On episode #26 of the WoSo Independent podcast, Chris (@chris_awk) and Jon (@jonlipsitz) catch up on two action packed weeks. They discuss the latest USWNT roster for the upcoming tournament involving Brazil, Japan, and Australia (1:51). Afterward, they talk about the first five days of UEFA Euro 2017 (19:53). What are their first impressions? Who do they ultimately see lifting the trophy? Finally, they spend the second half of the podcast talking about the past few weeks in the NWSL, including refereeing controversies and Sam Kerr’s explosive form (35:48).

Managers Departing After 2016

74.14 – Graham Winkworth – South Alabama
52.44 – Lang Wedemeyer – South Dakota State
45.41 – Mike Tucker – Dayton
43.54 – Margaret Saurin – Oakland
43.06 – Caitlin Cucchiella – Albany
40.69 – Brent Anderson – Utah Valley
36.75 – Jon Lipsitz – Kentucky
28.27 – Ada Greenwood – San Diego
27.57 – Katherine Lyn – Marist
26.32 – Jason Hamilton – Troy
25.10 – Laura Schott – Portland State
18.69 – Kevin Boyd – Arizona State
18.61 – Thomas Chestnutt – Florida International
17.33 – Mike Minielli – Wagner
12.27 – Don Klosterman – Nebraska-Omaha
11.57 – Joel Bancroft – UMass-Lowell
10.83 – Scott Grzenda – Delaware
10.57 – Frank Davies – Alabama A&M
8.37 – Michael Needham – Rhode Island
7.06 – T.O. Totty – Grambling
6.02 – Sonia Curvelo – Cleveland State
5.48 – Greg Ashton – Davidson
5.28 – Becky Hogan – Southern Utah
4.89 – Shanna Caldwell – Texas A&M-Corpus-Christi
4.58 – Amy Edwards – Gonzaga
4.16 – Fran Kulas – Villanova
3.91 – Lindsay Basalyga – Bowling Green
3.85 – Harold Warren – UAB
3.81 – Patrick Farmer – Cornell
2.73 – Woody Sherwood – Xavier
2.08 – Chris Pfau – Houston
1.85 – Matt Kellogg – North Dakota
1.84 – Aaron Gordon – Mississippi State
0.19 – Tony Tommasi – Chicago State

NR – Jamie Hutchison – Arkansas-Pine Bluff
NR – Samuel Nwaneri – Alcorn State
NR – Eric Golz – Illinois State
NR – Nate Norman – Liberty
NR – Scott McClellan – Long Island
NR – Chris Logan – Northern Iowa
NR – Matt Muia – Southeastern Louisiana*

* = Took over at mid-season

Changes Upon Changes

Simply put, it was a bloodbath this offseason, with a whopping forty-three changes in leadership, or just under thirteen percent of DI teams made a switch this offseason. Beleaguered Xavier even had to make two changes when their first hire Kacey White was plucked away by U.S. Soccer deep in the offseason. While there was a big wave of change this offseason, most of that change happened in mid-majors or second tier conferences like the WCC or Big East, with just three “Power Five” schools making a change. Whether these trends are a blip on the radar or a signal of decreasing patience remains to be seen, but it may cause some to look over their shoulder a little more heading into 2017.

Arizona State Goes Big

Had Graham Winkworth stayed at South Alabama, he would have ranked #7 in this year’s CoachRank, ahead of some very big names in the DI coaching ranks. But it was pretty clear that he had taken the Jags as far as they could probably go in the current landscape of women’s college soccer. The former USA boss was always likely to be linked with most major jobs that came open in the offseason, but the move to Arizona State to try and breathe life into a stale Sun Devils program is certainly an intriguing one. Winkworth will be working with a lot more in terms of resources but also with much greater expectation at a much higher level for a program that probably expects to be a consistent NCAA Tournament participant. Winkworth brought All-American full-back Jemma Purfield with him to Tempe, but he’ll also know that a glittering record at lower levels doesn’t automatically equal success, as former Illinois State and current Purdue boss Drew Roff can attest to.
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The totals for CoachRank only tell part of the story. You can get a clearer view of the big picture by examining some of the trends associated with the individual season scores that are averaged together to get the total CoachRank score.

The following are some of those trends, sorted by conference. Note that only programs with coaches in place for at least three seasons are included in this.

