Coach Keidane McAlpine saw the potential on January 30. He’d recently inherited the soccer program at Georgia, and Atlanta United was playing a preseason game at Turner Soccer Complex. The stands were packed, and the United supporters group sang and whacked on drums for 90 minutes.

“It felt like a proper soccer atmosphere,” McAlpine recalled.

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And it’s that kind of noise, that kind of racket, that kind of environment that he wants to create as head coach of the Bulldogs. The former USC coach stepped into the role in early 2022 on the promise that he would have the facilities and backing to build a program that would perennially compete for national titles — something that he plans to make good on.

But he isn’t the only new coach to assume a position in the SEC. In the past five months, two burgeoning programs with major potential have brought in coaches with impressive resumes and winning pedigrees. And with McAlpine at Georgia and Troy Fabiano at Kentucky, the landscape of the conference could well change in the coming years.

For McAlpine, it was about the facilities. The new boss at Georgia had seen a successful career at USC, one marked by eight straight NCAA Tournament appearances and a national championship in 2016. But the reigning Pac 12 Coach of the Year felt a change was necessary. And when the Georgia job popped up, he was drawn in.

Georgia offered him what USC couldn’t: a wealth of resources at his disposal to rebuild a program. He walked into a setup that included its own locker room, practice field, full stands, and a more lenient schedule that valued player welfare.

“From the facilities standpoint, and the support I’ve already received, I’m super excited about the future here,” McAlpine said.

📍 Back on our own turf...#GoDawgs pic.twitter.com/p53no80VjV

— Georgia Soccer (@UGASoccer) April 10, 2022

And despite the fact that the Bulldogs haven’t made the NCAA tournament since 2014, McAlpine saw potential in the program, especially its ability to tap into the local talent. McAlpine is familiar with the area — he was born and raised hours from the Georgia campus. During almost 10 years at USC, he oversaw a steady stream of southern talent into Los Angeles, a pipeline he believes he could hold down in Athens.

“Georgia doesn’t have a natural power 5 rival in the state. So the question is can we keep some of those kids that we were able to recruit out of the state of Georgia, in the state of Georgia?” McAlpine said.

Still, in the five months he’s been in the job, the Alabama native has had a lot of work to do. Although the players weren’t lacking in quality, McAlpine has steadily implemented his style, making his squad fitter — and asking them to play more quickly.

“It’s been interesting because you come in and you don’t know the individuals, you don’t know what was here before,” McAlpine said.

Such a drastic change in ethos has opened up opportunities for the squad, but also seen some inconsistency on the pitch. The Bulldogs have challenged themselves with a strong spring slate, leading to some mixed results.

“We haven’t asked for the total package. We’ve asked for layers of growth. And I think we’ve seen really good spurts of play,” McAlpine said.

While McAlpine has inherited a Georgia that sits near the middle of the conference, Fabiano has assumed one that’s consistently been at the bottom.

The former Milwaukee-Wisconsin coach stepped into the role back in December, enticed by the opportunity to turn around a struggling SEC program. Fabiano arrived in Lexington with an impressive pedigree. He’d consistently made Milwaukee-Wisconsin one of the highest-scoring teams in the nation, and had turned a middling mid-major school into an NCAA Tournament regular.

When the opportunity came to implement that style, and, hopefully, bring that success to a bigger stage, Fabiano jumped.

“It was just a great opportunity for myself and my family with the resources and what [Athletic Director Mitch Barnhart] envisioned for the program,” Fabiano said.

Still, that change has to come with patience, Fabiano said. He’s working with a talented team. but, like McAlpine, the squad isn’t his own. Fabiano has made some slight changes, enlisting help from Florida State and Mississippi State via the transfer portal.

And he’s made further efforts to evaluate younger players. In the six months that Fabiano has been in the job, Kentucky has held two ID camps, getting a look at some of the in-state talent at his disposal. With few in-state recruiting rivals, Fabiano and his staff hope they can pinch some of the best in the area.

“It's been exciting to see, you have the SEC brand and the UK brand,” Fabiano said. “We're able to approach all four regions and internationally.”

Such an attitude means Fabiano is thinking about the long term. This spring has been about considering the resources at his disposal and piecing together a squad that can hold its own in one of the nation's most difficult conferences. But going forward, once he starts bringing in his own classes, Fabiano hopes the team will shoot up the standings.

“We're going to have quality players and quality people,” Fabiano said.

And it’s in that effort that Fabiano and McAlpine are united. The two coaches have inherited different squads that face similar challenges. They’ve got new groups, but are driven by their old philosophies.

That contradiction has been an adjustment for both coaches so far. The hours of watching unfamiliar talent, and trying to piece together a coherent system have proved difficult.

But when McAlpine recalls those packed stands, and Fabiano looks at the quality at his ID camps, those struggles seem very much temporary.