4th Season at Illinois Central College
Alma Maters: University of Texas at El Paso, Saint Leo University (FL)
Gabriel “Gabe” Carreno enters his fourth year at the helm of the Illinois Central College men’s soccer program in 2025. In three seasons, Carreno has guided the Cougars to a 32-18-3 record, including an 8-4-3 campaign in 2024 that saw ICC ranked as high as #12 nationally in the NJCAA poll. He was named the 2022 Region 24 Coach of the Year after leading ICC to a Region 24 Championship and a Midwest District Finalist appearance.
Prior to ICC, Carreno spent two seasons as an assistant coach at Illinois Wesleyan University (2020–2022), where he led recruiting operations and helped build the program’s first reserve team. Before IWU, he served at Heartland Community College (2019–2020), assisting both the men’s and women’s programs to postseason runs, including a women’s conference championship. From 2017–2019, Carreno was assistant coach and recruiting coordinator for Otero Junior College in Colorado, where he contributed to a Region IX Championship and was honored as part of the “Staff of the Year.”
Beyond the college game, Carreno is deeply embedded in grassroots soccer. He was the Head Varsity Boys Coach at East Peoria Community High School (2024) and the Director of Methodology and College Advisory for FC Central Illinois, a Chicago Fire FC affiliate. He also founded Legacy Soccer Programming, a multi-state development platform that has provided 120+ events for more than 1,000 athletes, focusing on collegiate identification and player growth. His early coaching mentorship included work with the FC Dallas Academy system.
As a player, Carreno competed at the semi-professional and professional levels, including time in the NASL (now USL) and with the Albuquerque Sol (PDL/USL2). He played at the University of Texas at El Paso (2014–2016) and competed with UPSL sides in the Southwest. He was also a member of the El Paso Patriots Academy, one of the inaugural academy teams at age 14.
Carreno holds a USSF “B” License, USSF Grassroots Licenses, and the FA Talent Identification Certificate. He earned his MBA in Global Sports Business from Saint Leo University (FL) and a BA in Kinesiology & Sports Nutrition from UTEP.
Outside of soccer, Carreno enjoys live music, food culture, fitness, and traveling back to his home state of Texas. He is a passionate advocate for youth development, academic success, and mental health awareness, and continues to be motivated by the players and communities he serves.
Updated 08/21/2025
