Oak Mountain names Keegan McQueen as new head boys soccer coach
Published 12:46 pm Friday, June 20, 2025
- Oak Mountain named Keegan McQueen as its new head boys soccer coach as the former All-State defender with the Eagles aims to continue the dynasty he helped build. (Contributed)
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By ANDREW SIMONSON | Sports Editor
NORTH SHELBY – The Oak Mountain Eagles will turn to one of their own as they seek to continue their decades-long dynasty with one of the men who helped establish it.
Oak Mountain High School announced that former Eagles star Keegan McQueen will become its next head varsity boys soccer coach on Friday, June 20.
“[The excitement’s] through the roof just for the opportunity to be there, for coach (Chris) Blight to kind of trust me with that and for us to meet and talk about it and for it all to work out the way that it has, it’s been awesome,” McQueen said. “And to be back at Oak Mountain as a head coach is kind of something you dream of, and I’m just really, really excited about it.”
This will be McQueen’s first head coaching position at the varsity level, but he has a plethora of experience to draw from. McQueen has served as an assistant coach for Oak Mountain, including for the Eagles’ undefeated 2024 state championship team.
He also was a four-year letterman at West Alabama and was a regular starter as a defender for the final two seasons of his collegiate career.
Locally, he may be best known for his playing days with Oak Mountain, where he and the Eagles reached the Class 6A state title game in 2013 and 2014. He was an All-State, All-Metro and All-County selection during his high school career.
Being an Oak Mountain alum gives him a different level of pride and duty to carry on the dynasty he fell in love with as a kid and was part of during his high school years.
“I can remember being in middle school going to watch the high school teams play, and being like, ‘Hey, those guys, I want to eventually be there and play on this field and play with my friends and hopefully have success and be able to compete for state championships,’” McQueen said. “So hopefully now, even more so, the middle schoolers, the kids that are in elementary school will come out to games and hopefully have that desire to eventually want to play at Oak Mountain High School and play on that field under the lights on a Friday where it’s packed full of students and the atmosphere is awesome. So, the goal is just to kind of, again, create that reputation and create that atmosphere, especially at home, because Eagle Nation, when they come out there, they’re a force, hopefully to pack the Nest and create that reputation again, where these young kids are really excited to play at Oak Mountain High School.”
Blight echoed that excitement and believes he is the perfect representative of the program.
“We’re incredibly excited about coach McQueen taking over the soccer program,” Blight said. “He embodies the spirit and tradition of Oak Mountain soccer. As a former player, he knows what it means to wear the jersey, and as a leader, he brings passion, experience and vision to guide our program to great heights, and we’re really proud to welcome him home.”
Despite being a former defender, McQueen’s coaching style emphasizes the attacking players and pushing the pace to create goal-scoring opportunities. While he aims to continue David DiPiazza’s philosophy of crafting the tactics to the players, pace will continue to be the team’s trademark.
“I know one thing to expect for sure is going to be a very high-paced team, a team that’s fit, going to run really well and press really well, and then when they have the ball, it’s just about them having fun and scoring goals,” McQueen said. “I mean, that’s the joy of soccer. That’s what brings the excitement to the fans and the students that come but then also, as a player, you score a lot of goals, you have a really good time. So, the goal would be to play fast and score a lot of goals and have fun together.”
McQueen’s assistants will be announced at a later date.