Stanislaus State is much more than the University where John Powell studied and played soccer. It’s where he built the foundation for the life he lives today, and it’s why leading the men’s soccer program to its most successful season in history means so much to him.
“After I stopped playing and had the experience of being an assistant with the program, I knew this was the place I always wanted to be,” said Powell, better known by peers simply as JP. “This is my dream job.”
The 2025 Stanislaus State men’s soccer team achieved a 17-2-1 record (.917 winning percentage), the best mark in program history. The Warriors won their second ever CCAA Tournament and rode the momentum to the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA Division II Tournament, uncharted territory for the longstanding men’s soccer program.
“There were so many sacrifices, not just from me, but from my whole family,” Powell said. “I put in the work, my players put in the work, and we’re showing what is possible here at Stan State.”
It was a run that captivated the community. Hosting two games in this year’s national tournament, Warrior Stadium was packed with about 1,000 fans for each contest.
“It’s special to me and a point of pride, especially being from the area and coming from a family of Stan State alumni,” Powell said.
Powell’s dream job, and all the accolades that have come with it thus far, was 12 years in the making — a journey that included success, struggle, perseverance and, ultimately, vindication.
Growing up in Modesto, Powell became a standout player at Beyer High School and won team Most Valuable Player honors in 2003 and 2004. When he graduated in 2006, he wasn’t sure what his next step would be, but one thing was certain: “I wanted to play soccer.”
Powell fell in love with the sport in the late ’90s, watching as Major League Soccer was launched and began growing in popularity across the United States.
“I had no soccer background, but once the MLS started in 1996, I just got the bug,” he said. “I started playing recreationally and played some competitive travel ball. My parents were always so supportive, even though they had no background in the sport. By my junior year at Beyer, I knew I wanted to play collegiately, it was just a matter of where.”
Initially set on heading to Arkansas to attend the University of the Ozarks following a stint in junior college, Powell became ill with mononucleosis. He was able to kick it after receiving treatment, but his mind quickly became occupied with other health issues in his family. One of his grandfathers was diagnosed with stage-four lung cancer, while the other lost a limb during a bout with diabetes.
“I wanted to be closer to home to be near my family as all of these things were happening,” Powell said. “I never thought about Stan State as a place to play soccer, but my mom mentioned it out of the blue pretty late in the process.”
Powell’s mother, Deanna, earned her teaching credential at Stan State, resulting in a 30-year teaching career in Riverbank. His father, Mark, after years of working late shifts at a local grocery store, began studying business at Stan State to pursue brighter pastures, eventually landing a more fulfilling position with a food product distributor. Recognizing how Stan State transformed their lives, it was a natural suggestion for their son.
“Boy, that turned out to be a pretty good decision,” Powell said.
Powell was admitted to Stan State as a recipient of a Provost’s Scholarship, walking on to the Warrior soccer team in 2008 and playing through the 2010 season. He racked up 174 minutes over 28 matches, was named to the CCAA All-Academic Team all three years as he pursued a bachelor’'s degree in business administration with a concentration in human resources and marketing, as well as a minor in communication studies. He was the Stan State Male Scholar Athlete of the Year for 2010-11.
Life on campus got even sweeter in 2009 when, at an athletics gathering, he met Megan Britton, a volleyball star for the Warriors. “I saw her there, we just started talking, and I’ve talked to her every single day since, for the last 16 years,” Powell said. They’d marry seven years later.
In fall 2011, with a year of eligibility remaining, Powell’s mind drifted to the worsening health situations surrounding his grandfathers. “I wasn’t focusing on soccer,” he said. “I just wasn’t there mentally.”
Dana Taylor, the winningest head coach in Stan State history (91-84-30 in 10 seasons), took notice. Knowing Powell’s passion for the game and the program, his excellence in the classroom and the circumstances consuming the young man, Taylor offered him a new role.
“Dana wanted players who were 100 percent committed,” Powell said. “With me not knowing whether I wanted to play or not, he knew that I had a lot going on in my personal life and asked me if I wanted to be on his coaching staff as a volunteer. At the time, he had a son playing with a top club team, and he just couldn’t make all the showcases and practices at the same time. So, I went out, coached one session with the club team, and after that I knew that was what I wanted to do.”
With the Stan State coaching staff already full for the 2012 season, Powell took an assistant position at Modesto Junior College under head coach and former Stan State player Joe Michelena. “Dana gave me a chance and opened a new window of opportunity for me with coaching, and Joe showed me how I wanted to coach, building strong relationships with his players. That stood out most to me, how much his players loved him and his family.”
A year later, a full-time position opened at Stan State. An opportunity to return to Warrior Stadium and reunite with Taylor was something Powell couldn’t pass up, prompting him to leave his human resources job at Target and focus on soccer full time. As Taylor’s right-hand man, the Warriors appeared in two CCAA Tournament Championship matches and received a berth to the 2015 NCAA Division II National Tournament as the fourth seed in the West Region.
After Taylor retired following the 2019 season, Powell fell short of winning the job. “They told me they were going in a different direction, and I was crushed,” Powell said.
Powell soon received a job offer outside of sports which he strongly considered... before Megan intervened. “After not getting the Stan State job, it was just heartbreaking,” Powell said. “I was close to leaving the sport and taking the other job. The only other job offer I had in soccer was as an assistant at Arizona Christian in the NAIA, which was a step down. Me and Megan were married, we had our first daughter, and I needed to provide. There was no way I was going out of state for that job, but Megan told me, ‘You are a coach. You are supposed to be coaching.’”
