Graham Winkworth

Graham Winkworth Turns the Tide for ASU Soccer
(by Jack Barron, ASU State Press/Nov. 30, 2023)
Graham Winkworth completed his seventh season leading the Sun Devil soccer program in 2023. During his tenure, ASU posted a 59-56-18 record and made three appearances in the NCAA Women's Soccer National Championship.

ASU made its second consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance in 2023 and finished the season with a 10-7-4 record. It was the first time since 2009 & 2010 the team had made the national postseason tournament in consecutive seasons. On the run to the postseason, the Sun Devils went 5-5-1 in Pac-12 play to tie for fifth. The team also went 6-1-3 at home with a win over No. 11 USC and the only loss, a 1-0 decision against No. 2 UCLA.

From a defensive standpoint, the 2023 season was among the best in program history. The Sun Devils set a school record with nine shutouts while finishing the season with a 0.95 goals-against-average.

A trio of Sun Devils -- Lieske Carleer, Enasia Colon, and Pauline Nelles -- were named to the Pac-12 Women's Soccer All-Conference Second Team. Since Winkworth took over the program, ASU has had 17 all-conference selections.

In his career as a collegiate head coach that spans 21 seasons, Winkworth has a 236-155-33 (.596) record. That includes a 125-74-25 (.614) mark in 11 seasons at the Division I level. 

The 2022 season included the program's second NCAA appearance in three seasons, as it ended in a 3-0 loss at No. 8 seed Portland in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. The NCAA match was the last for ASU's outstanding quartet of fifth-year seniors: forwards Nicole Douglas and Olivia Nguyen and midfielders Alexia Delgado and Eva van Deursen. The four players combined for 337 games played and 298 starts while collectively amassing 101 goals and 73 assists. Graham Winkworth won the 2022 Wings of Gold Linda Vollstedt Coach of the Year.
 
Under Winkworth, the Sun Devils have now posted a winning record in three consecutive seasons, the first time since 2012-15. The future is bright for the Sun Devils as they look to the 2023 season. Alexia Delgado also scored a career-high five goals on the season. Delgado and Van Deursen, along with freshman goalie Pauline Nelles, received all-conference honors, with Delgado being named to the second team and Van Deursen and Nelles on the third team. Eight players found the back of the net for the nation's 28th-ranked scoring offense. Douglas and Delgado also earned United Soccer Coaches All-Pacific Region Honors, with Douglas being named to the first team and Delgado on the second team. Nicole Douglas was named the 2022 Pac-12 Forward of the Year. After the 2022 season, Winkworth's longtime assistant coach spread her wings with a new gig as head coach of Coastal Carolina.

With 10 wins in 2021, Sun Devil Soccer posted a double-digit win total twice (2018 and 2021) in four seasons – and that does not include the 9-6-2 record that was good enough to earn the squad a berth in the 2020 NCAA Tournament – after accomplishing the same feat twice in the previous 10 seasons. After its 8-1 record in non-conference play, ASU earned a No. 15 ranking in the United Soccer Coaches Top 25, its highest in program history.

The Sun Devils came into the 2021 campaign looking for their second consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance. Unfortunately, a spate of injuries unlike any Winkworth could ever recall experiencing – 22 different players started in 2021 – prevented the team from fulfilling its goal.

Quality depth, resilience and a team-first mentality of playing for each other were among the reasons ASU did not fold when injuries started to pile up, as the team still posted a double-digit win total. 

ASU was led by 2021 NCAA scoring leader Nicole Douglas, who earned Third-Team All-America honors and was one of 13 players named to the All-Pac-12 First Team in 2021. Douglas, who became the first Sun Devil to earn All-America honors since 2002, set the single-season school records for goals (19) and points (45). She led the nation in goals (19), goals per game (0.95) and points per game (2.25). Also placing her name in the Sun Devil record book was midfielder Eva van Deursen after she set the school's single-season record with 10 assists.

The Sun Devils had their best season under head coach Winkworth in 2020 (played during the spring of 2021 due to COVID-19), finishing the regular season with an 8-5-2 record and making a postseason run for the first time since 2014 and eighth in school history. ASU made it to the second round of the tournament to become the fifth ASU soccer team to advance to that stage in the NCAA Tournament.

