Texas has hired UCLA’s Margueritte Bates as its next soccer coach, the school announced Tuesday. Bates becomes the fourth coach in the history of the program that began playing on the varsity level in 1994. She replaces Ange Kelly, who led the Longhorns for the last 14 years before UT announced Monday that she had been fired.
Bates, 35, has spent the past four seasons at UCLA, where she won the 2022 national championship. She announced earlier this week that she was moving on from the Bruins to pursue “other opportunities.”
“What an incredible day for Texas Soccer and our entire athletics program,” UT athletic director Chris Del Conte said in a statement. “… When we began our search for the next leader of our program, Coach Bates’ name immediately rose to the top. Her résumé of success is incredible and her reputation in the soccer community is truly exceptional.
“Margueritte is a proven championship coach, an elite developer of student-athletes and a dynamic leader, with a clear vision for building a program that competes at the highest level year after year. From the moment we met with her, it was clear she was a perfect fit for Texas.”
An assistant coach at Stanford from 2015-21, Bates found immediate success at UCLA, her first head coaching job. She became the first rookie and woman of color to coach a team to a national championship when UCLA topped North Carolina in two overtimes in the 2022 NCAA championship game.
Bates posted a 67-13-9 record at UCLA. The Bruins went 12-5-4 in 2025 and were eliminated in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
The Longhorns’ hiring of Bates continues a trend under Del Conte of the Texas athletic department chasing successful coaches to fill its vacancies. Four of UT’s last six hires — including another former UCLA coach, beach volleyball’s Stein Metzger — had previously won national championships elsewhere.
At Texas, Bates will inherit a team coming off a 4-12-1 season, the worst in school history. The Longhorns, however, aren’t that far removed from the championship they won at the SEC soccer tournament in 2024. Forward Ava McDonald was this year’s SEC freshman of the year and fellow forward Amalia Villarreal was an all-conference honoree.