Head Coach

Bio

After three years as an assistant coach for the Cowley College men’s and women’s soccer teams, Marcos Ribeiro enters his first season as head coach of the Tiger men’s soccer team after the departure of former head coach Ruy Vaz.  

Ribeiro joined Cowley College's coaching staff in the fall of 2022 as an assistant coach for men's and women's soccer. In his first season on the men's side, he contributed to the team having the most successful season in program history, reaching the national tournament semi-finals, finishing in the top four in the country, and remaining ranked nationally throughout the entire season. On the women's side, he helped the team reach the conference playoffs, finishing with a record of 9-8. 

This past season, he helped the Lady Tigers qualify for their first-ever national tournament after winning the first-ever Region 6/District Title. At the Nationals, the Lady Tigers won the pool play after upsetting the #2 ranked team; Cowley’s season finished at the Semifinals when the Ladies lost 1x0 vs #1 Iowa Western. The women finished the season as a top-four team in the Country, with a record of 13-5-4.  

The Tiger men were just as dominant in the 2023 season, capturing the Region 6 and the District Title. At the national tournament, the men’s team won a game and drew the other, finishing with a record of 16-5.  

This past season, Cowley made program history by winning conference and region titles before advancing all the way to the title game, where they lost on penalty kicks to finish as the national runner-up.

Ribeiro was born in Concordia, Santa Catarina, Brazil. Soccer has always been a part of his life since he was a child. Marcos left home at 13 to pursue a soccer career in Brazil, where he played for Concordia Atlético Clube, São Luiz de Ijui, and Chapecoense, among others. He also spent time in Europe, playing for Whitehawk F.C. in England and Rayo Cantabria in Spain. Ribeiro moved to the United States in 2018 to play for Johnson County Community College, where he was the team captain and led the team in assists in both seasons. He was selected as the team MVP in 2018 and Academic Player of the Year in 2019. Ribeiro was named First Team All-Conference and All-Region throughout both his seasons at Johnson. He received an associate degree in liberal arts and was named to the NJCAA All-Academic Second Team with a 3.80-3.99 grade point average. He finished his final two years of college at Baker University, earning a BA in Business and Marketing. Ribeiro was a prominent player of the squad at Baker, again leading the team in assists. While at Baker, he played semi-professional soccer with Sporting Wichita in the UPSL league, where he was coached by Cowley soccer coaches Ruy Vaz and Tanner Brock.  

Ribeiro previously coached at Sporting Wichita and is currently working to obtain all possible licenses with the US Coaching Education System. His family still resides in Brazil; he is the middle son of Ederaldo Ribeiro and Sirlei Maria Longo Ribeiro, and he has two sisters, Ana Paula and Julia.