Brookins adds. “I couldn’t be more honored to step into a new role here.”
Oregon State opened the 2025 season in Corvallis, with a convincing 3-0 win over UC Santa Barbara on August 21, and notched a second victory with a 2-1 win over the University of Washington on August 24.
