AWC soccer stars sign with colleges across nation, UCLA among destinations

Arizona Western College moved 15 soccer players into four-year programs, with destinations stretching from UCLA and LSU to New Mexico State University, Nevada-Reno and Utah State. Seven women and eight men signed letters of intent in Yuma on Thursday, April 23, a sign that the Matadors’ value now reaches well beyond a single season of wins and losses.

The list of next stops shows how far the program’s reach has spread. Players are heading to schools including Quinnipiac, the University of Central Florida, Catawba College, St. Mary’s in San Antonio, the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Indiana Tech, Lindenwood, Merrimack, Oral Roberts, Westminster, Eastern Illinois and Maryville. Kei Yoneda added another layer to that momentum when Bay FC of the National Women’s Soccer League invited her to train, putting a Yuma player into the orbit of the pro game.

For Arizona Western, the payoff is bigger than a signing-day photo. The college says it serves more than 11,000 students a year across 12 locations in La Paz and Yuma counties, covers more than 10,000 square miles and offers more than 100 degrees and certificates. Its transfer and retention materials say it has the highest retention and transfer rate in Arizona, and the soccer program is one of the clearest examples of that pipeline at work.

That pipeline has been built over time. Men’s coach Kenny Dale arrived in 2005 and Arizona Western says he has 329 career wins in NJCAA coaching. Dale has also guided the men’s program to five NJCAA Division I Men’s Soccer Championship appearances, including four straight trips and two runner-up finishes. On the women’s side, a December 2024 board document listed 24 student-athletes under head coach Victor Verdugo, showing the kind of roster depth that can keep elite players moving through the program.

The college has already seen that movement reach high-profile destinations this school year. Asa Yamazaki of Tokyo signed with UCLA in December, and this latest class extends that reach across the country. For Yuma County, the message is straightforward: Arizona Western is not just keeping athletes local, it is turning them into transfers, degree-seekers and, in some cases, prospects with professional potential.