Brianna Visalli Joins Staff
STANFORD, Calif. - The Knowles Family Director of Women's Soccer Paul Ratcliffe recently announced the hiring of Brianna Visalli as an assistant coach as the Cardinal prepares for the 2024 season.
"We are extremely excited to be adding Brianna to our program as an assistant coach," Ratcliffe said upon the hiring. "She brings a tremendous amount of experience as a player and has proven to be a leader on and off the field throughout her career. Brianna's knowledge and passion for the game is evident, and she will be an incredible asset to our coaching staff and for our program as a mentor to our players."
An accomplished player who has competed in an FA Cup Final and multiple seasons in the NWSL, Visalli played for Brighton and Hove Albion FC, Birmingham City and West Ham United FC in the Barclay's Women's Super League, AGF Kvindefodbold of the Danish Women's League, and the Houston Dash of the NWSL where she helped the Dash to the 2020 Challenge Cup and an appearance in the NWSL Championship.
Throughout her playing career, Visalli has been active in the coaching and enhancement of youth players, assisting the girls academy in individual player development at AGF Kvindefodbold and growing the girls academy program with an emphasis in technical and tactical improvement while with the Houston Dash. She was also a U23 assistant coach and aided the boys academy in individual player development while competing for Brighton and Hove Albion FC.
Prior to being selected 19th in the 2018 NWSL Draft by the Chicago Red Stars, Visalli was a four-time All-WCC selection for Pepperdine University where she scored 25 goals in 83 career appearances. One of the top collegiate players in the nation, Visalli was a MAC Hermann Trophy semifinalist as a senior and was named 2017 WCC Player of the Year – the first and only selection in Pepperdine women's soccer history. Just the sixth player from Pepperdine to earn All-America honors after being named to the United Soccer Coaches second team in 2017, she finished her career as a three-time All-West Region pick.
On the international scene, Visalli represented the United States at the U-23 level and helped her squad to the 2018 Nordic Cup championship.
A leader in the sport during her playing career, she assisted in the first-ever Collective Bargaining Agreement in domestic women's professional soccer history while competing with Houston.
Among her qualifications, Visalli has her UEFA Coaching B License, US Soccer Coaching C License, and an English FA Level 2 Coaching License.
A 2017 graduate of Pepperdine with a degree in economics, Visalli was a 2017 Academic All-American and earned a spot on the WCC All-Academic first team four times in her career.
Continually expanding her knowledge and skill set within the game, Visalli is pursuing a master's degree in football business and management at Sports Business Institute Barcelona.