Joe Ilett ’09 is the Head Men’s Soccer Coach at Eckerd College in St. Petersburg, Florida, where he leads the Tritons’ NCAA Division II men’s soccer program in the Sunshine State Conference. After rejoining the Triton staff in April 2024 as interim head coach, Ilett was officially named head coach in December 2024 and enters his second season in that role for the 2025 campaign. In his first year leading the program, Ilett helped guide Eckerd to its first SSC Tournament berth since 2016, highlighted by a late-season surge that included a signature win over No. 23 Florida Tech and an upset over Division I Stetson University—Eckerd’s first victory over a Division I opponent in recent memory.
Prior to assuming the head coach position, Ilett served as an assistant coach for the Tritons in the spring of 2024 and earlier from 2009–2011, bringing a deep familiarity with the program. His coaching résumé spans professional, youth, and academy levels: he was the UPSL Head Coach of the St. Petersburg Aztecs (2021–22), worked internationally with Colchester United FC in England as Development Coach and with West Ham United as a technical coach, and spent four years with the Chicago Fire Soccer Club’s youth programs. Ilett also held coaching roles with the Lyons Township Soccer Club (IL), Chargers Soccer Club in Clearwater as Academy Coach and Director, and Tampa Bay United Soccer Club. As a student-athlete at Eckerd, he was a four-year standout, appearing in 67 games with 25 goals and 16 assists, earning two all-conference honors, and ranking among the program’s all-time leaders in both goals and assists.