Also, keep in mind the context for some of the schools listed here. Yes, Florida State is listed in the “Going Down” section, but that’s primarily due to having an unbelievable 2014 season that would be almost impossible to replicate. The same goes for some schools like Texas A&M and Virginia, who have strong odds of heading back up again for 2017 and beyond.

“Going Up” = Teams whose Season Scores have gone up in successive years between 2014-2016.
“Going Down” = Teams whose Season Scores have gone down in successive years between 2014-2016.

AAC

Going Up
Going Down – East Carolina, South Florida, Tulsa, UCF

ACC

Going Up –
Going Down – Florida State, Virginia, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest

America East

Going Up –
Going Down – New Hampshire, UMBC

Atlantic 10

Going Up – Saint Joseph’s
Going Down – La Salle, UMass, VCU

Atlantic Sun

Going Up – Stetson
Going Down – North Florida

Big 12

Going Up – TCU
Going Down – Texas

Big Sky

Going Up – Eastern Washington, Sacramento State
Going Down – Montana

Big South

Going Up – Longwood
Going Down – UNC Asheville, Winthrop

Big Ten

Going Up – Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, Northwestern
Going Down – Iowa
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This may be more useful for comparisons instead of the overall list. Additional material at the end of the post.

AAC

26 (+39). 51.00 – Len Tsantiris – UConn
28 (-14). 50.83 – Tiffany Roberts-Sahaydak – UCF
45 (+14). 43.26 – Denise Schilte-Brown – South Florida
102 (-3). 28.82 – Neil Stafford – Cincinnati
113 (-30). 27.22 – Brooks Monaghan – Memphis
157 (-10). 18.97 – Kyle Cussen – Tulsa
158 (+37). 18.49 – Chris Petrucelli – SMU
164 (-19). 17.15 – Rob Donnenwirth – East Carolina
228 (-17). 4.05 – Seamus O’Connor – Temple

ACC

1 (-). 94.58 – Mark Krikorian – Florida State
3 (-). 80.77 – Steve Swanson – Virginia
8 (+4). 72.01 – Anson Dorrance – North Carolina
17 (NR). 60.07 – Theresa Romagnolo – Notre Dame
37 (-15). 47.15 – Robbie Church – Duke
38 (-15). 46.93 – Chugger Adair – Virginia Tech
63 (+56). 37.69 – Eddie Radwanski – Clemson
112 (-52). 27.24 – Alison Foley – Boston College
133 (-76). 23.31 – Tony da Luz – Wake Forest
150 (-62). 20.13 – Karen Ferguson-Dayes – Louisville
197 (+15). 10.67 – Mary-Frances Monroe – Miami (FL)
200 (-35). 10.34 – Phil Wheddon – Syracuse
205 (+26). 8.74 – Tim Santoro – NC State
231 (-11). 3.68 – Greg Miller – Pittsburgh

America East

51 (+3). 41.40 – John Natale – Hartford
77 (NR). 34.26 – Steve Welham – New Hampshire
131 (-29). 24.03 – Leslie Wray – UMBC
160 (-6). 18.33 – Scott Atherley – Maine
186 (-3). 13.06 – Kristi Lefebvre – Vermont

Atlantic 10

32 (-16). 49.31 – Paul Royal – La Salle
114 (+38). 27.02 – Jess Mannella – Saint Joseph’s
132 (NR). 23.47 – Jessica Clinton – Fordham
139 (-). 22.04 – Sarah Barnes – George Washington
145 (-2). 21.36 – Al Alvine – Duquesne
156 (-29). 19.03 – Lindsey Martin – VCU
165 (+13). 16.98 – Katie Shields – Saint Louis
199 (-23). 10.35 – Steve Brdarski – Saint Bonaventure
209 (-40). 7.55 – Ed Matz – UMass
211 (-32). 6.97 – Peter Albright – Richmond

Atlantic Sun

9 (-). 71.03 – Jim Blankenship – Florida Gulf Coast
82 (-27). 32.73 – Brian Copham – Jacksonville
127 (+7). 24.74 – Kevin O’Brien – Lipscomb
175 (-24). 15.10 – Manoj Khettry – Stetson
T214 (NR). 6.08 – Robin Confer – North Florida

Big 12

4 (+4). 75.87 – Nikki Izzo-Brown – West Virginia
31 (+5). 49.66 – Tom Stone – Texas Tech
81 (-11). 33.05 – Paul Jobson – Baylor
108 (-32). 27.72 – Angela Kelly – Texas
123 (+21). 25.12 – Mark Francis – Kansas
124 (+34). 25.03 – Matt Potter – Oklahoma
135 (-49). 22.93 – Colin Carmichael – Oklahoma State
185 (+20). 13.09 – Eric Bell – TCU
233 (NR). 3.20 – Tony Minatta – Iowa State
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Questions? Complaints? Again, read the FAQ.

