Lauren Nadler is an experienced coach with a proven record of elevating collegiate programs by impacting the people within them. Nadler’s strength is building relationships by focusing on excellence, collaboration, developing leaders, and empowering students and teams to solve problems together. She has built and led successful NCAA programs, capturing multiple conference championships, making seven NCAA Tournament appearances, and earning Conference Coach of the Year honors four times.
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Prior to returning to UC Santa Cruz, Nadler served as Head Women’s Soccer Coach at Academy of Art University (Art U), where she recruited the largest incoming class in seven years— second largest in program history. In her second season, the team achieved its highest number of goal scorers and most total points in six years.
Her coaching career includes impactful roles at UC Santa Cruz, Art U, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), where she helped the Engineers reach their first NCAA Sweet Sixteen and national ranking.
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Beyond competition, Nadler is committed to the holistic development of student-athletes. During the pandemic, she co-founded and taught the Slug Leadership Academy at UC Santa Cruz—a selective program designed to develop transformational leadership skills in student-athletes on and off the field. She received her National Diploma from United Soccer Coaches and coaching licensing from US Soccer. A former college athlete, Coach Nadler holds a Bachelor’s Degree from Lesley University and Masters Degree in Urban and Environmental Policy and Planning from Tufts University.
See below for Nadler's bio during tenure as head coach for UC Santa Cruz.Â
Lauren Nadler, a four-time conference coach of the year honoree, served five seasons as Head Coach of UC Santa Cruz’s women’s soccer program. Nadler has been a National Finalist for NCAA Division III LGTBQ Administrator/Coach of the Year twice and served as an assistant coach with the program for two seasons before being named Head Coach in summer 2017.
With Nadler at the helm, the team has made multiple NCAA tournament appearances; 30 athletes have been selected as all-conference honorees, 15 Banana Slugs received academic accolades, and for three consecutive seasons the program has taken home conference Freshman of the Year hardware. In 2019, the team won the ACAA conference championship and scored 68 goals – the second-highest total in program history –  en route to ending the season with the program's best record in 14 years. Â
In addition to her duties as Head Coach, Nadler co-created and helps to teach the SLUG Leadership Academy, a year-long leadership program for student-athletes at UC Santa Cruz.
Nadler came to UC Santa Cruz after serving as the Interim Head Coach for the Dominican University women's soccer program. Prior to Dominican, Nadler coached at the City College of San Francisco. While an assistant, City College made it to the State Championship Final Four and was ranked No. 4 in the country. Before relocating to the Bay Area, she was the Associate Head Coach at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and was an integral part of the team's success. During her 5 years at MIT, the Engineers won 2 NEWMAC Championships, made 3 NCAA tournament appearances and advanced to the Sweet 16. MIT finished their last four seasons with Nadler on the bench ranked in the top 10 in New England, including No. 15 in the country. In 2012, the coaching staff set the record at the time for winningest coaching staff in program history.
Nadler graduated from Lesley University with a Bachelor of Science degree. She continued her education at Tufts University where she earned a Master's degree in urban and environmental policy and planning. Nadler holds an United Soccer Coaches National Diploma.
