IRVINE, Calif. --- A vital piece of the UCI soccer and the strength and conditioning program for the last two years, Kostas Kyriazis is making the move up to Major League Soccer club FC Cincinnati.

At FC Cincinnati, Kyriazis will be focusing on their "B" team in the newly-completed MLS Next Pro league which includes a squad from all 28 clubs. His role as a performance coach includes not just on the field work, but in the weight room and individualized workouts and plans.

"Kostas was a vital part of our organization and helped us build our physical development processes to match those of the highest level in our country," boasted head coach Yossi Raz. "We now have in place mechanisms to evaluate the players' physical and emotional stages each morning, we have a weekly protocols that include pre-activation for injury prevention, futbol periodization attached to live GPS measurement, streamed communication regarding our players' physical concerns and return to training post injury or vacation, great dietary guidelines, and many more top notch aspects that elevated the program's quality. However, Kostas' biggest quality was in the humanistic values he added to our group. He found the correct way to connect with our players and coaches and build trust and care. He was the players' hardest critic and most supportive at the same time which is extremely hard to do."

Kyriazis came to UC Irvine with a robust resume to his name growing up in Greece and working around Europe with various football clubs. From England's Everton Football Club for both men's, women's, and under-20 developmental squads to West Ham and its academy reserve squad to Poland's Lech Poznan and Greece's Aris FC, the talented coach continued to rise when coming to the United States. Kyriazis briefly worked with the youth teams of the MLS New York Red Bulls before jumping at the opportunity to coach alongside Yossi Raz and the UCI staff.

"I give great credit to the coaches here that pushed me to do this," Kyriazis noted. "It is very difficult to do in a college setting, but that is the feel at UCI of a professional environment and coach Raz is amazing working with all the constraints and making it a professional setting. It was a main reason why I came to UCI in the first place; when I first started speaking with him, he was telling me about the professional standard and push me and everyone in the program to be better and better. From all the coaches I worked with and specifically coaches Raz, Perkins, Kear, Chambers, and Juniper, they all have similar mindsets. In situations where others might get away with less work, they all have an unceasing work ethic and effort everyday."

In 2021, he joined the men's soccer staff as a volunteer assistant and performance coach helping the Anteaters to a share of the Big West regular season title as UCI reached the Big West Tournament Final. Kyriazis transitioned into a full-time role early in 2022 as a strength and conditioning coach working with both soccer programs and track & field with more success through the programs including women's soccer's run to the NCAA Third Round and track & field as well as cross country with some of their best seasons in years.

"Kostas, like others before him, demonstrated via his hard work that talented people who invest in themselves to the process at UCI will be identified and recruited to the pro level. I'm not surprised that he is in a pro environment as he wanted, and I'm sure that he will be a delightful addition to Cincinnati. I'm sure he will keep climbing and I wish him all the best in his future endeavors in futbol."