Chatham University’s Vice President of Athletics Leonard Trevino announced in early April that Nick Taljan would be joining the men’s soccer program as its second head coach, arriving from Yale University. 

Taljan takes on the position following a national search for a new head coach, after Keith Danley resigned from the program to pursue new opportunities. 

“I’m looking for guys that have that joy moment, that extra little footballing passion,” Taljan told the Communiqué. “I think Chatham has what you need to be successful, and it’s growing.” 

He wants to bring forth the talent and the freedom of the game, emphasizing that every player has that one moment when they truly fell in love with the game. For Taljan, he began soccer like many young kids do: “their parents signed them up,” he recalled. But he fell in love with it while competing with his older brothers. 

The Westlake, Ohio, native was part of a St. Ignatius high school team where he was involved in multiple state championships before he attended Bellarmine University in Louisville, Kentucky. After Bellarmine, Taljan headed to Cleveland State, where he finished his degree in political science. Between his time at Cleveland State and prior to beginning his coaching journey, Taljan entered law school. 

“I met up with my old club coach who, to this day, is probably my biggest mentor,” Taljan said. He started his coaching career with an under-12 team and worked his way through the club from there. He then also became the head coach at Lake Ridge Academy in North Ridgeville, Ohio, and the Cleveland Force Soccer Club. 

He joined in 2021 the Baldwin Wallace University men’s soccer coaching staff, where he remained until 2023. Then, Taljan headed to Kenyon College as an assistant coach and was part of the staff that led Kenyon to back-to-back NCAA tournament appearances, along with multiple wins over top25-ranked opponents and a 29-7-6 record. 

The Kenyon staff, including Taljan, was awarded the Staff of the Year award by the North Coast Athletic Conference in 2024. “I worked for Travis Wall, who to this day, I learned more from him than anybody else,” Taljan said.

Taljan then went on to join Yale University in April 2025, his last stop before joining the Chatham men’s soccer program. Taljan’s arrival opens a new chapter for Chatham men’s soccer in its bid to return to the playoffs in 2026. 

“I want to put a stamp on something,” he said.