PULLMAN, WA — Washington State University has named Chris Citowicki as the new head coach of its women’s soccer program, according to an announcement from WSU Athletics on Friday.
Citowicki becomes the eighth head coach in program history after spending the past eight seasons leading the University of Montana. During his tenure with the Grizzlies, Citowicki guided the program to sustained success in the Big Sky Conference, including a sweep of the 2025 regular-season and tournament championships and four NCAA Tournament appearances overall.
Interim Director of Athletics Jon Haarlow said Citowicki’s record of competitive success and focus on student-athlete development stood out during the search process.
Citowicki led Montana to nine Big Sky championships, including three consecutive regular-season titles, and finished his time with the program with a 79-39-32 overall record. He was named Big Sky Coach of the Year in 2023, a season in which the Grizzlies went 13-3-3 and finished with one of the strongest RPI rankings in program history. Montana also made conference history by posting unbeaten Big Sky records in back-to-back seasons in 2023 and 2024.
Before arriving at Montana in 2018, Citowicki served as associate head coach at North Dakota, where the program recorded its most successful season as an NCAA Division I member at the time. He previously spent six seasons as head coach at Division III St. Catherine in Minnesota, overseeing one of the largest single-season turnarounds in Division III soccer.
Washington State has made 14 NCAA Tournament appearances, most recently in 2021, and reached the College Cup semifinals in 2019. The Cougars are scheduled to compete in a renewed Pac-12 Conference alignment beginning in 2026 after finishing the 2025 season in the West Coast Conference.
Citowicki holds a bachelor’s degree in sports administration from Lock Haven University and a master’s degree in sport studies from Bemidji State University. He and his family are expected to relocate to Pullman ahead of the upcoming season.
