Arizona State recently celebrated their solid finish in ESPN's final 2025 recruiting class rankings, but it seems as if that recognition led to the program losing one of its top recruiting staffers. Matt Zenitz of On3 reported on Thursday that senior assistant for player personnel Nick So'oto is leaving for a promotion with the Golden Bears.
Cal is expected to hire Arizona State senior assistant for player personnel Nick So’oto as a member of its personnel and recruiting department, a source tells @CBSSports/@247Sports.
— Matt Zenitz (@mzenitz) February 13, 2025
Before Arizona State, So’oto worked at Fresno State and Army.https://t.co/qOetA1jj8s pic.twitter.com/PTlSC1P1hr
So'oto had been a key figure in the Sun Devils' football operations department, working as a pivotal part of their recruiting operation. He brought a combination of ties to Texas and Louisiana - having coached at Parkway High School in Louisiana and later graduating from LSU, on top of playing at Northeastern State in Oklahoma and coaching at West Texas A&M - as well as the Polynesian community, in which Arizona State has built a strong pipeline.
Shoutout @Trent_Birch with his annual contribution to the culture 👀🔱 #PolyPipeline🌴 —> 🌵 pic.twitter.com/tzmD34pQtT
— Nick So’oto (@CoachSooto) February 5, 2025
For the 2024 season, the Sun Devils had 22 players from Texas, 6 players from Louisiana, and 17 Polynesian players. So'oto played a huge role in building the relationships to amass that kind of talent from those areas, something that's been a priority for Kenny Dillingham.
So'oto came to the Sun Devils from Fresno State, where he had worked as the Bulldogs' on-campus recruiting coordinator. He had previously held the same role for the Army, another program that frequently taps the Polynesian pipeline.
While the Sun Devils will surely miss So'oto, it's not like he's their entire recruiting operation. Dillingham is known for his recruiting chops, and his staff is filled with coaches that have ties to both the Texas and Polynesian pipelines in Bryan Carrington, Shaun Aguano, Diron Reynolds and Saga Tuitele.
This is a loss, for sure, but not one that is likely to be devastsating for Arizona State. That said, Cal has made strides in recent years on the recruiting trail, and they look to be beefing their recruiting operation up even further; they added longtime NFL head coach Ron Rivera in a general manager role recently, and have now poached So'oto.
It will be interesting to see if the Golden Bears target any Arizona State players the next time the transfer portal opens up, or if they get into any battles on the recruiting trail going forward.