After finishing the 2016 campaign with a 6-11-2 record, Kevin Boyd resigned after serving 10 seasons as the Arizona State Women’s Soccer Team head coach. ASU athletic director Ray Anderson replaced Boyd with Graham Winkworth as the fourth head coach in the program’s history.
Winkworth has spent the last four years as the head coach of the South Alabama women’s team. There, Winkworth was able to win four straight Sun Belt Conference championships. During his tenure, Winkworth coached four straight Sun Belt Freshman of the Year, three Sun Belt Players of the Year and three Sun Belt Defensive Player of the Year. Winkworth has also won some accolades himself as a two-time Sun Belt Coach of the Year in 2014 and 2015.
Winkworth had success right away. In his first season, he led the team to fourteen wins, the most for the program since 1997. Winkworth also set new program records for most wins (12) and shutouts (22).
A few days ago, Anderson explained in a press conference why he decided to hire Winkworth.
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“I was impressed with Graham’s skill at building and elevating programs everywhere he has coached,” Anderson said. “He has a proven track record of results at every level of the sport and we are excited to bring someone with his degree of skill and expertise into the competitive Pac-12 Conference. Graham’s vision for the program and his ability to recruit, both domestically and internationally, fit perfectly with the collective vision of Arizona State University and Sun Devil Athletics.”
Winkworth will be looking to fill in some pretty big shoes. Boyd has the most wins in program history and led the Sun Devils to four NCAA tournament appearances.
It will be interesting to see if Winkworth can make an impact right away or if it will take some time before he can bring Arizona State back to one of the top teams in the Pac-12.