Latter-day Saint women's soccer coach Chris Watkins winning — again — at a Catholic university

PROVO — The ongoing adventures of Jewish quarterback Jake Retzlaff continue to snag headlines during BYU football's surprise undefeated season.

But there's another sports figure with BYU ties (this time a Latter-day Saint) enjoying Retzlaff-like success at a university sponsored by another faith (a prominent Catholic institution).

Chris Watkins is both a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the head coach of the women's soccer team at Boston College, a Catholic school.

It's not the first time an observant Latter-day Saint has been at the helm of a women's soccer team at a prominent Division I Jesuit university.

It's been done before — by Chris Watkins.

Prior to being hired to the BC Eagles post last year, Watkins coached seven seasons at Gonzaga, a Catholic university with a rich athletic background on the opposite end of the country.

And, no surprise, he's coaching today in the nation's most storied women's college soccer conference (the ACC) because of his prior success on the pitch at Gonzaga — and at BYU.

While coaching the Zags, Watkins compiled a 79-33-16 record, guided the program to its first-ever West Coast Conference title in 2023 and was twice named the conference coach of the year. In his final season in Spokane, Gonzaga was one of the top-scoring teams in the nation, averaging almost three goals per game.

But as Cougar fans know well, Watkins established his coaching bona fides in Provo.

The lanky former collegiate (Drake) and pro player (Utah Blitzz) was a familiar face at BYU's South Field for two decades, coaching both the women's and men's squads.

On the women's side, he served as both an assistant coach and the associate head coach from 1996-2016, where he helped guide the Cougars to the NCAA Tournament 18 times.

He was also instrumental in recruiting and developing dozens of celebrated Latter-day Saint soccer players — including Aleisha Rose, Katie Larkin, Lindsi Lisonbee Cutshall, Ashley Hatch and Michele Vasconcelos.

Players at BYU remember Watkins challenging them to attack the goal — and compete without fearing failure.

"Coach always did a great job of encouraging players to improve on their individual skills," former BYU All-American and U.S. National Team veteran Ashley Hatch told the Deseret News. "As one of his players, I always knew he cared about me and my teammates as players and as people.

"Knowing that helped us play with more confidence and created a better, more cohesive team environment."

Hatch added that Watkins could be trusted to provide honest feedback to players to help them succeed.

Meanwhile, as the head coach of the BYU men's club side, Watkins won over 300 games and skippered the Cougars to seven Collegiate Club Soccer Championships.

Given his long history with BYU soccer, Watkins appeared to be a Cougar lifer. He and his wife, Karen, had settled into "our dream home" in Provo. They loved Utah County.

Then, in November 2016, just prior to BYU's Sweet 16 game in the NCAA tournament, Watkins' phone buzzed with an unexpected call from Washington.

On the other end of the line was Gonzaga's associate athletic director calling to let him know that the Bulldogs were searching for a new head coach. She wished him luck in the tournament — then invited him to visit the Spokane campus and discuss the job.

The Zags, of course, are a men's basketball powerhouse — but the women's soccer program had traditionally struggled in the uber-competitive West Coast Conference. Watkins knew he would be facing a challenging rebuild. But he also spotted the program's potential.

"I was 47 or 48 years old at the time, and I decided that if I was ever going to be a college head coach, I probably should do this now," he said of his decision to leave the church's flagship university and its highly successful soccer program. "It was a real pivot — but ultimately, it ended up being a great thing.

"It was time for me to move on and have my own team."

Despite entering the 2017 season in rebuild mode, the Bulldogs in Watkins' maiden campaign started their first six games without a loss and ultimately reached the 10-win plateau for the first time in a decade.

More success followed in Spokane — even as Watkins fortified his time-earned relationships with the soccer community across the western United States. Gonzaga was becoming a first-choice destination for many talented recruits.

Lyza Bosselmann, a goalkeeper with the NWSL's Washington Spirit, played for Watkins at Gonzaga and came to appreciate her coach's technical grasp of an evolving sport.

Watkins, she said, is adroit at developing players and spotting "tangible, simple, important areas" where they can improve. "He knew what you needed to develop in order to be great individually and what you needed to develop in order to be an asset to your team."

Bosselmann added she grew to respect Watkins' as a coach who cares about his players even while creating winning programs.

"I look back at my four years at Gonzaga and feel so proud to have represented the program and played under coach," said Bosselmann. "But I also look back at those four years and can say they were the best of my life. I think that says a lot about the culture that was fostered under his leadership — and the way Gonzaga women's soccer became a nationally ranked program."

Now in his 50s, Watkins' long college soccer coaching career appeared certain to have two bookends: BYU and Gonzaga.

But the words "soccer" and "certainty" are rarely found in the same sentence — and that includes the world of college soccer coaching. So when, once again, an unexpected job offer came to coach at a Catholic-owned school — Boston College — Watkins made the cross-country leap to the Atlantic Coast.

"Leaving BYU was exceptionally hard — and leaving Gonzaga was really hard, as well," Watkins told the Deseret News. "I felt like we had moved the program forward — but, frankly, the Power 4 conferences were moving away from everyone else.

"I think BYU fans have an appreciation for that."

Watkins' seven-year tenure at Gonzaga imbued in him an appreciation for the Jesuit educational tradition "and how they treat their students and their athletes."

Coaching at Boston College, he added, "was a match made in heaven."

But competing in the ACC? That can be hell.

Consider the squads Watkins and his Eagle players may have to face over the course of an ACC campaign: North Carolina (winner of 21 national titles), defending national champ Florida State, Duke (the current No. 1-ranked team in the country), or powerhouses Wake Forest and Notre Dame.

"I don't know that I fully understood how hard it would be when I took the job," he said, laughing. "But it has kept me sharp. I know I have to work hard to win games and bring in great players."

And despite having to ply his coaching trade thousands of miles from the familiar comforts of Provo or Spokane, Watkins just keeps winning.

In 2023, Boston College won only three games — and was winless in the ACC.

This year, with Watkins on the sidelines, the Eagles claimed victories in 12 games and finished with a 4-4-2 record in conference play. They are hoping to hear their name called on Nov. 11 when the NCAA Tournament field is announced.

Drawing talent to the Eagles' nest

Recruiting college athletes, of course, knows no season — especially in this disruptive day of transfer portals and NIL opportunities.

While at BYU, Watkins and his fellow Cougar coaches were accustomed to bringing in coveted Latter-day Saint recruits and hearing a familiar phrase: "I've always dreamed of coming to BYU."

That sentiment's a nod to BYU's devoted fan base — and the school's built-in recruiting pool within the Latter-day Saint community. But it's not the norm.

Attracting talented student-athletes to a program is hard, hard work, said Watkins.

"I've learned to work differently here at Boston College," he said.

So will BYU soccer fans see coach Watkins and his BC squad in Provo anytime soon?

Don't bet on it.

Watkins calls longtime BYU soccer coach Jennifer Rockwood "one of my best friends in the world." Competing against Rockwood and the Cougar players — including many that he had helped recruit to Provo — was emotionally grueling for Watkins when he was coaching at then-conference rival Gonzaga.

"If Jen and I go to a soccer game in Provo, I want to be sitting next to her — not on the opposite side," he said.

Gratitude comes easy for Watkins while reflecting on an ongoing coaching journey that's taken him across multiple time zones, faith traditions and cultures.

"It's been a great education for me to come to understand a different culture, and to understand that there are great people everywhere. If you look for them, you will find them. You can find them in Provo — and you can find them in Boston."

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