Winkworth and company boasted an undefeated non-conference slate, including an overtime comeback thriller at Grand Canyon to protect the win streak. ASU continued its unbeaten streak through eight games and notched wins against UCLA, Stanford, and USC to become the fourth team in history to beat all three programs in a single season. With a 4-4-2 record in Pac-12 Conference play, the Sun Devils finished in the middle of the table after being picked to finish last in the preseason poll.

The Sun Devils scored 28 goals in 17 games, second-most in the Pac-12 Conference. ASU boasted one of the strongest defensive lines in the Pac-12, conceding only 16 goals and forcing ASU's keepers to make only 57 saves - fifth-fewest amongst Conference competitors.

In 2019, Winkworth led his team to a dominant start to the season, securing five straight wins for just the second time in program history, and carded their best start to a season since winning nine straight to start the 2000 season. The five-game win streak was the longest for the Sun Devils since 2014. ASU's strong non-conference performance helped the Pac-12 record the best-ever win percentage in conference play. Together, the league's 77-14-9 record for a .815 win percentage is the highest of any conference in the nation and the highest non-conference win percentage by the league in Pac-12 history. 

Winkworth's 2019 squad combined to score 33 goals on the year, marking the best offensive output for the Sun Devils since scoring 34 goals in 2015. Sun Devil Women's Soccer capped the season with a 6-11-3 record to push Winkworth's overall ASU record to 21-29-7.

Winkworth achieved his best record at ASU in his second season at the helm, finishing with a 10-7-1 record. During the conference schedule, ASU swept all of the Pacific Northwest Pac-12 schools (Washington, Washington State, Oregon, Oregon State) in four consecutive games (two home and two away).  

Prior to his time with the Sun Devils, Winkworth spent four seasons transforming the South Alabama women's soccer program into one of the top mid-major programs in the country and an emerging national power. Under Winkworth's direction, South Alabama experienced a complete turnaround and continuously set school records and program bests, including qualifying for four-straight NCAA postseason appearances, winning four straight Sun Belt Conference Championships, and earning the program's first top-25 national year-end ranking. A two-time Sun Belt Coach of the Year ('14, '15), Winkworth's student-athletes had a monopoly on the conference's top honors, including four straight Sun Belt Freshmen of the Year, three Sun Belt Players of the Year and three Sun Belt Defensive Players of the Year. 

"I was impressed with Graham's skill at building and elevating programs everywhere he has coached," Anderson said. "He has a proven track record of results at every level of the sport, and we are excited to bring someone with his degree of skill and expertise into the competitive Pac-12 Conference. Graham's vision for the program and his ability to recruit, both domestically and internationally, fit perfectly with the collective vision of Arizona State University and Sun Devil Athletics."   

In his first season as head coach of the Jaguars, Winkworth guided South Alabama to its most wins (14) since 1997 and the second-most wins in school history, only to set the new program record for most wins (19) in 2014. The 2014 South Alabama team also set school records for best winning percentage (.848), longest unbeaten streak (18), consecutive games scored (22) and shutouts (12). As evidence of South Alabama's transformation, in the five years before Winkworth's arrival, South Alabama had only one season with a finish above .500.

"I first would like to thank President Crow for providing me the opportunity to work at this prestigious University," Winkworth said. "I would also like to thank Mr. Anderson for showing the faith in me to lead the soccer program and belief in the goals we have set for the future of the program. I cannot wait to meet the student-athletes that make this program special and have the opportunity to coach them day in and day out."

Before South Alabama, Winkworth spent 10 seasons with North Alabama University, leading the Lions to 111 wins, the most for a coach in school history. He also coached the program's first two All-Americans, leading it to its first NCAA postseason appearance.

Winkworth began his coaching career in England with the Preston North End Football Club as an assistant with the Center of Excellence. He was also an assistant coach at Cumberland (Tenn.) and Central Arkansas before North Alabama.

Winkworth and his wife Jonna are parents to children Lucas, Caden, and Darbi.

Sun Devil Women's Soccer Head Coaches 
Terri Patraw, 1996-2000
Ray Leone, 2001-2006
Kevin Boyd, 2007-2016
Graham Winkworth, 2017-Present