Franklin & Marshall College

The 19th head coach in Franklin & Marshall's history, Dan Wagner enters his 24th season in charge of the Diplomats. In 2023, Wagner became the winningest coach in Centennial men’s soccer history, surpassing Johns Hopkin’s Matt Smith who had won 240 games.

Over the past decade, F&M has had unprecedented NCAA tournament success. The Diplomats are second in the nation for consecutive NCAA tournament bids with 10. This shatters Dickinson’s previous Centennial Conference record of five consecutive NCAA bids. Wagner has won 16 NCAA games during this period, outpacing Matt Smith’s previous record of seven. During this time the Diplomats have gone to the Sweet 16 four times and the Elite 8 twice. Wagner has guided the Diplomats to 19 straight winning seasons, including 14 consecutive appearances in the Centennial Conference (CC) Playoffs. 

Wagner’s players have been named All-America 14 times during his tenure and CC Players of the Year in five seasons. Connor Whitacre ‘20  became the first CC player to be named D3soccer.com Defender of the Year. Brandon Corday '08 remains the only CC player to repeat as CC Player of the year and first-team All-American and Ugo Okolie is the only CC player to be named All-American as an underclassman. Oscar Horwitz was named CC Offensive Player of the Year as well as United Soccer Coaches Third-team All-American during the 2023 season.

F&M has also been recognized nationally as one of Division III’s most respected and successful programs with a consistent place in the top-25 rankings. The 2015 squad became the first in program history to reach No. 1 in the nation – a reign the Diplomats held for four consecutive weeks, while the 2016 team finished at No. 6 in the final National Soccer Coaches Association of America's (NSCAA) National Poll – the highest ever for F&M. During the 2021 season, Franklin & Marshall was ranked as high as No. 2 in the country during the regular season.

Wagner's soccer pedigree is rich. Steeped in the storied tradition of Messiah soccer, where he excelled as an undergrad, Wagner is the only player to captain the Falcons for three seasons. While playing in Grantham, he earned All-Middle Atlantic Conference honors in 1991, 1994 and 1995. He finished his career at Messiah with 16 goals and 23 assists for 55 points. Wagner also captained Mechanicsburg High School for three seasons and was named Mid-Penn Player of the Year in 1991.  He also was All-State and captained his EPYSA ODP team.

Wagner also directs the F&M Soccer Africa Project, a cooperative venture with Amandla Edufootball and the CTC Ten Foundation. This group has created the Chris Campbell Memorial Field as well as a clubhouse and education center in Khayelitsha South Africa. The facility operates similar to a boy’s and girl’s club in the United States and promotes positive life choices for underprivileged youth in one of the poorest areas of South Africa. The idea of the facility was conceived by Wagner, created by CTC Ten and is now managed by South African NGO Amandla Edufootball. The F&M soccer team travels to Cape Town every three years in support of the facility.  Wagner also works closely with F&M’s Ware Institutes for Civic Engagement in supporting faculty and student study abroad, volunteer and community-based learning experiences.

In addition to his time at Franklin & Marshall, Wagner is the Co-Director of Tactical Team Trainers, conducting high school soccer team and player development camps. 

Wagner first went from the pitch to the sideline at Northern York High School, coaching the girls' junior varsity (1994) and varsity (1995) teams. From Dillsburg, it was on to Pequea Valley High School, where he stood at the helm for two seasons. In that time, he raised the varsity boys' program from a 5-13 record in 1997, to 14-4 in 1998. The sudden turnaround earned Wagner the 1998 Lancaster-Lebanon League Section III Coach of the Year award and demonstrated his uncanny knack for making his teams instantly competitive.

Career Highlights

• Winningest Coach in Centennial Conference Men’s Soccer History
• Three-time NSCAA Mid-Atlantic Region Coach of the Year 2006, 2007, 2008
• Two-time Centennial Conference Coach of the Year 2019, 2022
• Two Centennial Conference Championships
• Four NCAA Sweet 16 Appearances
• Two NCAA Elite Eight Appearances
• Undefeated Regular Season in 2014
• Reached No. 1 Ranking in 2015
• 19 Straight Winning Seasons
• 14 Consecutive CC Playoff Appearances
• Coached 12 All-Americans, Four CC Players of the Year, One National Defender of the Year