Powell hit the road to Arizona Christian, where he was quickly promoted to head coach following a sudden departure by the previous skipper. In 2021, Powell moved to Idaho, where his parents now reside, and led Northwestern Nazarene University (NNU) to a 15-4-3 record and an appearance in the NCAA Division II Elite Eight. Over the summer, Powell coached the Laredo Heat, a member of the National Premier Soccer League. The club achieved an overall record of 17-3-7 and appeared in consecutive championship matches, winning the 2022 conference title and reaching the National Sweet 16.
When the Stan State head coaching job opened in 2023, it wasn't on Powell’s radar. Another out-of-state move away from an established program at NNU was a risk. But again, it was Megan who provided words of encouragement, as well as assistant coach Eduardo Lopez, who remains on staff to this day.
“Eddie kept telling me that they needed me,” Powell said. “Meanwhile, people were laughing at me when I said I would turn Stan State into a powerhouse. People didn’t understand why I would leave and try to do that when NNU was becoming a powerhouse itself. But again, my wife kept reminding me how this was always the job I wanted, how I wanted to be at my alma mater, bring championships here with a contingent of Central Valley kids just like me, because I know what the Valley is capable of. This region is home to some of the top talent in the country, and it’s only getting better.”
A call from new Athletics Director Aaron Allaire gave him the news he had been waiting more than a decade to hear.
“I was ecstatic,” Powell said. “I knew we had a project on our hands (the Warriors went 5-7-6 in 2022), but I was so motivated. It felt like everything was aligning and everybody gave me the support and the trust to implement my philosophy and start turning this thing around.”
Powell met Allaire when he arrived at the Stan State campus in 2008. Allaire had started as a baseball coach for the Warriors and soon took over as a sports information officer where he spent significant time with each team. In 2014, Allaire became the associate athletics director overseeing game operations and facilities, where he observed Powell’s passion first-hand.
“In that role, you work with coaches quite a bit, and in some cases, assistant coaches more than head coaches,” Allaire said. “The first thing that stood out to me about JP was his demeanor and poise. Athletes want to follow consistent leaders. With that demeanor comes great communication. His expectations are clear — and when student- athletes understand what is expected, they have a much greater opportunity to succeed.
“Perhaps one of his best attributes is his passion. He is not only passionate about being successful and helping young athletes, but also about Stan State and the Valley. I remember talking to him on the phone after he wasn’t hired the first time he applied, and he was most disappointed because this was where he wanted to be. To his credit, he kept going and proved that he could be successful at multiple levels, including Division II, and he was a prime candidate three years ago when the job opened up.”
The turnaround for the men’s soccer program happened at a furious pace. In Powell’s first year leading the Warriors, the team went 4-10-4. In 2023, he had Stan State on the verge of the CCAA Tournament with a 7-6-5 mark, setting the stage for this year’s historic run.
“I would be lying if I said I completely expected it,” Allaire admitted. “It was not an easy task. He had to rebuild a program, install his playing style and get student-athletes that fit his character expectations and then put it all together. But you could see it coming. Even in year two, you could see differences in even the matches we lost. We were right there and although JP and the team would be disappointed, you could see what was ahead.”
All 29 players on the 2025 roster were from California, including 18 from the San Joaquin Valley with 13 from Stanislaus, Merced and San Joaquin counties. As a team, they were ranked in the top 15 nationally for a program-record 10 straight weeks, including a No. 1 overall rank for two weeks in a row, heights never before reached by the Warriors. Individually, the Warriors featured five United Soccer Coaches (USC) All Americans, two CCAA All Americans, five CCAA All-Tournament selections and 10 All-CCAA nods, including Powell receiving the honor of conference Coach of the Year. Additionally, the Warriors staff of Powell and assistants Lopez, Desmond Madrigal and Casey Clark were named USC West Region Coaching Staff of the Year.
“To be ranked No. 1 in the nation for an extended period of time, win the conference tournament, make it to the final 16 and get all of the accolades — that is truly special,” Allaire said. “It’s special because a coach had a vision, stuck to his vision, was able to bring in top- caliber athletes who are also good people and together they gave us an incredible run that not only the University can be proud of, but also the Turlock and Central Valley community.”
“A lot of it is culture,” Powell said. “If you have guys who positively impact your culture and are also your top performers, you’ve got something special, and that’s what this group had. They were an extremely hard-working group of guys that had a bond like a brotherhood from almost our first day together.
“The boys exemplified our pillars to the fullest extent. They were a high-achieving team made up of local players who displayed grit, humility, family and excellence. That’s what I hope people saw this year, and I hope they continue to see it for the years to come.”
A philosophy learned from Taylor and Michelena, refined in Arizona, Idaho and Texas, and with the support of his wife, Megan, and with daughters Harper and Hayden adding extra motivation, was brought back to Stanislaus State and successfully implemented.
“If I hadn’t come to Stan State, I wouldn’t have met the amazing people I did; the mentors, my teammates who I’m still friends with, and my wife, who I have an incredible family with,” Powell said. “Without those people in my life, I don’t know where I’d be, or how I’d get through some of the hardships I experienced. I’m just a strong believer that everything happens for a reason. Those experiences away from Turlock made me the coach and the man I am today. And now I’m back right where I’m supposed to be. I’m a very lucky man.”
