Jeff Hosler
Head Coach

Michigan State University welcomed Jeff Hosler as the third Head Coach in women’s soccer program history on June 14, 2021. Hosler succeeded 30-year coaching veteran Tom Saxton, who assumed the top spot in the program before the 1991 campaign. Entering the 2024 season, Hosler maintains a 276-80-27 overall career record coupled with a 41-13-9 mark at MSU.

Through three seasons in East Lansing, Hosler has already elevated Michigan State to the top of the national conversation, landing multiple student-athletes as United Soccer Coaches All-Americans in addition to a stellar track record of academic success. In 2023, Hosler led the Spartans to their second-straight Big Ten Championship while guiding MSU to a program-first appearance in the NCAA Sweet 16. The Spartans have had at least one player selected in the NWSL Draft in each season of Hosler's tenure at MSU, with Ava Cook (2022) and Celia Gaynor (2024) being drafted by the Chicago Red Stars and Lauren Kozal and Lauren DeBeau going to the Portland Thorns FC in 2023.

MSU posted a 14-5-3 overall record in 2023 and a 7-1-2 mark in the Big Ten, completing the road portion of its league schedule undefeated for the second year in a row. The Spartans' conference season was highlighted by road wins at Wisconsin and Michigan, defeating the Badgers in Madison for the first time since 1999 and the Wolverines in Ann Arbor since 1994. The Green & White earned a dominant 3-0 over Iowa in the regular-season finale to clinch the program's second-straight Big Ten title.

The Spartans earned a second-consecutive selection to the NCAA Tournament in 2023 and first in back-to-back seasons since 2008-09. MSU topped Ohio, 3-0, in the first round before earning the program's first-ever second round victory in a 1-0 win over Harvard, earning a trip to the Sweet 16 against eventual College Cup participant BYU.

MSU earned nine Big Ten postseason awards, with senior Justina Gaynor becoming MSU's first Big Ten Midfielder of the Year and rookie Bella Najera collecting Freshman of the Year honors. Justina Gaynor, Celia Gaynor and Raegan Cox earned spots on the league's first team, while sophomore Emerson Sargeant was named All-Big Ten Second Team and Najera collected third team and All-Freshman nods. Cox and Justina Gaynor were named to the United Soccer Coaches All-North Region First Team and Celia Gaynor was honored with All-North Third Team accolades.

In the classroom, Justina Gaynor became the program's third College Sports Communicators (CSC) First Team Academic All-American and fourth overall. Five Spartans were named CSC Academic All-District and every eligible player earned a spot on the fall 2023 Academic All-Big Ten team.

The 2022 Big Ten Coach of the Year, Hosler led the Green & White to the first officially recognized B1G Championship in school history after directing the Spartans to a 17-3-3 overall record boosted by an unblemished 9-0-1 campaign in league matches in his second season at the helm. MSU would go on to reach the championship match of the 2022 Big Ten Tournament for the first time and match the deepest postseason run in school history with a second round NCAA Tournament finish. For his efforts, alongside those of his staff, Michigan State took home the 2022 United Soccer Coaches North Region Staff of the Year Award.

Senior goalkeeper Lauren Kozal completed the most decorated individual season in program annals, being named a semifinalist for the MAC Hermann Trophy in addition to being named a United Soccer Coaches First Team All-American. Kozal additionally took home First Team honors from TopDrawerSoccer, and became just the third two-time recipient of the Big Ten Goalkeeper of the Year award, winning in 2022 by unanimous vote. Senior forward Lauren DeBeau was named a Second Team All-American by United Soccer Coaches, as well as the Big Ten Forward of the Year. Graduate defender Ruby Diodati was named the Big Ten Defender of the Year as well, also landing a spot on the All-Big Ten First Team. In total, MSU registered 11 B1G postseason awards, a single-season program record.

The 2022 iteration of Spartan women’s soccer saw the Green & White climb into the United Soccer Coaches poll for the first time since Sept. 29, 2009, as the Spartans debuted at the No. 15 spot on Oct. 11, 2022. Michigan State would reach as high as No. 6 in the nation in three consecutive polls before earning the No. 15 ranking in the postseason, the best finish in program history.

