SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah soccer coaching carousel will start from the state’s capitol city.
The University of Utah announced Wednesday a “change in leadership” for the women’s soccer program, a formalized way of saying that head coach Hideki Nakada would not have his contract renewed after six seasons.
Hired as just the third head coach in program history, the former assistant coach at Oregon and Stanford finished over .500 just once in six seasons on the Hill. Nakada wrapped up up a 4-10-5 record in 2026 with a 1-7-3 mark in Big 12 play in addition to losses to Utah State and Utah Tech as well as a season-opening tie against Weber State.
“I want to thank Hideki for his dedication to Utah Women’s Soccer and to all of his student-athletes,” Utah athletic director Mark Harlan said in a statement. “I wish him all the best in his future pursuits.”
The outcome was hardly unexpected, as the Utes sat idle while in-state rivals BYU, Utah State, Weber State and Utah Tech competed in the Big 12, Pac-12 and Big Sky conference tournaments, respectively.
Nakada, a former goalkeeper, brought a wealth of experience across the west coast to Utah that included seven seasons at Stanford, rising to the ranks of associate head coach from 2018-20 while serving all areas of the program including coaching, recruiting, game planning, scouting and video.
But the Utes won just six matches in his first season, going 1-7-3 in the Pac-12 in 2021 and never did better than 8-6-5 in their first season in the Big 12 in 2024.
While nearby power-conference rivals BYU and Colorado continued to invest in their programs — and Utah State extended Manny Martins through 2030 after .657 winning percentage in five years and three-straight Mountain West titles in 5 years (the Aggies added a fourth in their first season in the Pac-12), Utah hadn’t been to a postseason match since losing to Colorado in the first round of the Big 12 soccer tournament in 2023.
Utah Valley University recently cut the ribbon on a $28.5 million upgrade at UCCU Stadium, while the Utes played on a grass pitch with around 900 bleacher seats next to the school’s softball stadium.
Compare that to the second part of Harlan’s statement posted as part of a two-paragraph news release announcing Nakada’s departure.
“As we move forward, our expectation for this program is to have an elite culture that allows for competitive excellence,” Harlan said. “We will now begin the search for the right leader who can make that happen.”
So where do the Utes go for the next head coach? Here are a few ideas:
Scott Halasz, Westminster assistant
A Washington native, Halasz spent 11 seasons at the University of Utah including spending time as associate head coach from 2018-23 before returning to his home state at Washington State in 2024.
He helped the Utes make the NCAA Tournament in his first season on staff in 2013, then helped Utah to its best season in program history in 2016.
Halasz returned to Utah two years ago and returned to his club coaching roots with Utah Avalanche, and also guided Utah United to a USL W League national title in the franchise’s first year.
He most recently took a job as an assistant coach at Division II Westminster, helping the Griffins to a 7-6-4 season that wrapped up Nov. 1 with a 3-1 loss to UC Colorado Springs in the RMAC Tournament.
Nuno Gourgel
Another former Utah assistant, Gourgel was well-traveled through the state of Utah before taking a job last season as head coach at Division II St. Edward’s in Texas.
Gourgel was an assistant to Chris Lemay during one of the most successful seasons in Utah Valley history, helping the Wolverines capture a WAC regular-season title, an NCAA Tournament berth, and an overall RPI of 37 with one of the top goal-scoring teams in the country that finished in the top five in scoring offense and total assists.
The former Utah assistant who was born in Portugal and grew up in London was also the head coach at Snow College, where he coached both the men’s and women’s programs from the ground up.
Gourgel spent time at Utah United as sporting director, and helped recruit and develop several NWSL players including the Utes’ Courtney Brown (Utah Royals FC), Katie O’Kane (Racing Louisville), Ruby Hladek (Seattle Reign) and Faith Webber (Denver Summit).
Kyle Christensen
Could Utah’s next head coach be the one who opened this past season with a draw at Ute Field?
Christensen arrived at Weber State in December 2024 after 10 seasons at Utah Valley, including the final three as associate head coach and recruiting coordinator.
In his first season with the Wildcats, the Layton High graduate who played collegiately at Denver and went drafted in the 2009 MLS Superdraft by Chivas USA led a remarkable turnaround from 2-13-5 in 2024 to 11-6-1 and the No. 2 seed in the Big Sky tournament a year later en route to Big Sky coach of the year honors.
He did one better in 2026, guiding the Wildcats to an 11-6-2 campaign that included a 7-1-1 record in the Big Sky and the regular-season conference title with conference Golden Boot winner and Offensive MVP Lily Blum (14 goals, 5 assists) and goalkeeper of the year Lauren Butorac.
Lexi Brown
A former Utah Valley standout, Brown’s first season as an assistant coach overlapped with Christensen in the Wolverines’ most successful season in program history that included a school-record 14 wins in 2015.
After two seasons, she joined former BYU assistant Chris Watkins at Gonzaga in guiding a program turnaround that included a single-season program record in goals scored, assists, points and shots in her first season.
Brown, whose husband Tyler is an assistant coach on her staff, was named head coach at Utah Tech in 2023 and led the Trailblazers to three-straight WAC Tournament appearances before a fifth-place finish in their first season in the Big Sky this past fall.
