Bellarmine University Athletics

Jay Sothoron, who previously served as the first assistant and defensive coordinator at Robert Morris University, was hired as the offensive coordinator at Bellarmine prior to the 2015 season and transitioned to defensive coordinator in 2017.

In 2016, Sothoron helped guide Bellarmine to its first-ever postseason berth as the Knights sealed a bid in the Southern Conference Tournament. BU went 4-3 in league play, including a 15-8 triumph over Furman on Senior Day in the regular-season finale that clinched a spot in the postseason. Four different players garnered All-SoCon honors.

In his debut season, Sothoron helped lead the Knights to a dominant 9-3 victory over 13th-ranked Marquette to become the first team from the Southern Conference to defeat a ranked opponent. Bellarmine twice racked up 17 goals, its most since the 2011 season. With the help of Sothoron's tutelage, four different players earned first-team All-SoCon honors and one received national Player of the Week accolades.

In 2014, Sothoron’s defense at Robert Morris finished third in the country in caused turnovers while also posting a .700 man-down kill percentage. Sothoron coached two All-Northeast Conference defensemen in Sean Meagher and Tyler Rankel, with Meagher finishing tops in the country in caused turnovers.

Prior to joining the Division I ranks, Sothoron was the head coach for Division II Wheeling Jesuit University for five seasons and helped spearhead the program's transition from the East Coast Conference to the Eastern College Athletic Conference. In 2013, he helped guide the Cardinals to the ECAC II playoffs, compiling an 11-6 overall record. In 2012, Wheeling Jesuit was named the NCAA Division II Most Improved Program after going 4-8 upon his arrival in 2008 to an 11-6 record competing against nationally ranked teams.

Sothoron began his coaching career as the first assistant and defensive coordinator at Greensboro College in Greensboro, North Carolina. He spent two years there and then returned to his high school alma mater, St. Mary's Ryken High School in Leonardtown, Maryland.

At St. Mary's, Sothoron served as an assistant athletic director and varsity assistant head coach for five years. He was named the U.S. Lacrosse National Assistant Coach of the Year for secondary schools in 2006 and was promoted to associate head coach during the 2007 season. St. Mary's Ryken received its first-ever national ranking in 2007 after winning the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference championship with a record of 19-2. During Sothoron's five years at St. Mary's Ryken, the Knights compiled an overall record of 71-22.

Sothoron played collegiately at Herkimer Community College in Herkimer, New York, a junior college program that finished second in the country during his tenure. Sothoron was named team captain, team MVP and second-team All-American on a team that fell in the national championship game and finished with a 21-1 record. 

Sothoron earned his degree while playing collegiately at Greensboro, where he was a two-year starter.