In the classroom, MSU placed six student-athletes as College Sports Communicators Academic All-District selections in 2022, with Diodati becoming just the second Spartan to receive CSC First Team Academic All-America honors. Michigan State landed four players on the United Soccer Coaches Scholar All-America list and saw 21 players appear on the Fall Academic All-Big Ten list.

In his first season as head coach for the Green and White, Hosler guided the Spartans to a 10-4-3 record, finishing fourth in the Big Ten regular season with a 5-4-1 mark. The squad made their first Big Ten Tournament appearance since 2011 and earned the opportunity to host their quarterfinal match, marking the first tournament game in East Lansing since 2002.

After being predicted to finish 13th in the league, the Spartans improved by leaps and bounds to finish within the top five. The Spartans boasted some of the most decorated individual athletes in the league and had a dramatic offensive turnaround compared to a 1-10-1 showing in the spring of 2021. It was the first ten-win season for the team since 2011, the year of their last postseason appearance.

Michigan State received three All-Big Ten selections at the conclusion of the regular season, as Kozal was named to the First Team and Ava Cook and Samantha White garnered Second Team nods. Kozal was also selected as the Big Ten Goalkeeper of the Year, the first-ever Goalkeeper of the Year honor awarded to a member of the Spartans, and the first position player of the year award for MSU since 2008.

With Hosler at the helm, Kozal and White also earned recognition on the United Soccer Coaches All-Region team, with Kozal going on to be named a United Soccer Coaches All-American. Kozal held the highest save percentage of any goalkeeper in the Big Ten (.862) during the season. She ranked second in the Big Ten with a goals-against average of .0495, allowing just 13 goals to score over 18 games. She also had the second-most saves per game (4.5) and her seven regular-season shutouts were the third-most in the conference. A total of 18 Spartans earned Academic All-Big Ten honors in Hosler's inaugural year.

Hosler, who concluded his seventh season as head coach of the Grand Valley State women's soccer team in the spring of 2021, posted the highest winning percentage of any coach in Laker history. He led GVSU to three NCAA Championships, five NCAA title game appearances and reached at least the Elite Eight in six seasons (there was no Division II NCAA Tournament in 2020-21 due to the COVID-19 pandemic). He left GVSU with an overall record of 144-12-6, the best winning percentage in all of NCAA Soccer during that span, and a 63-2-2 mark in GLIAC play.

"I'm pleased to welcome Jeff Hosler to the Spartan family as our new women's soccer coach," then-Michigan State Vice President and Director of Athletics Bill Beekman said. "He's experienced exceptional success at Grand Valley State, including three national championships, while his student-athletes have been recognized for their performance on the field and in the classroom. Michigan State has a great soccer tradition, and I'm excited to watch Coach Hosler put his own mark on the Spartan program."

"I am so honored and grateful to Athletic Director Bill Beekman, Deputy Athletic Director Jen Smith, head men's soccer coach Damon Rensing and the entire search committee for entrusting me with the opportunity to lead this program," Hosler said. "I also want to thank Tom Saxton, Tammy Farnum and Stacy DeLonge for their dedication, and the incredible example they demonstrated to so many generations of Spartans. The pursuit of excellence for women's soccer in all facets begins now, while competing at the highest level within the Big Ten on and off the field. MSU and this community is a special place with amazing people, and I couldn't be more excited to come home."

With Hosler at the helm, 32 Lakers captured All-America honors, and 43 earned All-Region accolades. Twelve different Lakers were honored as CoSIDA Academic All-Americans and 56 Lakers garnered All-GLIAC honors. He also coached three Lakers to National Player of the Year honors, while guiding Marti Corby to the U-23 U.S. Women's National Team camp in 2016.

Under Hosler's leadership, the Lakers dominated GLIAC play, winning six conference regular-season titles and seven GLIAC Tournament championships. The Lakers also claimed the Midwest Regional title in six seasons and reached the NCAA Elite Eight in 11 straight seasons.

