LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Matt Cannady will be promoted to head coach of the Bellarmine University men's soccer team at the conclusion of the 2025 season, director of athletics Scott Wiegandt announced Thursday.

Cannady will succeed Tim Chastonay, who on Tuesday announced his impending retirement from coaching after 28 years at the helm of Bellarmine and who will be transitioning to a new role at the university as the athletic department's Senior Associate AD.

In addition to Cannady's appointment to the head position, Nate Sego will be promoted to full-time assistant coach.

Cannady has been Bellarmine's full-time assistant since the fall of 2021. A former player at Bellarmine, he was previously an assistant coach under Chastonay in 2013 and 2014 before embarking on successful stints as an assistant at Virginia Commonwealth University (2015-19) and SIU Edwardsville (spring 2021).

"Matt played here, has worked extensively and exhaustively under Tim Chastonay and in between gained further experience through his time spent coaching at VCU and SIU Edwardsville," Wiegandt said. "Matt has established that he's ready to take the next step and take ownership of the program while continuing to allow it to succeed."

Cannady helped lead Bellarmine to an ASUN Tournament berth in each of his previous four seasons with the program, three of which the Knights made the semifinals or advanced further. BU has earned three All-Region, two ASUN superlative, nine All-ASUN, five ASUN All-Freshman Team and eight Academic All-ASUN Team honors in his second go-around with the program.

"Being part of this journey as a player, then coaching alongside Tim, and now getting the chance to lead the program — it's really been a full-circle moment and something I don't take for granted," Cannady said. "As an alum, this program means a lot to me. I'm still close with several former teammates and alumni, and I want to make sure the efforts that all alumni put in over the years continue to be honored and represented the right way. I'm incredibly grateful for everything Tim has done for me, and I'm excited and humbled to carry on what he's built. I also want to thank Scott Wiegandt for his faith in me that I can continue the rich tradition of the program."

In 2023, Bellarmine made its first-ever appearance in the ASUN Tournament finals after earning the two-seed and defeating Stetson 3-2 in double overtime in the semifinals. The Knights in 2022 posted their first winning record (6-4-8) in the D1 era, and in 2021 they spent five weeks in the United Soccer Coaches' Atlantic Region rankings.

"I am excited to see Matt take over as head coach," Chastonay said. "As a former player here and assistant, it keeps things in the Bellarmine Soccer Family. He has been a graduate assistant, volunteer, second assistant and top assistant at his stops. He has learned a great deal about running a program and is so ready for this opportunity. Our players are lucky to have someone with his knowledge and experience in charge. I could not think of a better person to lead the program to new heights."

Prior to his return to Bellarmine, Cannady helped SIU Edwardsville crack the top 25 for the first time since 2016 as the Cougars raced out to a 4-0 start. Before that, he started his five-year tenure at VCU by helping guide the Rams to three consecutive appearances in the Atlantic 10 Tournament title game. In the latter season, 2017, VCU earned the No. 16 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament.

Cannady helped push VCU to an A10 regular-season championship in 2018 after the Rams posted a 6-1-1 conference record for the second consecutive season. Over his five years with the program, VCU built a 27-9-7 record in conference play. The Rams also reached double digits in total wins in 2017 and 2018 with 12 and 10 victories, respectively, while producing two All-Americans (Rafael Andrade Santos, Ulrik Edvardsen), seven All-Region performers, two conference Players of the Year (Santos, Siad Haji) and 29 All-Conference recipients.

Sego is in his second season as an assistant coach at Bellarmine and will take over as the full-time assistant in 2026. A goalkeeping specialist, the Knights ranked second in the ASUN in goals-against average (1.19) under his oversight in 2024.

"I am beyond excited for this opportunity, and I'm so thankful to be a part of this team and university," Sego said. "I have learned and experienced a lot working with Tim, Matt and (Director of Operations) Mike (Goetz) over the past year, and I'm looking forward to this next chapter in my coaching career. Becoming a D1 college coach has always been a huge goal of mine, and to know that I can accomplish that with Bellarmine makes it that much better. Stepping into my new role, I aim to exude my confidence, experience and knowledge of the game to help push our program to new heights and continue to give back to the university and community that mean so much to me." 

A former goalkeeper at Belmont University, Sego came to Bellarmine after being the U11-U19 boys director of coaching at Tennessee United Soccer from 2022-24 and its director of goalkeeping/head soccer coach from 2020-24. He led the 2006 NPL boys to a D1 state championship in the fall of 2023 and the 2009 NPL boys were a state quarterfinalist in spring 2023.

"I couldn't be more excited to have Nate stepping into the full-time assistant role," Cannady said. "He's been such a steady, reliable presence in our program for the last two years — always doing the work, never looking for credit, but constantly making a positive impact. Whether it's with our players, in training or in the day-to-day details, Nate brings a calculated approach that makes everyone around him better. He's earned this opportunity, and I'm really looking forward to continuing to work alongside him."

"Nate will make a great full-time assistant coach," Chastonay said. "Since his arrival last year, he has brought knowledge, energy and dedication that has impacted our players positively. I am excited to see him step into this new role and help Matt take the program to the next level."

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