Auburn University has announced the addition of Tara McQueen to its soccer coaching staff. The announcement was made by head coach James Armstrong.
McQueen comes to Auburn after three seasons at the University of North Alabama, where she coached goalkeepers and helped the team achieve notable defensive records. During her time in Florence, her goalkeepers achieved 24 clean sheets and 260 saves. Under her guidance, Adriana Wright in 2023 and Madison Vukas in 2025 were named ASUN Keeper of the Year. Vukas set a program record for goals-against average at 0.62 last season, conceding only 12 goals with a save rate of 90.2 percent, which was the second highest among Division I players that year. In 2025, North Alabama led Division I in team save percentage.
Reflecting on her new role at Auburn, McQueen said: “I’m extremely thankful for Coach Armstrong presenting me with the opportunity to join the Auburn soccer program. Auburn’s familial culture, competitiveness and high standards immediately stood out to me as something I wanted to be a part of. I’m excited to get to work with the players and staff and help contribute to the continued success of the program!”
At Auburn, McQueen will focus on leading and developing the team’s goalkeeping unit.
“Tara will be a tremendous addition to our coaching staff,” Armstrong said. “She is a great person and great coach whose resume speaks for itself. She’s got a keen eye for leading and developing elite goalkeepers. I know she’ll continue that here at Auburn with an immense sense of positivity and enthusiasm.”
Before joining North Alabama, McQueen worked as an assistant coach at Jax State for one season and spent three years as a graduate assistant coach at Valdosta State University (VSU). At VSU, she contributed to three Gulf South Conference Tournament appearances and helped secure a spot in the 2021 NCAA South Regional tournament. She also mentored Molly Wooldridge, who was named GSC Freshman of the Year in 2021.
McQueen has experience coaching at several high schools from 2016-2019: Radford High School, Lake Braddock Secondary School, and Chantilly High School.
As a player, McQueen competed collegiately at Radford University and George Mason University before earning her degree in sport management from George Mason in 2019. She later received her Master of Education in Higher Education Leadership from Valdosta State in 2021.
She is originally from Richmond, Virginia, where she attended Midlothian High School.