In 2019, GVSU captured the program's sixth national title, a Division II record. The Lakers went 25-1, matching the single-season win record, and scored a program-record 117 goals to rank as the nation's top offense.

Prior to GVSU, Hosler spent eight seasons at his alma mater, Alma College. During his time with Alma, the Scots earned a 91-55-12 overall record, winning their only Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) regular season title in 2010. Alma also claimed the 2011 MIAA Tournament title to make its first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance.

As a two-sport student-athlete at Alma, Hosler was a four-time All-MIAA honoree, earning All-Mideast Region and All-NCAA Tournament honors during the Scots' first trip to the Final Four in 1999. Hosler left Alma as the all-time leader in assists and ranked inside the top five in career points.

Hosler holds a United States Soccer Federation (USSF) National "B" License and USYSA National "Youth" License.

The East Lansing native earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in business from Alma College in 2002. He and his wife, Rochelle, are the parents of two daughters, Charlie and Kennedy, and a son, Steven.

Gabe Romo
Assistant Coach

Gabe Romo joined the Michigan State women’s soccer staff under head coach Jeff Hosler in the fall of 2021 and enters his fourth season in East Lansing in 2024. Romo joined MSU after six seasons at Kansas State, including two years as the burgeoning program’s associate head coach. Romo plays a key role in assisting during the team’s training sessions and plays a crucial role in both opponent scouting and recruiting.

In 2023, Romo helped lead the Spartans to a 14-5-3 overall record and 7-1-2 mark in Big Ten play. MSU captured its second-straight Big Ten title and advanced to the NCAA Sweet 16 for the first time in program history. Five Spartans captured All-Big Ten honors, highlighted by Justina Gaynor's Midfielder of the Year selection and Bella Najera's Freshman of the Year award, while three student-athletes were named All-North Region by the United Soccer Coaches.

Romo’s second season with the Spartans saw MSU publish a single-season program record 17 wins en route to a historic 17-3-3 overall record highlighted by the first regular season Big Ten Championship in program history. Romo helped lead the Green & White to an unblemished 9-0-1 record in B1G matches and saw multiple student-athletes land postseason awards and recognition from both the Big Ten and United Soccer Coaches. In recognition of his efforts, as well as those of the entire staff, Romo garnered United Soccer Coaches North Region Staff of the Year accolades in the postseason.

In his inaugural campaign in mid-Michigan, Romo helped aid MSU to a remarkable turnaround, reaching the No. 4 seed in the Big Ten Conference tournament after a 10-5-3 season in the fall of 2021. Despite going 1-10-1 the year prior, and being selected by the league’s coaches to finish 13th in the conference, MSU hosted a B1G Tournament quarterfinal at home for the first time since 2002.

"Gabe carried many responsibilities in his role as associate head coach at K-State and has first-hand experience coaching and recruiting at the highest level. He thoroughly knows the youth soccer landscape throughout the Midwest and West regions," Hosler said. "Above all, he values and works hard at the personal relationships that it takes to build a successful program with an infectious personality."

Prior to Kansas State, Romo was the head men's and women's soccer coach at Holy Names in Oakland, California in 2014.

From 2011-2014, Romo held various coaching positions at Kansas Wesleyan, including head men's soccer coach. As the men's head coach in 2013, he registered a 13-4-3 record, capturing Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference (KCAC) Coach of the Year honors. Romo led the Coyotes to a 2014 NAIA National Tournament appearance, earning the KCAC regular season and tournament titles in the process.

Romo also earned head coaching experience with Lancaster (Calif.) High School in 2009-10 and La Canada (Calif.) High School in 2010-11.

He is a 2009 graduate of Kansas Wesleyan University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in criminal justice. During his time with the Coyotes, Romo was a four-year letterwinner and team captain in 2008 on the men's soccer team. He helped Kansas Wesleyan to an overall record of 56-22-5 in his four seasons, including three KCAC regular season conference titles (2005, 2007 and 2008) and two KCAC tournament crowns (2005 and 2006).