Cale Rodriguez

Cale Rodriguez begins his eighth year at UC Irvine and seventh season with the UC Irvine men's soccer coaching staff as an associate head coach.

In his six years with the program, Rodriguez's efforts have led to two NCAA Tournament berths, two Big West regular season titles, and one Big West Championship. Anteater student-athletes have been named All-Far West Region eight times under his direction along with one Big West Goalkeeper of the Year, two Big West Offensive Players of the Year, two Big West Midfielders of the Year, and one Big West Freshman of the Year. Coach Rodriguez has assisted Yossi Raz twice as he's been named Big West Coach of the Year, and together their recruiting class was ranked No. 1 in the country during their tenures together since 2017.

Rodriguez came to UC Irvine in 2017 after spending the previous two seasons as head coach at Peninsula College in Port Angeles, Washington. In his first season at the helm, the Pirates went 16-3-3 and finished the year with the Northwest Athletic Conference Championship, culminating in a final season ranking of 13th in the country for Division I Junior Colleges by the NSCAA. In his second year, the Pirates went 16-0-3, winning back to back NWAC North Division Championships, culminating in a final season ranking of 9th in the country for Division I Junior Colleges by the NSCAA, with Rodriguez earning NWAC North Division Coach of the Year honors.

Prior to Peninsula College, Rodriguez spent four years at his alma mater, the University of Redlands in California where he served as assistant coach in 2010, and from 2012-2015 under Ralph Perez, a U.S. soccer coaching icon. As an assistant for the Bulldogs, he assisted in all aspects of running the program while also serving as the recruiting coordinator. Rodriguez was instrumental in putting together one of the most successful recruiting classes in the history of the program, which has now won three straight SCIAC championships and reached the NCAA tournament the last two seasons while being nationally-ranked. He also spent a year as an assistant coach at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas from 2011-2012.

Other coaching experience for Rodriguez includes one year as a head coach for Nevada Boys ODP (2016), one year as a head coach for Pateadores IER (2014-15) in Redlands, one year as a head coach for Heat FC (2011-12) in Las Vegas, one year as a head coach for San Gabriel Valley Soccer Club (2010-11) in Monrovia and one year as a head coach girls varsity soccer at Gahr High School (2010-11) in Cerritos.

In Rodriguez’s playing career at Redlands, he was a four-year starter and served as team captain his senior year in 2009. He was named to the NCAA Division III All-West Region Team and was twice named All-Conference. His career totals include fourth all-time in games started and tenth all-time in games played in program history. His Bulldogs were nationally-ranked in 2006-2008, winning conference titles and reaching the NCAA playoffs all three years.

Rodriguez graduated from the University of Redlands in 2010 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics and received his Master’s degree in Higher Education from Redlands in July of 2014. Rodriguez also currently works with Pateadores Academy Boys ECNL as the Boys College Recruiting Coordinator. He currently resides in Irvine, CA with his wife Dana, son Zidane, and dog Bailey.

The Rodriguez File

• 2016 NWAC North Division Coach of the Year
• Head Coach, Peninsula College
• Assistant Coach, UNLV
• Assistant Coach, University of Redlands