Claire Hutton trade was just Bay FC’s latest move as it begins new chapter with plenty to prove

SAN JOSE, Calif. — After a sophomore season that carried the high of a knockout attendance record and the low of a 13th-place finish out of 14 teams in the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL), Bay FC is eager to embrace its next chapter. The team has a new female managing duo in head coach Emma Coates and assistant Gemma Davies, a $1.1 million signing in 20-year-old U.S. women’s national team midfielder Claire Hutton, and a young squad hungry for minutes and a chance to prove themselves on the global stage.

There’s only so much to glean from press conference talking points, but on paper, that just might be enough to give the glass a half-full appearance, even in the expanding chaos of the NWSL.

“I think last year we really came together as a team despite anything on the field,” said midfielder Hannah Bebar, who joined Bay FC last season. “Personally, I just want to keep growing and learning from our experience and just try to keep adapting to this pace and this level.”

A stronger bond is both understandable after the season Bay had last year and among the best possible outcomes. Then-coach Albertin Montoya, the club’s first head coach, announced in September that he would step down from his position, but saw out the rest of the season with the team. Three months later, Bay FC replaced Montoya with Coates, who last coached the England U-23 national team.

Bay FC’s first match of the season — a meeting at home with expansion side Denver Summit on March 14 — will mark Coates’ official start in the NWSL and a return to managing a professional club, which she has not done since coaching the Doncaster Rovers Belles in what was then the first division women’s soccer in the U.K. a decade ago.

The NWSL has proven a challenging league to adjust to for players and managers alike coming over from Europe, and for players with their eyes on the next two World Cups in 2027 and 2031 and the 2028 Olympics between them, they’d be forgiven for any hesitation around working with a first-time NWSL coach this season. But Bay FC players were anything but, as new players cited Coates and Davies as their reason to join the team, and returning players their reason to remain hopeful.

“What we’re most excited about is for the group we have right now and for the team that we are, and just the expectations and clarity of what Emma is bringing to the group and coming in with such a clear idea in mind,” said midfielder Taylor Huff. The Florida State alum joined the team last season and made an immediate impact in the midfield, playing each of Bay’s 26 games as a rookie.

“I think it’s easy to play under her for that reason, and so that makes us on the same page,” she added of Coates. “We’re so excited for this year because of that, and there’s high expectations on us from the coaching staff, and we feel that and are living up to that.”

Players are drawn to Coates’ tactics, which seem rooted in a philosophy that places creative agency within a disciplined structure — and, crucially for Bay, places an emphasis on playing through the midfield rather than relying on long balls sent over the top for forwards to sprint onto.

For 19-year-old forward Onyeka Gamero, who signed with Bay last season after beginning her professional career with Barcelona’s B team, getting the needed results isn’t enough. She wants to do it properly, following Coates’ plan.

“We want to win, obviously, but how we do it is important,” she said. “How we play, how we move the ball, (play) each player’s role, how we work together. Those are all things that we talk about in training, and again, like, winning 3-0 is nice, winning 1-0 is nice, but how you do it is what’s most important to us.”

On Friday, U.S. Soccer announced its roster for U-20 national team training camp, and Gamero was on it, along with forward Alex Pfeiffer, who signed with Bay last month from the Current. This is Gamero’s first national team call-up since 2023. Coates’ commitment to supporting players for club and country remains fresh.

“First and foremost, I really care about international football,” Coates said. “I want to help our players achieve what they can on the world stage with us at Bay, but obviously for their countries as well. And coming from international football, I know how important that relationship is for the player, and you put the player in the middle of it.”

Coates emphasized that when it comes to communicating with U.S. head coach Emma Hayes and U.S. Soccer, she’s “absolutely been in contact with them and we’ve had conversations, as I have with (national team manager) Sarina (Wiegman), England, and so we’re trying to develop really good relationships with all the players, all the coaches, associations and nations that they play for. Our job is to get as many players as we can on the roads to Brazil, and getting them competing on the world stage.”

The players’ palpable hunger was one of the first things Coates noticed when she arrived in San Jose for preseason.

“I always knew how competitive American people were,” she said. “I really like that because it means that I can focus on the detail, the playing style, the clarity that we’re trying to build, and I don’t have to drive the other things. And that’s just a really refreshing place to be.”

She may occasionally swerve on the wrong side of San Jose roads (“Stay off if we’re driving,” she warned) and use the wrong vernacular for the other football — she commented during the Super Bowl, “Their press is really good,” only to learn that was not, in fact, the way to describe the Seahawks’ defense) — but when it comes to settling in at Bay FC, Coates already feels at home with her husband and 5-year-old.

She is one of four permanent female head coaches heading into the 2026 season, offering some players yet another novelty that signals a positive step.

“It’s the first time in my career that I’ve been coached by a female coach,” Bebar said. “Growing up and having role models like that, especially for younger girls and seeing the change in the growth of our sport is super important.”

“I’ve had male coaches, I’ve had female coaches, and they bring different things to the table, and I think there is an element of emotional intelligence with females, and especially females who played in the league and played soccer,” said Penelope Hocking, citing her Penn State coach Erica Dambach.

Midfielder Caroline Conti concurred. “Yeah, this is my first female head coach, and I’ve loved every second of it so far.”