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UCLA men’s soccer hires Ryan Jorden as program’s next head coach

UCLA men’s soccer hired University of the Pacific’s Ryan Jorden to be its new head coach Monday. Jorden will replace former Bruin coach Jorge Salcedo, who resigned March 21. (Courtesy of UCLA Athletics)

By Sam Connon and Joy Hong

April 29, 2019 4:13 p.m.

The Bruins have found their replacement.

UCLA men’s soccer has hired Ryan Jorden to be the program’s next coach, Athletic Director Dan Guerrero announced Monday afternoon. Jorden spent the last five seasons with Pacific, taking it to the NCAA tournament in each of the last three years.

“Ryan Jorden’s time has come,” Guerrero said. “He brings with him to Westwood the knowledge of what it takes to establish a consistent winning culture and a great respect for the UCLA soccer brand.”

Jorden’s hiring comes just over a month after former coach Jorge Salcedo’s resignation from the program March 21 amid the nationwide athletics admissions scandal.

[Related: UCLA Athletics announces resignation of men’s soccer coach Jorge Salcedo]

Jorden was hired to lead Pacific in its first season back in Division I since 1986. Pacific finished a combined 4-30-1 in 2014 and 2015 – Jorden’s first two seasons in Stockton, California – but improved to 38-13-6 from 2016 to 2018.

Pacific finished with identical 13-4-2 records in 2016 and 2017, losing to Stanford in the second round of the NCAA tournament in both seasons.

While with Pacific, Jorden also coached defender Tristan Blackmon and midfielder Camden Riley, who were taken in the 2018 and 2019 MLS SuperDrafts, respectively.

Jorden started his coaching career as an assistant coach at Oregon State before spending seven seasons at his alma mater, Westmont. He took his first head coaching job at Cal Baptist, leading the Lancers to the postseason in each of his five years with the team.

Cal Baptist won back-to-back National Christian College Athletic Association championships under Jorden, and the coach also won the NCCAA Coach of the Year award in both of those seasons.

Guerrero added that Jorden’s high level of technical sports science knowledge made him an attractive candidate for the position with UCLA. Jorden completed his master’s degree at Oregon State in 2000 before earning a doctorate in sport and exercise science with an emphasis in biomechanics from Northern Colorado in 2010.

UCLA has not won a national championship since 2002, despite reeling in multiple top-ranked recruiting classes during Salcedo’s tenure.

“I am truly passionate about the student-athlete experience and look forward to bringing this commitment to UCLA,” Jorden said. “The tradition and history of success at UCLA is unparalleled, and I am thrilled to get started in Westwood.”

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Sam Connon | Alumnus
Connon joined the Bruin as a freshman in 2017 and contributed until he graduated in 2021. He was the Sports editor for the 2019-2020 academic year, an assistant Sports editor for the 2018-2019 academic year and spent time on the football, men's basketball, women's basketball, baseball, men's soccer, cross country, men's golf and women's golf beats, while also contributing movie reviews for Arts & Entertainment.
Connon joined the Bruin as a freshman in 2017 and contributed until he graduated in 2021. He was the Sports editor for the 2019-2020 academic year, an assistant Sports editor for the 2018-2019 academic year and spent time on the football, men's basketball, women's basketball, baseball, men's soccer, cross country, men's golf and women's golf beats, while also contributing movie reviews for Arts & Entertainment.
Joy Hong | Alumna
Hong joined the Bruin as a freshman in 2017 and contributed until 2020. She was the Managing editor for the 2019-2020 academic year and an assistant Sports editor for the 2018-2019 academic year. Hong spent time on the women's basketball, men's water polo, women's water polo, women's tennis and beach volleyball beats.
Hong joined the Bruin as a freshman in 2017 and contributed until 2020. She was the Managing editor for the 2019-2020 academic year and an assistant Sports editor for the 2018-2019 academic year. Hong spent time on the women's basketball, men's water polo, women's water polo, women's tennis and beach volleyball beats.
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