The Indiana Soccer Hall of Fame is proud to announce its newest 2-person class into the Hall of Fame. The 2026 Class includes Carla Baker and Mike Avery. The class will be inducted into the Indiana Soccer Hall of Fame on Saturday, February 28th, 2026, at the Renaissance Hotel – Carmel.
Baker, who currently resides in Carmel and continues to coach high school soccer and referee youth games, started her career as a student-athlete goalkeeper in Hamilton, Ontario at McMaster University. Her performance in goal earned her a call-up to the Canadian Women’s National team in 1987. She stared for them for 9 years, competing in the CONCACAF World Cup Qualifiers and eventually the 1995 FIFA World Cup. In all, she earned 29 caps for the Canadian Women’s National Team.
After completing a professional career, she turned her sights to coaching, working at FIU, Cornell University, University of Notre Dame and the University of Iowa. While an assistant coach at the University of Notre Dame, the Irish went to 4 consecutive final fours; won a National Championship in 1995; were Runners-Up in 1994, 1996 and semi-finalists in 1997.
As an assistant coach at Carmel High School, Baker won a state championship in 2018 and was a runner-up in 2014 and 2025. As an assistant coach at Park Tudor High School, Baker helped coach her team to two state championships in 2022 and 2023 and a runner-up in 2020.
“Honestly, with all her experience and international accomplishments, we are so LUCKY to have her as a representative of soccer in our community – CHS & CFC, “stated Juergen Sommer, Director of Soccer Operations at Carmel FC Soccer. “She has such a professional approach to her work/craft, as well as managing our families when soccer goes sideways, which we’ve all dealt with over the year. Carla is irreplaceable and a foundational pillar within our club!”
As a player, Avery was an NAIA All-American soccer player at Westmont College. After graduating, Avery started his professional career, playing for Real Santa Barbara (Santa Barbara, CA) – 1989-90; Askims IK (Gothenburg, Sweden) 1990-92; and finally, as a player-coach for the Indiana Invaders from 1994-2000.
His college coaching career saw him begin at Midwestern State University (1992-94); Bethel University (1994-97); San Diego State (1997); Cal State San Bernardino (1997-2000); Notre Dame (2000-06); Louisville (2006-07) and ultimately at Valparaiso University (2007-20).
While at Valparaiso, he became the All-Time Wins Leader in Program History; earned the first Horizon League Championship in any sport for Valpo history ( 2027); earned the 2011 Horizon League Coach of the Year; helped the Crusaders become Nationally ranked for the first time ever (2012, and again in 2014, 2015 and 2017). His Valpo teams earned 13 straight NSCAA (United Soccer Coaches) Team Academic Awards for cumulative GPA over 3.0. He was honored with the 2014 Valparaiso University Martin Luther King Award, 2019 Schaefer-McGuigan Award for contributions to a diverse and inclusive Valparaiso community.
Currently, he serves as the Head Coach for Ft. Wayne FC (USL 2). In just his first two years at the helm, Avery guided FWFC to back-to-back Valley Division Championships 2024 & 2025. For 2026, he assisted the club in promotion to USL 1 league play.
Avery is the founder of Center Circle Influencers, INC. as a consultant and keynote speaker on Athletic Performance Perspective (APP) Training. His work is so well renowned; he continually is hired by several college institutions to consult with their teams and athletic departments. He was also honored as the Keynote Speaker for 2024 NCAA Inclusion Forum and 2024 IAAAC Conference in Bangkok, Thailand.
“As a native Hoosier, I feel that Mike has been an exceptional servant to the game of soccer with most of his coaching career spent in Indiana,” stated Tim McClements.
“Mike has dedicated his life to the game of soccer, but even more importantly, to the people within it. His greatest legacy is not found in the wins, trophies, or records, but in the lives, he has shaped”, said Chad Riley, Head Men’s Soccer Coach, University of Notre Dame.
The Hall of Fame “belongs” to the Indiana soccer community and not to any one organization or group of individuals. It honors individuals whose outstanding achievements and significant accomplishments have had a long-lasting effect upon the sport of soccer in Indiana and merit the highest recognition.