EUGENE, Ore. – Joao Ehlers became the sixth coach in program history in 2022.
After taking over for a program which had won just two games in the year before his arrival, Coach Ehlers brought steady improvement over his first three seasons including Bushnell's first season above .500 in 2024 when the team finished 8-7-3. Over the past two seasons the Beacons have gone undefeated in the non-conference, with a record of 8-0-2.
Ehlers came to the Beacons from North Carolina, where he has spent the previous five seasons as an assistant coach for NAIA Montreat College. The Cavaliers qualified for the Appalachian Athletic Conference tournament in four of his five seasons, twice advancing to the semifinals.
During his time at Montreat, he helped coach eight All-AAC athletes, 23 All-Academic honorees and multiple players of the week. The men's soccer team also had the highest GPA of any men's team in each of the past two years.
Ehlers also has a diverse background in club coach, including time with the Asheville Shield FC, the North Carolina Olympic Development Program, and time as the Technical Staff Intern with the MLS Columbus Crew.
Coach Ehlers holds multiple international and US coaching licenses, including a National "C" License from the United States Soccer Federation. He has also garnered licensure from the Football Association (England) and Universidade do Futebol (Brazil).
A native of Caxias do Sul, Brazil, Ehlers is a graduate of Ohio State University, where he played his final two seasons with the Buckeyes and was awarded Big Ten Co-Offensive Player of the Week (2014), The OSU Athlete of the Week (2014), Academic All-Big Ten Conference Team (2015) and OSU Scholar Athlete (2015). Ehlers' OSU program also won the Big Ten Conference Championship in 2015.
Prior to his time at OSU, Ehlers was a Dean's List student (2013) and two-time Second Team All-MSC at University of the Cumberlands.
He played within the Premier Development League (PDL) and was named Honorable Mention while playing for VSI Tampa Bay in 2013. Prior to moving to the United States, Ehlers played at a very competitive level with both Sport Club Corinthians Paulista Academy and Esporte Clube Juventude Academy.
Along with his Bachelors degree from Ohio State, Ehlers has a Master of Science degree in Management and Leadership from Montreat College and he is currently working toward an Executive PhD in Leadership from the University of the Cumberlands.
Ehlers is an instructor in Bushnell's School of Business and Technology, teaching classes in macro and micro economics, global business management and sports and recreation management. He also recently helped launch Bushnell's
Master of Arts in Sports Management degree.
Spring 2023 Beacon Magazine -
Coaching For Life - Mentoring and Teaching the Whole Student
