Kevwe Akpore, formerly assistant men’s soccer coach at Knox, has taken the position as head men’s soccer coach, and Robert Battisson was named the head women’s soccer coach.

Akpore has been a leader in the Galesburg soccer community for more than three decades. He has, at different times in the last 30 years, been the assistant coach and head coach for the women’s program at Knox, and head coach for the men’s program.

He rejoined the Prairie Fire athletics coaching staff after a very successful and historic year as head men’s soccer coach at Carl Sandburg College, where he left with a school-record 34 victories in four years of leading the program.

He is a retired U.S. Army veteran with multiple tours of duty in Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and more, and is a retired executive with the State of Illinois corrections system.

Battisson was the assistant coach and recruiting coordinator for the women’s soccer program at the University of Akron (NCAA Division I) in Ohio. He helped lead their program to a Mid-American Conference (MAC) East championship and five MAC tournament appearances.

Previously Battisson was the assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at Slippery Rock University in Pennsylvania and an assistant coach at Northwestern University in Chicago. A native of England, Battisson played soccer and graduated from Lock Haven University with a bachelor’s degree in English. He earned a master's in English literature from Northwestern Missouri State and also has master’s degrees in sports science and coaching, and exercise physiology from the University of Akron.