Nate Ulness enters his first season as Western Oregon women's soccer head coach in 2026.
Ulness arrives in Monmouth after serving as assistant coach and goalkeeper coach at Eastern Washington University since 2022. During his tenure, the Eagles produced three Big Sky Offensive Players of the Year, five first-team All-Big Sky selections and seven second-team honorees. Eastern Washington also saw a seven-win improvement and back-to-back winning seasons for the first time since 2016-17.
Prior to Eastern Washington, Ulness served as head coach at Laramie County Community College from 2020-22, compiling a 27-5-2 overall record. The Golden Eagles posted back-to-back nationally ranked seasons, including a 14-2 finish in 2021 and a 13-3-2 mark in 2020, and earned a Region IX championship. Ulness was named Region IX Coach of the Year in 2020 and 2021. He coached 14 all-region athletes (10 first team, four second team) and four All-Americans (two first team, one second team, one honorable mention).
Ulness previously founded the women’s soccer program at Gillette College, guiding the program from its inception in 2017 to a 31-17-3 record over three seasons. Gillette advanced to the Region IX and district championships and reached as high as No. 7 in the national rankings. He coached 10 all-region players (seven first team, three second team) and two All-Americans (one first team, one honorable mention).
He also spent five seasons as an assistant coach at the University of Mary (NCAA Division II), helping develop multiple all-conference and all-region players.
At the high school level, Ulness compiled a combined record of 117-26 as head coach at Century High School, capturing multiple North Dakota state championships and conference titles. He was named NSCAA Girls Coach of the Year for North Dakota in both large and small school classifications and earned North Dakota Youth Soccer Association Girls Competitive Coach of the Year honors.
Ulness and his wife, Rhianna, reside in Monmouth where they live with their small farm of animals; two dogs and four cats. He played four years of college soccer for the University of Mary Marauders from 2009-2012 and captained the team his senior year. He achieved his Masters of Education in Athletic Administration in Spring of 2021 from the University of Mary and currently holds a United States Soccer Federation “C” License.
