SAN ANTONIO – Fresh off leading the UTSA soccer program to the second conference championship on his watch, Roadrunners’ head coach Derek Pittman has agreed to a new deal to extend his contract and maintain his leadership in San Antonio through the 2030 season, while also increasing resources for the Roadrunners’ staff.
“Derek has continued to build competitive teams within our athletics program, and we’re proud to extend our commitment to his leadership,” Vice President for Intercollegiate Athletics Lisa Campos said. “What stands out is the standard he’s established — one that shows up in the way our student-athletes carry themselves, the energy surrounding our matches and the consistency of our success. He has created a program that reflects our mission and vision for UTSA Athletics, and we’re excited for what’s ahead under his direction.”
Pittman’s Roadrunners wrapped the program’s historic 20th season with UTSA’s third overall conference championship and second under Pittman’s leadership. Earning the team’s first title since entering the American Conference, the Roadrunners scrapped their way through the American Championships last fall, toppling UAB, then NCAA third-ranked Memphis on penalty kicks and defeating Rice by a 1-0 margin with 1:23 remaining in overtime to clinch the title. The 2025 Roadrunners also were awarded American Championships Most Outstanding Offensive Player (Bri Carrigan), Most Outstanding Defensive Player (Jasmine Kessler) and had five players named to the All-Tournament Team (Brooklyn Bailey, Carrigan, Aaliyaiah Durden, Kessler and Zoё May). In addition to four All-American Conference nods for Kameron Kloza (First Team), Kessler (Second Team), May (Third Team) and Bailey (All-Freshman Team), Kloza was announced on the United Soccer Coaches All-Region First Team and Kessler was named to the Third Team.
Under Pittman, UTSA has collected tournament titles in the last two conference tournaments and is now undefeated in league tournament games since 2021, going 5-0-1. UTSA has also reached the NCAA Championships twice in that span via those titles.
Pittman’s Roadrunners are now fully reaping the benefits of the hard-nosed, team-driven culture he has instilled into the program, producing a meteoric rise across the past five years. In that stretch, the Roadrunners not only have collected the two league crowns, but also a pair of NCAA postseason appearances while producing a 47-31-21 record (.581 winning percentage). The Roadrunners have been a stalwart defensive team in Pittman’s tenure, earning a top-three American Conference goals-against-average (GAA) ranking in each of the program’s three years in the league, while ranking in the top four of save percentage in each season – posting a 0.82 GAA and .817 save percentage across that stretch. UTSA soccer has remained in the top 60 of NCAA GAA over the past three years, highlighted by finishing No. 32 in 2023 with a 0.72. The Roadrunners have also stayed above 72nd nationally in save percentage in each of the last three seasons, topped by 2025’s 42nd-ranked .826. Under Pittman’s guidance, the Roadrunners have recorded three of the top four highest winning percentage seasons, each of the five best GAA seasons and top three save percentage seasons in program history. UTSA has held opponents to one goal or less in 77 of the team’s 99 games over the past five years at a rate of 77.8 percent.
In 2025, the team reached a program-high No. 56 in NCAA Rating Percentage Index (RPI) during the season and finished at 64th for the highest RPI finish in school history. Helping bolster UTSA’s national standing, from Aug. 31 through Oct. 9, the Roadrunners engineered a school record nine-game unbeaten streak. On top of their on-pitch efforts, the Roadrunners have recorded a perfect 1,000 Academic Progress Rate (APR) for the past three consecutive reporting periods, while holding a 96 percent Graduation Success Rate (GSR) in the latest report. The UTSA soccer program is currently on a streak of 14 consecutive semesters with the team GPA exceeding 3.45.
In addition to the program’s inaugural American Championship in 2025, Pittman also led UTSA to the 2022 Conference USA Championship, the first NCAA appearance in 12 years and the first trip to the NCAA Championships since 2010. The Roadrunners under Pittman’s leadership have also built up an extremely imposing on-field product at the Park West Athletics Complex, increasing fan engagement so much that UTSA was able to set new attendance records and led the American Conference in average attendance in each of their first two seasons in the league – No. 2 in 2025 while also ranking second in the conference for total attendance. This past season, UTSA again broke the program’s total attendance record with a 7,045 headcount for the campaign, toppling the prior record of 7,002 set in 2023.
“This new extension represents the continued commitment from Dr. Campos and university leadership to the vision we’ve built for our women’s soccer program,” Pittman said. “Our 2025 American Conference Championship is just another step in establishing a championship culture that our players, alumni and fans can be proud of. My family and I love San Antonio, and we are happy to call UTSA home for the years to come. We remain motivated more than ever to compete for championships and represent our 210 community and UTSA at the highest level year in and year out."
Beginning his ninth season at the helm in the fall of 2026, Pittman is the winningest coach in Roadrunners history at 64-55-25 (.531), sparked by the 47-31-21 (.581) push across the past five campaigns. Aided by the fan support and the boosted attendance numbers, Park West has become a core facet of that success as one of the toughest places to play, with UTSA triumphing in 66.7 percent (26-11-8) of home games since 2020. Heading into the new season, Pittman is just two victories shy of matching the most coaching wins in program history (66).
Season tickets for Pittman’s ninth season will go on sale later this year and the UTSA Ticket Office is taking deposits now for $30 here.
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