Ole Miss soccer names Utah Tech’s Molly Rouse as its Matt Mott replacement

Ole Miss soccer moved quickly to find its Matt Mott replacement. 

Mott — who served as leader of Rebel women’s soccer for 13 seasons — left for the same position at Oklahoma two weeks ago. Athletics director Keith Carter on Thursday named Utah Tech’s Molly Rouse as the fourth head coach in program history. 

“Molly is a rising star in the coaching profession,” Carter said in an official statement announcing the move. “We’re elated for her to join the Ole Miss family. As a player and coach, we were immediately impressed with the depth of her knowledge, experience and willingness to face any challenge head on, including guiding a team through the transition to D1.

“Once we spoke with her, we realized she has the passion and drive to compete for and win championships. Molly has remarkable vision, and we look forward to providing her the support and tools necessary to lead Rebel Soccer to an elite level.”

Rouse spent three seasons at Utah Tech. 

She guided the program as it made the transition from Division II to Division 1. She was Utah Tech’s first-ever D-I head coach, and in 2022, she ushered in the Trailblazers’ first winning season at the level. Utah Tech was 10-6-2, including a 6-3-2 mark in WAC games. 

The Trailblazers earned the No. 4 seed in the WAC Soccer Tournament — their highest seed since joining the conference. 

Utah Tech last season led the WAC in goals against average and goals allowed. The Trailblazers gave up just 14 goals in 18 games and also posted nine shutouts. They had a stretch of seven straight clean sheets. 

Rouse had four players named All-WAC in her three seasons. Three came in 2022.

“I’m thrilled about the opportunity to work with the outstanding student-athletes at Ole Miss and to be part of an institution and athletic department with a rich history of success,” Rouse said in a statement. “Our primary focus during this time is to ensure a seamless transition and foster a sense of unity among our talented women, as we believe they have the potential to achieve greatness together.

“I’m confident that our collective efforts will yield great results and create a legacy of achievement at Ole Miss.”

RELATED: The Matt Mott era of the Ole Miss women’s soccer program came to an abrupt end

Rouse previously spent two seasons as an assistant at Minnesota, her alma mater.

She was on staff in 2018 when the Golden Gophers won the Big Ten Tournament title and beat Auburn in the first round of the NCAA Tournament for the program’s first postseason road win in history.

Other stops for Rouse include Iowa, Nebraska-Omaha, Buffalo and Alabama State.

Rouse spent four seasons (2007-10) as a player at Minnesota. She appeared in 88 career matches and scored 18 total goals with 17 assists. Rouse had an assist in a school-record-tying five straight matches in 2008. She started all 26 games that year. 

Minnesota went on to share the Big Ten regular season title. The Golden Gophers won a program-record 22 games and reached the third round of the NCAA Tournament for the first time in school history. 

Rouse played professionally for the Minnesota Kings and Vancouver Whitecaps in the Women’s Premier Soccer League.

Mott coached the Rebels to a 139-97-32 (.578) record.

He was responsible for guiding Ole Miss to six of its 10 all-time NCAA Tournament appearances. Four came in the last six years. He led Ole Miss to a winning record and to the SEC Tournament in 10 of the last 11 seasons. 

The Rebels were 124-78-27 (.600) over that stretch.

Four of the Rebels’ six NCAA Tournament appearances under Mott resulted in at least one win, with the 2015 and 2020 squads advancing to the Sweet 16. Eleven of his 13 teams featured at least two players who each scored at least six goals in a season. 

“I want to thank (Athletics Director) Keith Carter and (Senior Associate AD) Bob Baker at Ole Miss,” Mott said, in an official Oklahoma statement following the announcement of his hire.

“I’m really proud of everything we accomplished there and my family loved our time in Oxford. After 13 years, I feel I’m ready for a new challenge and Oklahoma is an opportunity I could not pass up.”