Pitt Women's Soccer Announces New Head Coach

PITTSBURGH — The Pitt Panthers announced changes to their women's soccer coaching staff, including naming a new head coach.

Pitt athletic director Allen Greene announced that women's soccer head coach Randy Waldrum will start in a new role as technical director of the program. Ben Waldrum, Randy's son and associate head coach, will now take over as the head coach of the program.

“Randy [Waldrum] and his staff have done a tremendous job building the Pitt Women’s Soccer program over the past seven seasons,” Greene said in the press release. “As we look to continue to innovate and elevate women’s soccer in Pittsburgh, it became obvious that adopting a professional model with Randy assuming the role of technical director would be the best way to utilize his vast experience and success across the collegiate, professional, and international levels."

"Randy’s soccer acumen is unrivaled, and this new role will allow him to focus his energy on the technical and strategic direction of the program. He continues to be integral to the success of the Pitt Women’s Soccer program and will remain an ideal mentor to our new head coach Ben Waldrum.”

The change allows Pitt to model the program after the professional model, allowing for Randy and Ben Waldrum to have more clear-defined roles and allow them to achieve them easier than before.

"As collegiate athletics continues to change it is important for our program to be prepared to adjust with it,” Randy Waldrum said in the press release.

“Shifting my role to technical director will allow me to focus my attention on roster makeup, scouting, game planning, and all aspects of player development. I have seen this model have great success on the professional and international levels and am excited to be in position to mirror that here at Pitt. Ben [Waldrum] is well prepared to take on head coaching duties. He has a great passion for the game and has the energy, enthusiasm, and knowledge to lead the program. Pitt Women’s Soccer will continue to be a program on the rise in the ACC and on the national stage."

Randy Waldrum finishes as the winningest coach in Pitt history, with a 71-51-11 (W-L-D) record since taking over the job in 2018. He turned a program that never made the postseason to back-to-back appearances in the ACC Tournament and the NCAA Tournament in 2022 and 2023.

The Panthers made it to the Sweet 16 in 2022 and also the ACC Semifinals, plus the Elite Eight in 2023, but lost to Florida State, eventual National Champions both seasons, all three times.

Randy Waldrum spent 43 seasons, starting in 1978, coaching college women's soccer. This included Division II program Pittsburg State from 1978-89, the men's and women's soccer teams at Tulsa from 1989-94, Baylor from 1996-98 and Notre Dame from 1998-2013.

He had the most success with Notre Dame, going 292-58-17 and winning the College Cup twice in 2004 and 2010.

Randy Waldrum also managed the Houston Dash in the NWSL from 2014-17 and also internationally with the United States U-23 National Team from 2012-13, Trinidad and Tobago from 2014-16 and Nigeria from 2020-23, making the 2023 World Cup and the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Ben Waldrum has served under his father for many years, including as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at Notre Dame from 2003-08, at Trinidad and Tobago from 2014-16 and through his entire tenure at Pitt, including the last six years as associate head coach.

"I am grateful for the opportunity to be the next head coach of the Pitt Women’s Soccer program,” Ben Waldrum said in the press release.

“We have worked diligently over the past seven years to elevate this program and this shift to a professional staffing model is going to help us make the next jump. I have learned so much from Randy [Waldrum] throughout my career and we will continue to operate in sync with him as technical director of the program. We are excited about the roster we have put together for the 2025 season and are eager to get them all on campus to begin working towards another NCAA Tournament run.”