Nico Luque
Associate Head Coach/Recruiting Coordinator
nluque@uscupstate.edu
South Carolina-Upstate
Division 1
Associate Head Coach/Recruiting Coordinator
nluque@uscupstate.edu
South Carolina-Upstate
Division 1
Nico Luque is in his second season as the associate head coach for the USC Upstate mens soccer program.
Luque joined Upstate in 2017 after serving as the assistant coach for Concordia University in Seward, Neb. for three seasons. He helped lead the Bulldogs to the 2015 Great Plains Athletic Conference championship, marking the first time in program history Concordia had won a conference title and advanced to the NAIA National Tournament. The Bulldogs appeared in another GPAC championship game in 2016.
He began his coaching career at his alma mater, Southern Wesleyan, in 2013 and won the National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA) South Region and National Championship. Luque also assisted with Coerver SC and CASA on the club level.
A native of Bogota, Colombia, Luque grew up playing soccer at the professional academy of Millonarios FC where he competed until appearing on the reserves team.
He moved to the United States to play soccer at Southern Wesleyan from 2009-13. He served as team captain his final three seasons and was a four-year starter. Luque earned Southern States Athletic Conference (SSAC) and NCCAA recognitions as a senior. He also played and coached for Upward Stars, a National Premier Soccer League (NPSL) team out of Spartanburg.
Since 2017, Luque has been the head coach of the U-12 and U-13 Carolina FC club teams. Luque was also the head coach for the U18 elite boys team that won the State Cup and Region Premier League Piedmont Conference Championship in 2018.
Luque received his Bachelor of Science in psychology from Southern Wesleyan with a minor in coaching. He later received his MBA with an emphasis in leadership from Concordia in 2016, as well as a Master of Science in athletic administration with an emphasis in collegiate athletics in 2017.