After two successful years of managing the team, the San Diego Wave has signed coach Casey Stoney to a new multi-year contract extension.
On Tuesday, the Wave confirmed that the 2022 NWSL Coach of the Year has signed a new contract that runs through the 2027 season with a mutual option for the 2028 season.
Wave president Jill Ellis says they are confident her leadership qualities will continue contributing to the club’s success.
“In two years with the Wave, Casey has established herself as not just one of the top coaches in the league but also on the global stage,” said San Diego Wave FC President Jill Ellis. “When we brought Casey on board, we were confident that her exceptional leadership qualities, coupled with her extensive experience as both a player and coach at the highest levels, would make her the perfect fit for San Diego, and she has more than exceeded our high expectations. Her commitment and passion for winning, developing our young players, and her loyalty to this club and city speaks volumes to who she is as a coach and as a person.”
The Wave are coming off a season where they finished with the best overall record in the NWSL, which is seen as an overachieving success considering that they barely enter their third season of existence as an expansion club.
Since arriving in San Diego, Casey Stoney has always expressed her appreciation for the club and the city she now considers home away from home.
“I am very happy to extend my stay here in San Diego, a place my family and I call home,” said Casey Stoney in a statement. “What we have been able to achieve as a club over the first two seasons is a testament to the investment of our ownership and the hard work of everyone involved. As a club, we have achieved in ways no other expansion team has ever done. We have won the NWSL Shield, broken records and have been supported by the most amazing fans. This is just the beginning, and I am fully committed to building and developing this team. I am proud to be a part of this club, in this city, and I will continue to give everything I have to bring even more success to this incredible community.”
During her time as manager of the Wave, Stoney has sustained a highly impressive 21-10-13 record in the women’s league, the most successful record by any manager in that amount of time in the NWSL.
After finishing last season with the most points in the league, Stoney’s team will enter this season targeting the next step: winning the NWSL title in their third year as a club. And considering that the team has been able to retain its best players heading into next season, there are valid reasons to believe that San Diego, as a city, could see one of their teams bring a championship to the community.