The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
Margueritte Bates (Aozasa) named Soccer head coach
11.25.2025 | Soccer
First-ever rookie head coach to win NCAA Division I Women’s Soccer Championship becomes fourth coach in Texas program history
AUSTIN, Texas — Margueritte Bates (Aozasa) has been named head soccer coach at The University of Texas, UT Vice President and Lois and Richard Folger Athletics Director Chris Del Conte announced on Tuesday. Bates arrives on The Forty Acres following an extraordinary four-year tenure at UCLA, where she became the first rookie head coach to win the NCAA Division I Women's Soccer Championship in 2022.
During her time with the Bruins, Bates compiled a 67-13-9 (.803) ledger, the fourth-best mark of any program during that stretch. The two-time Pac-12 Coach of the Year guided UCLA to a pair of conference titles and four consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances.
"What an incredible day for Texas Soccer and our entire athletics program," said Del Conte. "We are absolutely thrilled to welcome Margueritte Bates to our Longhorn family. 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. I want to thank Executive Senior Associate Athletics Director for Sports Administration Sarah Baumgartner leading this search and helping us bring Coach Bates to The Forty Acres."
After being tabbed the sixth head coach in UCLA women's soccer history in Dec. 2021, Bates promptly steered her team to the program's second NCAA Championship and a school record-tying 22 victories.
The first-year head coach led the Bruins to a No. 1 national ranking for the final nine weeks of the season, with UCLA ascending to the top after a road sweep of No. 2 Duke and No. 1 North Carolina on Labor Day weekend.
Bates' Bruins began the year by winning their first 13 games, setting a new program record for best start to a campaign.
UCLA finished the regular season with a 17-2 mark, as Bates was voted the Pac-12 Coach of the Year. The Bruins were also named the United Soccer Coaches National Staff of the Year. That season, Bates coached the 2022 Honda Sport Award winner Lilly Reale.
"I am truly humbled and incredibly energized to lead this tradition-rich program at The University of Texas," said Bates. "This is a place synonymous with excellence, built on decades of pride, passion and championship standards. There is no question that Texas has everything required to not only compete among the nation's best, but to define what excellence looks like. I'm grateful to Chris Del Conte, Sarah Baumgartner and our University leadership for entrusting me with this opportunity. Hook 'Em, Horns!"
In 2023, Bates won her first conference title and second consecutive Pac-12 Coach of the Year honor, as UCLA finished the season with a 16-2-1 ledger.
During the Bruins' inaugural campaign as members of the Big Ten in 2024, UCLA ran through the conference tournament with three shutout wins, capped off by a record-setting 5-0 victory in the championship final.
This past season, Bates guided the Bruins to a 12-5-4 mark, with a marquee 2-0 win over No. 1 Stanford and a 3-0 victory against No. 5 Iowa. Heading into postseason play, Bates' team ranked second nationally in goals against average (0.42) and logged 12 clean sheets in 19 matches. UCLA reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament before coming up short in a penalty kick shootout against fifth-seeded BYU.
Under Bates, the Bruins produced 22 professional players, including all 11 seniors from the 2024 squad. UCLA collected eight major conference awards, highlighted by Reale, who garnered Conference Defender of the Year three times. One year after graduating, Reale received her first senior U.S. Women's National Team call-up and earned NWSL Rookie of the Year distinction.
Bates has also coached at the U.S. Youth National Team level. Following the 2022 collegiate season, she joined the coaching staff of the U.S. Under-23 National Team as an assistant coach for a training camp in Feb. 2023 and as the head coach of the U-23 team in March 2023. In June 2024, she was an assistant coach for the U.S. U-20 squad at the Concacaf Championships, as they qualified for the FIFA Under-20 World Cup.
Prior to arriving at UCLA, Bates was an assistant coach at Stanford from 2015-21. She helped the Cardinal win NCAA Championships in 2017 and 2019 and five straight Pac-12 titles from 2015-19. The 2018 team also reached the College Cup.
While on The Farm, Stanford registered a 125-19-8 (.849) record, with the Cardinal notching a +318-goal differential (412 goals for, 94 goals against).
Two of her Stanford student-athletes won the Hermann Trophy in three consecutive years from 2017-19 — Andi Sullivan (2017) and Catarina Macario (2018 & 2019) — and four Cardinal players were selected as the No. 1 pick in the NWSL Draft — Sullivan in 2018, Tierna Davidson in 2019, Sophia Smith in 2020 and Naomi Girma in 2022.
As a recruiter, Bates brought in multiple top-5 recruiting classes, including the second-ranked class of 2022. She mentored six U.S. Women's National Team players through their collegiate careers at Stanford — Sullivan, Macario, Davidson, Smith, Alana Cook and Jane Campbell. With Bates on staff, the Cardinal amassed 18 major conference awards.
The Stanford coaching staff was recognized as the 2016 NSCAA Pacific Region Staff of the Year, with Bates selected to the United Soccer Coaches' 30 Under 30 Class in 2018-19.
In addition to working with the Cardinal, Bates was the ECNL head coach for 10 years at MVLA Soccer Club, which was ranked by Top Drawer Soccer as the No. 6-ranked youth club in the country. Her '02 and '03 MVLA ECNL squads were Champions League teams, with a combined 35 players on NCAA Division I rosters.
Bates was a four-year starter under head coach Jerry Smith at Santa Clara from 2008-11, playing at midfield and center back. A two-year team captain and WCC All-Academic Team member, she graduated from Santa Clara with a major in psychology and minors in public health and Spanish in 2012. In 2020, she earned a master's degree in coaching and athletic administration from Concordia University, Irvine, and received her U.S. Soccer "A" Coaching License.
A native of Piscataway, N.J., Bates is one of three Asian American women currently serving as a head coach for an NCAA women's soccer team.
She is married to Mykell Bates, who is a fellow soccer coach with both collegiate and professional experience. They have a one-year-old girl, Akari.
