PITTSBURGH - University of Pittsburgh women's soccer head coach Randy Waldrum signed a new contract that will ensure his leadership of the Panthers through at least the 2027 season, Director of Athletics Heather Lyke announced Thursday afternoon.
 
"We are ecstatic to announce that we have extended Coach Waldrum's contract," Lyke said. "Randy has developed winning cultures everywhere he has been and has continued that track record of success here at Pitt. Since Coach Waldrum's arrival, he and his staff have built our women's soccer program into a national contender and our student-athletes' experiences have been extraordinary. We are thrilled to have Coach Waldrum continue to lead our student-athletes and look forward to seeing the great expectations continue to rise and be achieved by our women's soccer program."
 
Named the fourth head coach in Pitt women's soccer history in December of 2017, Waldrum has engineered one of the most impressive turnarounds in women's college soccer. He took over a program that had won just five total games and one conference game in the previous two seasons and built it into a 14-win team, an ACC contender, and an NCAA Tournament qualifier in just five years. Under Waldrum's watch, the Panthers have won 45 games, including 36 over the last three seasons.
 
"I am extremely excited about continuing my time at the University of Pittsburgh," Waldrum said. "I want to thank Heather Lyke and Chancellor Gallagher for believing in me and our staff. I also want to thank (Associate Athletic Director, Administration) Katie Stumpp for her support of our staff and our team. I'm looking forward to continuing our growth as a perennial national power along with associate head coach Ben Waldrum and assistant coaches Dustin Stein and Jesse Goleman. We have more work to do, but clearly, we are moving in a positive direction. Lastly, I want to thank our players, who have been nothing short of amazing. Since day one on campus, they have bought in to our philosophy and game model and the commitment it takes to be successful. We are all excited and looking forward to making Panther Nation proud."
 
The Panthers are coming off their most successful season in program history in 2022. Pitt overcame several key injuries throughout the season to set program records for overall wins (14) and ACC wins (5) and qualified for both the ACC Championship and NCAA Championship fields for the first time in program history. Pitt opened the year 6-0 to match the best start to a season in program history. The Panthers reached the Sweet Sixteen in their first NCAA Tournament appearance after knocking off Buffalo in the First Round, 1-0, and Georgetown in the Second Round, 2-1. The team set single-season program records for points (138) and goals (47). Pitt finished the season at No. 12 in the United Soccer Coaches Rankings, with the Panthers earning a top-25 ranking in each of the final seven weeks of the organization's poll.
 
Freshman defender Katie Zailski and senior midfielder Landy Mertz represented Pitt on the 2022 United Soccer Coaches NCAA Division I Women's All-Atlantic Region Teams, with Zailski being named to the Second Team and Mertz being named to the Third Team. The duo also earned All-ACC honors, as Mertz was named to the Third Team while Zailski was named to the All-Freshman Team. The Panthers also excelled in the classroom, placing six student-athletes on the 2022 Academic All-District® 2 Team, selected by College Sports Communicators. Representing the Panthers were Mertz, sophomore midfielder Bri Hilsenteger, senior goalkeeper Caitlyn Lazzarini, sophomore defender Ashley Moon, sophomore forward Sarah Schupansky and junior midfielder Emily Yaple. Mertz was then named to the 2022 College Sports Communicators Division I Academic All-America Second Team, becoming the first Panther to garner Academic All-America status.
 
Pitt's historic 2022 campaign was set up by back-to-back 11-win seasons in 2020-21 and '21. In 2021, the Panthers posted victories in each of their first five games for the second year in a row. Pitt boasted a high-powered attack, outscoring the competition by a 41-22 count.  Amanda West enjoyed another stellar campaign under Waldrum's watch in her junior season. She was named to the United Soccer Coaches' All-Atlantic Region Third Team. The only Panther to be named to multiple all-region teams, West garnered selection for the third-straight year. Picked to the All-ACC Third-Team, West earned All-ACC honors for the third time in her career despite missing seven games due to an injury. Under Waldrum's guidance, West has become the program's career leader in points (100), goals (39), and assists (22).
 
