TYLER, TEXAS – UT Tyler men's soccer head coach Kenny Jones has finalized his coaching staff heading into the 2026 season after one of their best Division II seasons in program history.
 
Robert Serra and Mika Zarkesh will join the staff. Serra will take on the role of Associate Head Coach, while Zarkesh will join as a Graduate Assistant.
 
Serra previously served on staff at Slippery Rock University, where he aided the program in a 7-7-3 season. Prior to that stop, he spent two seasons as an assistant coach at LSC foe St. Mary's.
 
Primarily he served as a goalkeepers coach while overseeing the defensive end of the field. In his career he has coached a pair of All-Region selections along with both the LSC Goalkeeper of the Year and Defender of the Year in the 2024 season.
 
With the Rattlers, Serra accumulated a 20-9-10 record as an assistant while helping lead the program to a pair of LSC Tournaments. He also has served as an Area Director for i9 Sports, a College Director, and a High School Select Coach with Premier FA in San Antonio.
 
"Robert is very familiar with our conference," said head coach Kenny Jones. "He has already been a part of a staff that has won the conference title. He has a championship building mentality. He has committed to helping develop our current players and recruiting future patriots to meet the competitive demands of our conference. I am confident that he will support our athletic department mission and be a strong model for our student athletes."
 
For Zarkesh, he continues to stay with the program that he played two seasons for. He played in 13 games over two seasons for the Patriots after a standout career at Richland College. With the Thunderducks, he helped lead them to back-to-back NJCAA National Titles in his two seasons with the program.
 
"Mika is a great young man," said Jones. "He is ambitious, driven, and willing to do the work necessary to be successful. He is very familiar with our program and is personally invested in our culture and program success. I look forward to working with him as he pursues his master's degree."
 
Jones, Serra, and Zarkesh will lead the program into the 2026 season which is currently scheduled to begin against DBU on August 27^th in Dallas, Texas.