Number in parentheses is the gain/decline in position ranking as compared to last year. Those without parentheses either did not change position or entered into the rankings this year having just completed three seasons with their current club.

Overall

1 (-). 94.58 – Mark Krikorian – Florida State
2 (-). 82.69 – Paul Ratcliffe – Stanford
3 (-). 80.77 – Steve Swanson – Virginia
4 (+4). 75.87 – Nikki Izzo-Brown – West Virginia
5 (+2). 75.40 – Becky Burleigh – Florida
6 (+7). 74.92 – Jennifer Rockwood – BYU
7 (-3). 73.67 – Erica Dambach – Penn State
8 (+4). 72.01 – Anson Dorrance – North Carolina
9 (-). 71.03 – Jim Blankenship – Florida Gulf Coast
10 (NR). 70.40 – Keidane McAlpine – USC

11 (-6). 67.80 – G. Guerrieri – Texas A&M
12 (-2). 67.76 – Amanda Cromwell – UCLA
13 (-2). 66.48 – Nancy Feldman – Boston University
14 (+1). 64.38 – Mike Friesen – San Diego State
15 (+5). 62.64 – Dave Nolan – Georgetown
16 (NR). 61.75 – Mike O’Neill – Rutgers
17 (NR). 60.07 – Theresa Romagnolo – Notre Dame
18 (+1). 59.02 – Julie Woodward – Seattle
19 (-2). 57.48 – Markus Roeders – Marquette
20 (-2). 56.26 – Jerry Smith – Santa Clara

21 (-). 54.83 – John Hedlund – North Texas
22 (+23). 53.33 – Krissy Turner – Monmouth
23 (+6). 53.15 – Demian Brown – Cal State Fullerton
24 (+9). 52.15 – Brent Leiba – Howard
25 (+7). 51.72 – Shelley Smith – South Carolina
26 (+39). 51.00 – Len Tsantiris – UConn
27 (-3). 50.84 – Andrew Burr – Furman
28 (-14). 50.83 – Tiffany Roberts-Sahaydak – UCF
29 (+5). 50.11 – Karen Hoppa – Auburn
30 (NR). 49.77 – Eric Teepe – Fairleigh Dickinson

31 (+5). 49.66 – Tom Stone – Texas Tech
32 (-16). 49.31 – Paul Royal – La Salle
33 (NR). 49.07 – Jeremy Groves – Murray State
34 (-8). 48.33 – Jeff Hooker – Denver
35 (+13). 48.33 – Brenda van Stralen – Saint Francis (PA)
36 (+20). 47.22 – Greg Ryan – Michigan
37 (-15). 47.15 – Robbie Church – Duke
38 (-15). 46.93 – Chugger Adair – Virginia Tech
39 (-1). 45.86 – Neil McGuire – Cal
40 (-1). 45.81 – Todd Yelton – Samford

41 (-11). 45.19 – Casey Wilson – Abilene Christian
42 (-5). 45.00 – Wally Crittenden – Stephen F. Austin
43 (+6). 44.04 – Marty Beall – High Point
44 (+3). 43.90 – Tim Ward – Pepperdine
45 (+14). 43.26 – Denise Schilte-Brown – South Florida
46 (+47). 43.22 – Jodie Smith – Alabama State
47 (+25). 42.98 – Stefanie Golan – Minnesota
48 (-6). 42.81 – Tony Economopoulos – Mercer
49 (+26). 42.22 – Erin Chastain – DePaul
50 (-7). 41.85 – Mauricio Ingrassia – Long Beach State
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In episode #25 of the WoSo Independent Podcast, Chris (@chris_awk) & Jon (@jonlipsitz) try and catch up with a very busy few weeks in the NWSL. They look back on their preseason projections and talk about what they got right and what they got very, very wrong (Sorry, Megan Rapinoe). They also discuss where they think each of the ten clubs is going in the second half of the season.

Additionally, they discuss Rachel Breton’s explosive article on the NWSL’s concussion protocol (35:57).