In just his third season, Waldrum guided the Panthers to a then-school-record 11 wins in 2020-21 despite playing two less games in the regular season than a traditional year due to the pandemic. Pitt earned its first-ever ranking in the United Soccer Coaches' Poll at No. 12 and stayed in the poll for an additional week. The Panthers won their first six games of the season, the best start in program history. Pitt earned the record despite being on the road for five of the games, setting another school record for most wins away from home in a single season. Waldrum saw West become the first Panther to be named to the United Soccer Coaches' All-Atlantic Region First Team and All-ACC Second Team. West ranked third in the nation in points (33) and fifth in goals (13), breaking her own school single-season records while becoming the school's leader in career points (62) during the fall.
 
The foundation for future success at Pitt was laid in Waldrum's second season in charge. Bringing in one of the best recruiting classes in program history and Waldrum's first guiding the program, the newcomers made a huge impact in the turnaround. As one of the nation's youngest programs, Pitt had nine freshmen combine to start 92 matches. The team snapped a three-year winless streak (0-25-3) in ACC play with an overtime win over Boston College, then defeated eventual Sweet 16 qualifier NC State the following week. West etched her name all over the Panthers' record book as a freshman. She broke the school's single-season points record (29) and tied for goals (10) and assists (nine) with four game-winning goals. She became the first Panther to receive All-ACC honors with spots on the third and freshmen teams and became the second one to earn a spot on the United Soccer Coaches' All-Region Team with a third-team nod.
 
Prior to arriving at Pitt, Waldrum saw unprecedented success in his tenure at the helm of the perennial powerhouse Notre Dame women's program. In his 14 seasons, he led the Fighting Irish to two national championships, capturing the College Cup title in 2004 and '10. His teams won eight Big East Tournament titles and appeared in eight NCAA Final Four games in that span. A two-time national coach of the year (2009 by Soccer America; '10 by NSCAA), Waldrum was the first coach in NCAA history to lead a team to a national title in his/her first season with a program. He wrapped up his tenure at Notre Dame with a mark of 292-58-17 (.819).
 
Waldrum joined the Fighting Irish after beginning a program at Baylor, building the Bears into a threat in the Big 12 from scratch. In three seasons with Baylor, Waldrum guided the Bears to an overall mark of 46-14-3 after spending 1995-96 starting up the program. He was named the Big 12 and NSCAA Region Coach of the Year after a 15-5-1 record in 1998, as the Bears reached as high as 12th in the nation en route to a Big 12 Conference title.
 
Prior to his tenure at Baylor, Waldrum spent six seasons at the helm of the Tulsa program, serving as head coach for both the men's and women's programs from 1989-94. He led the men to a record of 66-33-6 and the women to a mark of 61-36-9.
 
In his playing career, Waldrum was a standout at Midwestern State University, earning all-district honors in each of his four seasons in Wichita Falls, Texas. He graduated in 1981 with a degree in physical education and a minor in political science. He moved on to play professionally with the Los Angeles Skyhawks and Indianapolis Daredevils of the American Soccer League.
 
In addition to his impressive resume in the NCAA, Waldrum also spent time in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL), becoming the head coach of the Houston Dash expansion team in January of 2014. In his three seasons with the Dash, Waldrum coached seven national team players who laced up with their respective countries in the Rio Summer Olympic Games, including Team USA members Carli Lloyd, Morgan Brian and Pittsburgh native Meghan Klingenberg.
 
Waldrum was appointed the head coach of the Nigeria Women's Senior National Team, the Super Falcons, on Oct. 5, 2020, a role he serves in addition to his coaching role at Pitt. Waldrum has also served as the head coach of the United States U-23 National Team, winning the Four Nations Cup in 2012 and '13 as well as the Three Nations Cup in '12.
 
Waldrum and his wife, Dianna, have one son, Ben, who currently serves on his staff as associate head coach.

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