Molly Poletto

Biography

University of Texas head coach Margueritte Bates announced the hiring of assistant coach Molly Poletto on Dec. 17, 2025. Poletto comes to The Forty Acres after spending the past four seasons at UCLA. During her time with the Bruins, UCLA posted a 67-13-9 (.803) record, the fourth-best mark of any program during that stretch. The Bruins reached the NCAA Tournament in all four campaigns, winning a pair of conference titles and the 2022 NCAA Division I Women's Soccer Championship. "Simply put, Molly is one of the hardest working and most trustworthy coaches in the industry," Bates said. "She sets the standard of care for our student-athletes, all while being her goofy, fun-loving self. Molly consistently orchestrates back lines and goalkeepers that lead the country in shutouts and dominate nearly all defensive statistics. I'm so thankful to have her on our staff and by my side as we strive to defend at the highest level." Under Poletto's guidance, UCLA ranked second nationally in goals against average (.047) this fall. In 2024, the Bruins led the country with a 0.41 team goals against average. Across those two seasons, UCLA totaled a nation's best 28 clean sheets, highlighted by three consecutive shutout victories to win the school's first-ever Big Ten Conference tournament crown. During the 2023 campaign, the Bruins won the Pac-12 Regular Season Championship, boasting a 10-0-1 ledger in league play. With Poletto's help, UCLA finished with a 16-2-1 overall mark. In Poletto's ina