May 18, 2023 | Soccer
NORMAN — New Oklahoma head soccer coach Matt Mott announced three members of his 2023 staff on Thursday.
Mott will be aided on the sideline by assistant coaches Jessica Hiskey and Richard Beebe, while Georgia Russell will serve as the program’s director of operations. All three were on Mott’s staff at Ole Miss.
“Absolutely thrilled to add (Richard) Beebe, Jess and Georgia to our staff here at OU,” said Mott, who was named head coach on April 30. “With our comfort level working together for our many years at Ole Miss, we are ready to hit the ground running and thrilled to get them here to Norman.
“I think the Norman community and OU are going to love working with these individuals. I’m certainly excited for our players to get to work with these fantastic coaches and an unbelievable director of operations in Georgia. Our team will really benefit from their knowledge, energy and passion for the game.”
Hiskey, who was an All-SEC defender for the Rebels under Mott, served the last five years as an Ole Miss assistant coach, the last two as assistant head coach. Presiding over the Rebels’ defense, Hiskey helped the program register 36 shutouts over the last five seasons. Ole Miss’ back line also contributed offensively, tallying eight goals and 22 assists during the same time frame.
The Rebels surrendered only 19 goals in 20 contests in 2022 and posted 10 shutouts. They didn’t allow a goal until the sixth game of the year.
From 2012-15, Hiskey starred in Oxford as a defender and midfielder under Mott, starting 74 matches and logging over 7,000 minutes as Ole Miss posted a 51-26 record and a 3-2 NCAA Tournament mark. She registered 10 goals and five assists.
The Franklin, Tenn., product turned in her most productive offensive season as a junior in 2014, amassing six goals and a pair of assists. She played 1,809 of the team’s 1,840 minutes that year. As a senior, she started all 23 games and was a second-team All-SEC selection as the Rebels advanced to the NCAA Tournament’s Sweet 16 for the first time in school history.
During her senior campaign, Hiskey helped lead Ole Miss to its first-ever NCAA Sweet-16, starting all 23 contests on the year. She became the first Rebel defender to be named All-SEC since 2011, collecting Second Team honors after registering five points on two goals and one assist.
After her collegiate career, Hiskey became just the fourth known Rebel to sign a professional contract, playing for Skövde KIK in Sweden. During her two-year stay, she helped Skövde KIK achieve its highest league finish in club history (third place), as well as its lowest single-season goals-against average.
Hiskey earned CoSIDA Academic All-America and CoSIDA Academic All-District honors her senior year, and attained a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Ole Miss in 2015.
Beebe spent the 2014-15 seasons as Ole Miss’ volunteer assistant coach and rejoined the program in the same capacity ahead of the 2017 campaign. Wearing many hats, over the last six seasons he helped the Rebels to a 64-41-16 record, four NCAA Tournaments and six SEC Tournaments. Of Ole Miss’ 10 all-time NCAA Tournament appearances, five have come during Beebe’s seven seasons on the Ole Miss staff, including the only two NCAA Sweet 16 appearances in program history.
Working with the Rebels’ “Strike Force,” Beebe helped develop two of the program’s greatest offensive players in CeCe Kizer and Channing Foster. Kizer finished her career as Ole Miss’ all-time leading scorer and a two-time United Soccer Coaches All-American. Foster tied for second on Ole Miss’ career scoring list, becoming the SEC’s first-ever five-time all-conference honoree in 2021.
During Beebe’s original term at Ole Miss, he helped the Rebels achieve a pair of successful seasons. After assisting Ole Miss to a second-place finish in the SEC West during his first season in 2014, the Rebels reached even greater heights the next year when they notched a 14-5-4 record and advanced to the Sweet 16 for the first time in program history.
Beebe joined the Rebels after serving as an assistant coach at his alma mater, William Carey University in Hattiesburg, Miss., where he was also a standout player himself. As an assistant at William Carey in 2013, Beebe helped lead the women’s team to the Southern States Athletic Conference (SSAC) championship in 2013 with a perfect 11-0 record in conference play and outscoring foes 53-6 on the season. It was the program’s first SSAC title. He helped the team post an 18-5 record and advance to the Sweet 16 of the NAIA Tournament. They earned a No. 10 final ranking in the national polls.
Beebe started all four years at William Carey, serving as team captain in 2009 and being named a first-team All-Gulf Coast Athletic Conference selection that season. He helped lead his team to the GCAC Championship in 2008 and 2009, while also helping the squad claim the GCAC Tournament Championship in 2007.
Beebe earned a bachelor’s degree in education with a minor in biology from William Carey in 2010. He earned a master’s degree in secondary education from the school in 2012.
Russell, like Hiskey, starred for the Rebels under Mott before joining his staff in 2019 as coordinator of operations.
She played in 71 games from 2013-16 after redshirting in 2012, making 21 starts. Splitting time between the back line and midfield, Russell finished her career with more than 2,300 minutes played, two goals and two assists.
Also a standout student, she was named to the Capital One CoSIDA Academic All-District First Team in 2013.
The Tupelo, Miss., native graduated from Ole Miss with a bachelor’s degree in accountancy in 2015. Before joining Mott’s Ole Miss staff, she worked as an accountant for two years with the Ole Miss Athletics Foundation.
The staff and 2023 team looks to build off a 9-8-3 season in 2022 that saw the Sooners win their first postseason match in six years with a Big 12 Championship quarterfinal victory over Texas Tech.
The fall 2023 conference slate was revealed earlier this week by the Big 12 conference, highlighted by five home matches at John Crain Field.
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