Few people have impacted the game of soccer in South Carolina quite like Kevin Heise. 

Last week, the longtime Lexington County coach secured his 600th career win with a victory over Gilbert, joining an exclusive group of South Carolina coaches. Heise joins former Irmo and River Bluff coach Phil Savitz (824) and current West Florence coach Billy Andrews (650+) as the only coaches in the state to achieve this feat. 

“The whole object of the game is to win, so that’s always how I’ve approached coaching,” Heise said. “I want to win every game I play. I want to win every contest I compete in. It’s just the way I’m built.” 

Heise’s path to win 600 began at a familiar place. One year after leaving Brookland-Cayce as an All-State keeper, he returned to his alma mater to serve as the school’s JV coach while studying at the University of South Carolina. 

The Brookland-Cayce head coaching job opened up after Thad Miller left for the Chapin job.  The school promoted Heise, and all of a sudden, he was in charge, despite being a few years removed from his playing days. 

“Being able to get a job there and coach there in that community, it was home,” Heise said. “It was an easy transition from player to coach.” 

Heise spent 26 years at Brookland-Cayce. He finished his Bearcat career with a 454-172-16 record and 15 region championships, including six in a row from 1997-2002.

Success did not come right away, but it wasn’t long until the team saw positive results. 

His first year, Heise led the Bearcats to an 8-7 record. The team finished six games above .500 the next year but was still fifth in region play, missing the postseason in each of his first two seasons. 

The team made their first postseason appearance the following year after going 17-4. The next year, the team won its region for the first time under Hesie. The following year, the team repeated as region champions and made the state semifinals. 

Heise’s Bearcat tenure reached its peak during the 2001 and 2002 seasons when the team made back-to-back state title game appearances. In 2001, the Bearcats went 26-2-1 before losing 1-0 to Riverside in the final. 

That loss still haunts him. 

“That’s a game we outshot them 15-5, and I still wake up. It’s a nightmare,” Heise said. “That’s two and a half decades, I’ve woken up many a night.” 

The 2002 team made it back to the title game after an upset win over Myrtle Beach. That team also fell short in the championship match. 

Heise’s teams made the state championship game three times during his Bearcat tenure. At Gray, his team also made the state championship game three times, coming in each of the past three seasons. Heise is (0-6) in title games. This, however, does not bother him. 

“I think it's real simple. I think the builder team wins in those kinds of situations, unless it's an upset,” Heise said. “I think 2001 would have been the upset. That was a riverside team we'd already beaten.” 

Heise left Brookland-Cayce in 2016 and joined Gray in 2018, a couple of years after the school opened its doors. While there was a soccer program already at the school, the team lacked many crucial resources that many other teams had access to, including a home field. 

What the team did have, though, was a group of kids willing to work and play at the highest level. Heise’s team went 23-4 in his first season and made the 2A semifinals. Since then, he has recorded over 145 wins at Gray and counting. 

“We were very fortunate when we made the transition from Brookland-Cayce to Gray to have a nucleus of kids that followed us here, and I think in a large part, helped establish the current culture we have,” Heise said. “They saw there was some change coming, and school choice started becoming an option, and they followed suit. And when they came over here, it kind of gave us an instant shot in the arm and soccer respectability in our boys and girls teams.” 

School choice has been a concept synonymous with Gray Collegiate and its athletic program in recent years. Heise is at the center of that conversation after taking over as the school’s athletic director last year. 

Gray has been accused of recruiting and poaching athletes from nearby schools, including Heise’s alma mater. Gray has stood by its belief in school choice and providing students with an alternative academic and athletic experience. 

Under Heise’s leadership, Gray Collegiate made the jump from 2A competition to 4A after the out-of-zone student multiplier was added by the SCHSL to address complaints of recruitment and competitive balance. This put the school in the same region as many other Lexington County schools, including Gilbert, Airport and of course, Brookland-Cayce. 

Despite the change, many of Gray’s programs have continued to see success in the larger classification, including Heise’s own team. 

“I think a lot of people really question how successful Gray could be at the 4A level,” Heise said. “You look across the board, our teams for being competitive, and that's to be honest, what I expect. Our athletic programs won’t take a back seat to anybody.” 

The Gray soccer team entered this week leading their region. The team had the chance to clinch the title with a win over who else but Brookland-Cayce. 

The War Eagles defeated the Bearcats 3-0 to finish the region season 13-1 and win the title in its first year of 4A play.. 

Gray has lofty goals this season. The team believes they are one of the best in the state and should be in state title conversations. Heise said the group has overcome a tough stretch of injuries and had to call up players from its JV squad. 

“We've been bit by the injury bug more than any team I've ever had,” he said. “Playoff time, you got to be healthy, hungry and humble. If you lose any one of those three, you're not gonna be around in the playoffs very long. So it's key that we get healthy.” 

While win 600 was a notable and celebration-worthy event this season. For Heise, it was just another game. His eyes are on the big prize. 

However, that didn’t stop those former players, coaches and friends he made during his journey from reaching out to congratulate them. From Phil Savitz to the current D.C. United Head Coach and Brookland-Cayce alum Troy Lesene, Heise heard from many old friends from the past.

“You hear from people you haven't heard from in a long time, and I guess that's the neat part about it,” Heise said. 

While there wasn’t much celebration on the field after the Gilbert game, Heise did get to share the moment with his wife Emily, Gray’s girls soccer coach, and his daughters. It was the kind of moment that called for the sweetest of treats, a Wendy’s Frosty. Unfortunately, the machine was down. 

“My daughters were disappointed. They blamed daddy for the failure,” Heise said with a laugh.