Sian Hudson Season 2025
Sian Hudson enters her sixth season as head coach of the Fighting Tigers in 2025. Hudson led the program to their fourth consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance last year, the longest streak by a coach in LSU soccer program history, and 10th overall postseason appearance. LSU has earned a postseason berth every year since 2021 under her tenure.
Hudson’s first NCAA Tournament win came in 2022 over Lamar to advance to the second round of the national tournament.
A native of Newport, Wales, Hudson was named LSU’s head coach on December 11, 2019. Since that date, she’s helped take the program to new heights, including earning the highest national ranking in program history in 2021 (No. 5 United Soccer Coaches Ranking).
In her five years, Hudson has coached the Tigers to seven victories over top-25 ranked opponents and has earned multiple honors for her efforts on the pitch. She was the Louisiana Coach of the Year in 2023, highlighting her impact on the state’s soccer scene.
The LSU soccer program has seen significant individual honors under Hudson’s leadership, including three All-Region selections, nine All-SEC selections, 14 All-Louisiana selections, and one All-American in Ida Hermannsdóttir her freshman year.
Hudson and company have invested an ample amount of time in the Baton Rouge community and it has shown. The Tigers have shattered LSU Soccer Stadium attendance records as two of the program’s top ten all-time largest crowds were under Hudson. LSU continues to be one of the top programs nationally with fan attendance, even earning Top 15 status in 2021.
Hudson coached the highest attended match in school history, when a school record crowd of 3,021 Tiger fans showed up to watch LSU defeat Mississippi State on Sept. 17, 2021.
Hudson and the LSU Soccer program also invest in developing their players. In her time as head coach, Hudson has had 10 players go on and take their talents to the next level and 16 total Tigers in the pro’s in the last decade. Some of those players representing LSU on the professional stage are Shannon Cooke, Lindsi Jennings, Alesia Garcia, Brenna McPartlan, Tinaya Alexander, Athena Kuehn, Rammie Noel, Mollee Swift, Olivia Wilkes, Maya Gordon, Wasila Diwura-Soale and Lucy Parker. All were coached and developed by Hudson.
The program’s highest ranked win in program history also came under the tenure of Hudson. It was the regular season finale against No. 4 Arkansas on Oct. 28, 2021. With LSU’s season on the line, the Tigers came out with a fiery passion under Hudson and handed the Razorbacks their first and only loss of the conference regular season with a 4-2 victory.
Only three months into her gig at the helm of LSU soccer in March of 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic struck and halted all of collegiate athletics. Hudson didn’t let that deter her from building meaningful relationships with her staff, athletes, and LSU soccer alumni as she poured in a copious amount of time to immerse herself in the history of the program.
Fast forward five months and the LSU soccer team returned to campus and began practice for the 2020-21 season, its first under Hudson. Hudson’s first win of her LSU career came on November 13, 2020, as the Tigers shutout Alabama for a 2-0 win over Alabama in the first round of the SEC Tournament in Orange Beach, Alabama. The Tigers followed that up with a 2-1 win over No. 14 Ole Miss two days later to advance to the SEC quarterfinals in their first SEC Tournament appearance under Hudson’s reign.
The 2020-21 season featured fall and spring games that counted towards LSU’s team record and Hudson made the most of the spring with her team. She led her squad to a record of 6-1-1 in the spring of 2021 and the level of expectation within the program has risen heading into the fall of 2021. The Tigers ended the 2020-21 season with an RPI of 54.
Hudson came to LSU with nearly 20 years of coaching experience. She came to Baton Rouge after serving as the head coach at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs for the past three seasons. During her time as head coach at UCCS, Hudson led the Mountain Lions to a 52-10-4 record. Each of those three seasons saw UCCS qualify for the NCAA Tournament, the first three appearances in school history, including a run to the national semifinals in 2017. Her win totals in each of the three seasons – 17 in 2017, 16 in 2018, and 19 in 2019 – were the three winningest seasons in program history.
Hudson, the 2019 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Coach of the Year, led UCCS to a No. 1 national ranking for the first time in program history in 2019 as the Mountain Lions marched to a record of 19-2 and a NCAA South Central Region No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. Five of her players earned United Soccer Coaches All-South Central region honors and Shanade Hopcroft was named the South Central Region Player of the Year and RMAC Player of the Year.
Prior to taking the head job at UCCS, Hudson spent two seasons as an assistant coach at NCAA Division I program Colorado College in Colorado Springs. In her two-year stint, she assisted in every aspect of the program and helped Colorado College reach the semifinals of the 2015 Mountain West Tournament.
Before entering the collegiate coaching ranks, Hudson spent 2002 to 2015 serving as the director of the Pride Soccer Club in Colorado Springs. She was the head coach of the Pride Predator teams and won 11 state championships, one regional crown, and helped the Pride Predators 99 team advance to the national semifinals in 2014. She oversaw the implementation of the college placement program beginning in 2010 that educated Pride Soccer Club athletes and parents on the collegiate recruiting process.
A solid player in her own right, Hudson played on the Wales National Team and was at one point the youngest international player on the squad at the age of 16. She earned three caps on the senior level at the European Championships from 1997 to 1999, and she made 10 appearances at the UEFA Championships as a captain for the U19 squad. Hudson captured five senior league championships, three league cups and the Welsh Cup for Newport County Ladies squad from 1995-2000.
Hudson earned her bachelor’s in Sports Coaching Science, majoring in sport psychology from Cardiff Metropolitan University in 2002. She graduated with her master’s degree in sports coaching from the University of Denver in May of 2020. She holds her U.S. Soccer Federation B License, and the UEFA C License and Goalkeepers Award.