When the going gets tough, the tough get going, as Bev Yanez can attest.
The player-turned-coach not only made National Women’s Soccer League history this year, but did it facing tribulations few others in her position have had to face.
In only her second year as manager, Yanez smashed expectations, taking Racing Louisville to their first postseason appearance. Becoming the first person to advance to the NWSL playoffs as both a player and a coach, Yanez’s Racing side took on league juggernauts Washington Spirit in the quarterfinals, making the second-seed D.C. squad work for its win in penalties. It was a disappointing end to Racing’s best season in club history.
Results only tell part of the story for Yanez’s success. While other Coach of the Year candidates utilized top international and domestic talent to work their way into a top spot, it was Yanez’s sheer force of will, unique mentality and player experience that made her deserving of the coveted Coach of the Year accolade.
“Bev is a true players’ coach—someone any player would want to play for,” says co-captain Janine Sonis. “She shows up every day with passion and intention not only to create a winning team but a championship culture. She cares about the people in this locker room far more than any achievement and that is why we are successful on the pitch. Her adaptability, playing identity and ability to connect is what sets her apart.
She is one of the humblest coaches you’ll ever meet and what she has created at this club will continue to translate into many successes. The performances from this season through so many difficult moments are a testament to what this club is all about.”
A roster people wrote off
Going into the 2025 campaign, many did not believe Racing had what it took to make it to the postseason. The perennial ninth-place finisher has shown moments of promise since the expansion side joined the league in 2021, but a club marred by issues struggled to sign big-name players that would push the team forward. But Yanez doesn’t care about the narrative.
With a lack of “superstar” players, Yanez relied on one of the more underrated aspects of her coaching ability: developing her players beyond expectations. No one is more exemplary of this than forward Emma Sears. The 2024 second-round draft pick out of Ohio State recently locked in a contract extension with Racing through 2028, and has become a foundational player for the team.
This year, for her club, Sears started in all 26 matches, notching 10 goals and two assists. Her performance earned her U.S. women’s national team call-ups, where she has tallied four goals and two assists in 11 appearances since October 2024. Prior to her senior call-up, Sears had no national team experience, not even at the youth level.
“You can definitely feel [Yanez’s] energy and carrying that momentum into the second half of the season was huge for us,” said Sears during an appearance on CBS Sports Golazo’s ahead of the quarterfinals. “She has a unique component in the sense that she has played in the NWSL before, so she gets it.”
Yanez also has an eye for talent, bringing in rookies Ella Hase and Katie O’Kane, both of whom have received call-ups to the U23 U.S. women’s youth national team due to their significant contributions to Racing’s success. In particular, Yanez’s ability to look holistically at individual players and adjust both positionally and tactically has made an instant impact on Racing’s results.
“Bev’s coaching intelligence shows with her decision making on tactics and personnel,” says CBS and analyst Lisa Carlin. “Take Janine Sonis, a professional forward for almost a decade, and Bev sees how she can move her to a fullback and get so much more out of her. Similarly with Ella Hase, who played more defensively in college. Bev found her a home in the Louisville front line. As a coach, she focuses on who the players are as individuals to connect and get the most out of them.”
Yanez had to deal with a season full of roadblocks that might have hampered another team’s postseason dream, but rather than panic, Yanez problem-solved. When starting keeper Katie Lund was placed on the season-ending injury list in May, Yanez put in Jordyn Bloomer. Bloomer’s limited experience might have caused concern, but under Yanez’s leadership has become one of the top shot-stoppers in the league.
“Bev is the kind of leader who makes everyone around her better,” says Racing assistant coach Mitch Sowerby. “She’s faced every challenge head-on and never once backed down. What she’s done for this club—taking us to our first-ever playoff and setting new records along the way—is incredible, but what stands out most is how she’s done it: with belief, courage and care.
Bev is a trailblazer who’s shown what’s possible for women in this game, and I couldn’t be prouder to work alongside her.”
A unique coaching perspective
As a player, Yanez held a one-of-a-kind nickname: the sunshine assassin. She’s all smiles, genuine and kind, but when it comes to winning, it’s best not to get in her way.
“Bev is one of the most genuine, caring, happiest people I’ve ever had the pleasure to work with,” said her former coach Laura Harvey upon Yanez’s retirement from playing in 2020. “She would come to training every day wanting to be the best she could be.”
This mentality from her playing days has translated to her coaching career, and it is a mentality from which her players at Racing Louisville have directly benefited.
“I just think that her humility and grace, leading us this season has been the biggest impact for our group. I love playing for her,” said Sears on . “We have such a close-knit relationship as a team and I think that she deserves so much credit for that. It’s just really exciting to play for a coach like her.”
Says Sowerby: “She’s a true role model, proving that when women are given the opportunity to lead, they don’t just succeed, they elevate everyone around them.Bev’s paving the way for the next generation of female coaches to dream bigger and believe they belong at the highest level.”
Longtime Racing fans who have watched the club struggle since its inception have been equally enamored with Yanez’s impact on their club. Leigh Nieves, a co-founding member of Racing’s supporters group, Lavender Legion, has been particularly impressed by Yanez’s ability to take a roster that added limited talent in the preseason and build it into a playoff contender, and a potential destination for players to develop and grow.
“Bev isn’t just one of the most respected coaches in the league; she’s the one who finally gave our team a real identity,” says Nieves. “She introduced a playing style that some doubted at first, but she stuck with it, trusted the process and ended up guiding us to make literal history. While other teams found themselves falling during the second half of the season, we were gaining momentum. And for me, that’s exactly what makes a true Coach of the Year.”
Yanez has also been called on during difficult times this season. When her player, Savannah DeMelo, collapsed on the field in September during an away game in Seattle, she led her team through the tumult, all while ensuring DeMelo received the support and care she needed.
For Reign assistant coach Scott Parkinson, who was with her during that match, he saw firsthand how, above all, she prioritizes her players and her team. He also worked with Yanez in 2022, when she was his assistant coach at Gotham FC.
“Bev is one in a million—everyone and everything comes before her,” says Parkinson. “I’ve never met anyone in football so kind, gentle and thoughtful—yet be so scrappy and an absolute winner. Her work at Louisville has been nothing short of spectacular, and I’ve not been surprised one little bit. She’s one of the most resilient people I know.”
Off-field resilience and leadership
In addition to the high demands of being an NWSL manager, Yanez’s personal life has thrown unimaginable obstacles her way. Last year and this summer, Yanez suffered two miscarriages, which briefly took her away from her coaching duties. The organization supported her through the tragic losses, and her players stood by her side just as she had stood by theirs.
“We feel for Bev in this moment and this team is to support her in any way and capacity she needs us to,” said team captain Arin Wright in July. “We are a family here and we’re going to have her back and her family’s back all the way through this.”
With the same mentality she brings to the field, Yanez found it important to share her experience so that it might help others overcome their losses.
“When I first lost last year, I felt so alone, I felt so isolated and through speaking out and wanting to be brave to speak out, I realized how many people have actually been through this, how many families have been affected,” Yanez said on in October, which is Infant Loss Awareness Month.
“It’s inspired me to continue to speak out and talk about it because in a moment that you feel is so dark and so heavy and such heartache, there’s other people out there who have gone through it,” Yanez continued. “If we can come together and be there for each other and support each other, I think it is ultimately the most important thing for me. I no longer felt alone.”
