Ellie Russell enters her second season as Director of Operations for the Jaguar soccer program. During her first season in Mobile in 2023, South Alabama earned a 16-1-3 overall record and won the Sun Belt with an 8-0-2 mark. The Jaguars collected the league’s Player of the Year, Offensive Player of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year, Newcomer of the Year and Coach of the Year awards. The team went 15-0-3 in the regular season, the first unbeaten campaign in program history, as USA outscored its opponents 50-7.
As a 4-year captain at Middle Georgia, she led the program to its first national tournament appearance. Following an ACL injury, she transitioned to working on staff as an assistant coach in the 2020 fall season, during which the Knights again reached the national tournament. After her return from injury, she capped off her college career as a member of the All-Conference First Team. Russell graduated Summa Cum Laude from Middle Georgia State in 2022 with a bachelor of science in Sports Management.
A native of Salisbury, England, Russell came through the academies at Southampton FC, spending a year starting for the first team prior to moving to the U.S.
