Born in Malaysia and raised in Walton-on-Thames, England, former Florida Tech men’s soccer standout Robin Chan is entering his 20th season with the men's soccer team at Florida Tech.
After 19 seasons at the helm, Chan transitioned to Associate Head Coach in Summer 2024.
Chan guided the Panthers to a commendable record of 147-114-36 over 19 seasons. Under his leadership, the team secured four NCAA tournament appearances, highlighted by a remarkable Final Four run in 2023. Additionally, Chan earned recognition with three Sunshine State Conference Coach of the Year awards (2011, 2014, 2022) and two USC Coaching Staff of the Year accolades (2023, 2022).
Chan’s four NCAA tournament appearances came in 2023 with a Final Four run, in 2022 and 2019 with Sweet 16 appearances, and in 2016 when the Panthers finished in the round of 32.
Chan’s coached 53 SSC selections, highlighted by two Defensive Players of the Year in Sam Sawyer (2016) and Luis Tovar Romero (2022), and 16 All-American honorees, highlighted by the program’s first-ever National Player of the Year in Sjur Drechsler (2023). He’s also coached seven academic All-Americans over various associations.
The Panthers were ranked in the USC Top 25 every week over two seasons (2023, 2022).
During the 2023 season, the Panthers finished with a 13-3-5 overall record, won the Super Region II Championship, and made their second consecutive SSC Tournament Final.
Following the 2023 season, Junior Sjur Drechsler was named the program’s first-ever National Player of the Year. Along Drechsler, Ettore Casadei and Iker Bastida were name USC All-Americans. Three Panthers earned USC Academic All-American honors, becoming just the second, third, and fourth players to earn the USC honor (Sjur Drechsler, Hugo Catherine, Ettore Casadei).
The 2022 season was a historic season for the Men’s Soccer program, as Chan led the Panthers to the program's first Sunshine State Conference Tournament Championship, the first undefeated regular season since 1993, and a Sweet 16 appearance in the NCAA Tournament.
The Panthers finished their season with 10-1-7 overall and 5-0-5 in SSC play. Heading into the NCAA Tournament, the Panthers earned the No.1 seed to make their 11th NCAA appearance in program history. Luis Tovar Romero was also named the SSC Defensive Player of the Year. Sjur Drechsler joined Romero as an All-American.
2019 was a banner year for Chan and the team as they amassed a 12-4-1 record and finished second in the Sunshine State Conference with a 7-2-1 mark. This record got the Panthers back into the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2016 and their first tournament win since 1993. Under his tutelage, many players won individual awards, which were highlighted by Guillermo Segovia's Scholar All-American honor. Additionally, the team had 12 all-region selections between various publications, and seven players were named to the All-SSC team, including the Freshman of the Year in Ellis Hudson.
In 2016, Robin and his squad posted a 10-5-1 (6-3 SSC) record, led by Florida Tech's first SSC Defensive Player of the Year, Sam Sawyer. Sawyer, along with Adin Kavara and Evan Enders, received various All-South region honors.
Chan, a former Florida Tech student-athlete, was a forward for the Panthers in 1988 when Tech captured the first of its two NCAA Division II National Championships (one of three schools in the SSC to have one title).
Chan joined the athletic department at Florida Tech after ending an eight-year stint with Melbourne Central Catholic High School as the head coach of the boy’s soccer team. While at MCC, he produced many successful seasons, including two state championships in 1998 and 2003, eight consecutive district championships, five regional championships, and five state final four appearances. At the end of the 2003 season, MCC was ranked #1 in the country by StudentSports.com.
Chan lives in Melbourne with his wife Ellie, sons Christian and Collin, and dog Scout.
