Following a stellar career as a soccer player at Forrest County AHS, Drew Gallant wasn’t sure about his future.
He signed with Spring Hill College in Mobile and played his freshman year there before leaving school. He returned to Hattiesburg to work in construction, unsure about his future, but planning to return to school one day.
Enter PRCC soccer coach Adam Breerwood.
“I wasn’t in school at the time,” said Gallant. “Coach Breerwood found out and asked me if I would be interested in playing again. He offered me a scholarship. He took a chance on me, gave me the opportunity to come back.”
In 2003, Gallant came back in a big way. He scored 27 goals and had 24 assists in leading the Wildcats to a 17-3-2 record and their first-ever MACJC-Region XXIII championship. He scored all three goals in a 3-1 victory over Hinds for the title. He made the All-State, All-Region and All-American teams that year.
The Hattiesburg native is a 2001 graduate of Forrest County Agricultural High School, where he was a multi-sport athlete competing in football, soccer, golf, tennis and track. He was an All-Division and All-State performer in football and soccer.
After high school, Gallant spent one season at Spring Hill College in Mobile, Ala., where he led the men’s soccer team in assists and was second in total points.
After a year away from college, Gallant attended PRCC in 2003-04 where he was an NJCAA All-America Honorable Mention after scoring 27 goals and registering 24 assists; both marks were not only the second-highest totals in the nation but were school records at the time of his 2012 induction.
He then played two seasons at William Carey College, during which time the Crusaders were ranked in the nation’s Top 25 in NAIA. He earned a BS in social science in 2007 and his Master’s degree in sports administration in 2015, both from Carey.
Gallant’s coaching career began while he was still a student at Carey in 2006, serving as an assistant men’s soccer coach at Jones County Junior College. He was at JCJC for two seasons, then took over in 2008 as head soccer coach, both boys and girls, at FCAHS. He also served as an assistant football coach for the Aggies.
He served at FCAHS for three seasons before taking over as men’s and women’s soccer coach at Southwest Mississippi Community College, a position he held for five seasons before coming to Pearl River.
Gallant had a triumphant return to The River and in 2017 claimed the school's sixth MACJC State Championship. At the conclusion of the season, Gallant was named Coach of the Year by the MACJC, NJCAA Region XXIII and Mississippi Association of Coaches.
Gallant is married to the former Katelyn Doyle of Pearl River and has two sons, Landon and Bryce.