Wake Forest men’s soccer adds Ade Taiwo to coaching staff

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – Wake Forest men’s soccer has hired Ade Taiwo as volunteer assistant coach, the program announced.

A former student-athlete at NC State where he played for the Wolfpack for five seasons, Taiwo comes to Winston-Salem following a three-year stint at Wake Futbol Club serving in the role of Assistant Director of Challenge Select and Juniors.

“We are excited to announce Ade as the latest member of our staff and believe he will be a tremendous asset to us as we look to compete for ACC and NCAA Championships,” said head coach Bobby Muuss. “As a player at NC State, we got to see his passion and acumen for the game of soccer and look forward to having him work alongside myself, Dane Brenner and Steve Armas in providing the best experience for our student-athletes. Having first hand ACC experience and seeing how much he has grown and has learned from adversity both on and off the field will help tremendously with his transition into college coaching.”

“Honestly it is all still very surreal to me,” Taiwo said. “I’m extremely grateful to Coach Bobby and the rest of the staff for the opportunity to continue to grow as a coach, mentor and person here at Wake Forest. Wake Forest has been well-known over the years, not just having one of the top academic standards in the country, but also for having a very promising and well-established soccer program that I am extremely excited to contribute to and learn from. As a soccer fan, player and coach you can’t help but admire what Coach Bobby and his staff have built here.

“My mother is from Winston-Salem and I spent my summers here with my family. My aunt, Diane Summers, has worked at Wake Forest for more than 30 years, so this feels more like a homecoming than anything else. I’m looking forward to getting out there with the team and immersing myself in the City of Winston-Salem and the campus of Wake Forest University.”

Prior to his role at Wake Futbol Club, Taiwo played at NC State from 2014-18 where he appeared in 54 matches with 25 starts, collecting 19 points on seven goals and five assists. Playing a career-high 782 minutes, Taiwo in 2017 helped lead NC State to the program’s first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2009.

A native of Raleigh, N.C., Taiwo graduated from NC State in 2018 with a Bachelor of Science in Communication.