Assistant athletic director John Jentz confirmed yesterday that the list of applicants for Wisconsin’s vacant head men’s soccer coach position is now over 100.

96 names were on the preliminary list, which was posted for the first time Friday and updated after a few more names were added, Jentz said. The process of selecting a new coach will now accelerate.

Jentz, who is directing the search for a replacement for Kalekeni Mtalika Banda, is set to interview at least two candidates this week and possibly a third. The first meeting is scheduled for today.

Jentz said narrowing the huge field down to three top candidates has been the most difficult part of the national search, which began immediately after Banda resigned Jan. 4.

“There’s probably a dozen, maybe 20 guys who can step in with their qualifications and do an excellent job here,” Jentz said. “We’re just trying to find the right one.”

Wisconsin’s athletic department selected Banda in 1996 after firing Jim Launder. For five years, the coach floundered under scrutiny and ended with a 37-58-4 record at UW.

After becoming a winning team in Banda’s final two years, and as the biggest program currently with an opening, Jentz says Wisconsin is in a great position to move forward after it makes a hiring.

“We’ve got two main goals right now,” Jentz said. “One is to reconnect with the Wisconsin soccer community. And a good thing is to get back into the NCAA tournament and start making some runs there.”

Jentz is eager to finalize the process in the next 10 days — before national signing day Feb. 6, when having a coach in place will likely help the Badgers cement a stable recruiting class. He said the range of applicants’ experience includes assistants and head coaches from every college level, as well as several former professional and national-team coaches.

Jentz would not reveal the names he plans to interview in the next few days, but said he has spoken with “over half” of the applicants and feels Wisconsin is focusing on the best three.