Naval Academy Athletics

Melton joined the Navy Women's Soccer program in January of 2019 with a plethora of Division I collegiate coaching experience under his belt. He begins his seventh season on staff ahead of the team's 2025 campaign. He was promoted to the position of Associate Head Coach in June of 2021.
 
In his first season with the Mids in 2019, Melton helped the team reached the NCAA Tournament for its first postseason berth since 2007. Working primarily with Navy's defense and goalkeepers, Melton guided the backline to a dominant campaign that saw the Mids post 13 shutouts and give up just 12 total goals over 22 games for an 0.52 goals against average that ranked 13th overall in NCAA Division I. Specifically in Patriot League play, Navy gave up only two goals in nine regular season contests. Individually, goalie Sydney Fortson earned a spot on the All-Patriot League First Team for going 13-3-3 with an 0.60 GAA and 10 solo shutouts.

Melton and the Mids followed up that excellent debut season with a strong effort during the COVID-impacted 2020-21 season. After playing three non-conference games in the fall versus ACC opponents, Navy came back in the spring and dropped just one game in the entire eight-game schedule. In the 2020-21 Patriot League Tournament, Navy defeated Loyola in the semifinals, 1-0, before grabbing the championship trophy for the second straight year with a 4-1 advantage in penalty kicks over Colgate. In the NCAA Tournament, the Mids went head-to-head with a high-scoring New Mexico Lobos club and tied 1-1 in regulation before falling in PKs, 4-2.
 
In its 4-4-3 season, Navy and Melton saw four Midshipmen student-athletes earn All-Patriot League playing honors, including freshman defender Chloe Dawson, who was named the 2020-21 Patriot League Rookie of the Year. Additionally, freshman goalkeeper Mattie Gallagher was selected as the league's goalie or rookie of the week on three separate occasions. Under Melton's guidance, Gallagher played in 10 of Navy's 11 games in 2020-21 and posted a 0.80 goals against average with a .840 save percentage to go along with three solo shutouts. She played all 803:14 minutes of Navy's action during the 2021 portion of the season, of which every game was a one-goal decision.

The youthful Mids’ roster continued maturing under Melton’s guidance in 2021 and posted an 11-6-3 record and 6-2-1 mark in league play. A hot stretch of action down the stretch saw Navy go 6-0-2 with one or fewer goals allowed in each of the final eight regular season games. The sophomore duo of Chloe Dawson and Mattie Gallagher were at the forefront of this effort and both were rewarded with Second Team All-Patriot League honors. 

Gallagher continued her growth under Melton’s tutelage and once again was named to the All-Patriot League Team as a third team honoree in 2022. Led by Gallagher, Navy’s goalkeeper union posted a 0.95 goals against average, while turning aside 83 percent of all shots on goal; both statistics ranked third in the Patriot League. With a Patriot League postseason berth on the line in late October, Gallagher backstopped the Mids’ to a dramatic 1-0 shutout win at Lafayette on the strength of a career-best 10 saves.   

Melton’s work with Navy’s goalkeeping unit continued to show through in 2023 as Gallagher rounded out her career with 70 more saves for a 4.12 per game ratio; good for third-best in the Patriot League. Behind Gallagher’s effort as the starter, the Mids’ union combined for a 1.05 goals against average and .792 save percentage to go along with six shutouts. For her career with Melton by her side, Gallagher finished with 278 saves, 16 solo shutouts and a 1.07 goals against average. Her save total ranks second all-time, while her clean sheet total leaves her fifth all-time in program history.

2024 gave Melton a new task, as he helped develop freshman goalkeeper Natasha Stramrood into the Team MVP once the rookie grabbed the starting nod in week two and never looked back. Backstopped by Stramrood, Navy returned to the Patriot League Tournament and posted four shutouts on the campaign, while limiting the opposition to one goal in eight other contests. Appearing in all 21 games, Stramrood made 19 starts, posted three individual shutouts and grabbed 94 total saves, a mark that ranked 40th nationally and fourth among DI freshmen.

Prior to Navy, Melton built up a strong coaching resume at the Division I ranks as he was most recently on staff at Mercer University in Macon, Ga.. While an assistant with the Bears during the 2017 and 2018 seasons, Melton served as the program's recruiting coordinator and assistant camp director while also overseeing academic progress and player development, including video scouting analysis and on-the-field training sessions. In competition, Melton and the Bears collected 19 victories over his two season on staff and saw six players earned postseason SoCon awards. 

In addition to his time at Mercer, Melton was involved as the southeast scout for the U.S. youth women's national teams, with main focus on the U14 and U16 age groups. Along with his duties with the national team, Melton was involved with the Region III ODP and served as the head coach of the 2002 Georgia State ODP Team. He was heavily involved in coaching education and currently holds a USSF "A" license. Additionally, Melton is an instructor of USSF "E" and "D" licenses.

Before Mercer, Melton was on staff at Xavier University, where he spent three seasons as an assistant coach for the Musketeers from 2014 through 2016. As part of his responsibilities with Xavier, Melton served as the recruiting coordinator for Xavier. He also oversaw academic progress as the team recorded a GPA of 3.5 or higher for five semesters.
 
Melton's first stop in the SoCon Conference came in 2013 when he was an assistant coach Samford University. Melton helped lead the Bulldogs to a 13-6-2 record. He assisted in on-field training, creating scouting reports and overseeing team travel. Melton also served as a staff coach at Birmingham United Soccer Association. 
 
Prior to his time at Samford, Melton was a graduate assistant coach at Ole Miss for two seasons, with main duties of video analysis and camp coordinator. While in graduate school, Melton was also the varsity boy's soccer coach at Oxford High School for two seasons, helping guide the team to a 2013 5A State Championship. As an undergrad, Melton served as the women's soccer video coordinator at Ole Miss from 2009-2011.
 
Melton earned a bachelor's degree in applied science from the University of Mississippi in 2011 and a masters in recreation administration in 2013. Melton and his wife Lauren currently reside in Annapolis and are proud parents to their daughter Morgan.