Tate joins GCU coaching staff

The Grand Canyon women's soccer team announced the addition of assistant coach Casey Tate to the coaching staff for this fall's season.

Tate joins GCU with a wealth of soccer experience at numerous stops at the high school, collegiate and professional levels.

"I am thrilled to announce the addition of Casey Tate to our awesome GCU soccer family," Lopes head coach Chris Cissell said. "Coach Tate is a phenomenal coach and a fantastic person, and he will fit in extremely well in our family culture and team-first mentality that we have built and developed here. It is great that Casey has local ties and is originally from the Phoenix area, and he understands and appreciates what GCU is all about on the field, in the classroom, within the community spiritually and socially."

Tate returns to Phoenix after two seasons as the women's head coach at Oregon Tech, where he led the Owls to a historic 2021 season that ended with an appearance in the NAIA tournament semifinals. In two seasons under Tate's direction, the Owls finished with a 32-4-2 overall record and a 20-2 conference record.

"It is a privilege to join the GCU women's soccer program, and an honor to represent the mission and core values of Grand Canyon University," Tate said. "I am incredibly grateful for the opportunity to support and come alongside four-time WAC Coach of the Year Chris Cissell, who is an accomplished and high-character leader. I look forward to being a part of the Lopes family, and I am excited to work with all of the dedicated staff and student-athletes to further the success of this championship team."

Before Oregon Tech, Tate was an assistant coach at the professional level with Reno 1868 FC in the United Soccer League from 2017-20. Tate's three seasons in Reno resulted in 51 regular-season wins, tied for the most to in USL history for a club's first three seasons. Reno is one of six clubs to make the playoffs in each of its first three seasons.

Tate also spent seven seasons as an assistant coach at Nevada, helping the Wolfpack transition from the WAC to the Mountain West before serving as interim head coach in 2016.

Tate has experience in the Phoenix area, finding success at Chandler-Gilbert Community College and Seton Catholic Preparatory in the mid-2000s. Seton Catholic girls soccer had a dominant stretch, capturing state titles in 2006 and 2007 with Tate collecting Arizona State Coach of the Year honors in 2007 and 2008 and Region Coach of the Year in 2007, 2008 and 2010. Meanwhile, at Chandler-Gilbert, Tate coached the women's team to the semifinals of the National Junior College Athletic Association national tournament.

Tate is also highly involved in coaching education and development, and holds a U.S. Soccer Federation "A" License, a La Liga Level 3 credential, National Soccer Coaches Association of America Futsal Diploma and NSCAA Goalkeeping Diploma. He is also a certified U.S. Soccer licensing instructor.

Tate played at Chandler-Gilbert, Indiana Institute of Technology and Arizona State. He received his degree from Ottawa University in history.

Grand Canyon University Athletics

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