Kat Conner has built quite a legacy since given the opportunity to build a women’s soccer program at Texas State. Entering her 23rd season as the leader of the Bobcats, Conner has won five regular season conference championships, five conference tournaments and has led Texas State to the NCAA Tournament five times. She enters 2021 with a career record of 218-184-35.
During the 2020-2021 season, Coach Conner led the Bobcats to their fourth consecutive appearance in the Sun Belt Conference Championship. Under Conner's tutelage, freshman goalkeeper Beth Agee made 87 saves, over the 17 match season, ranking eighth most in the nation. Agee's save total was the second highest to be attained by a TXST freshman goalkeeper, and tied for the sixth highest in a season, placing her ninth on the program’s career saves list. The Bobcats also earned their 11th consecutive United Soccer Coaches Team Academic Award and their second straight United Soccer Coaches Team Ethics & Sportsmanship Silver Award.
In 2019, the Bobcats won its first four matches for the first time in program history. TXST also extended its undefeated streak to 17 matches for a new program mark and was the longest active streak in the nation when it came to an end. The season ended with the team shutting out six of their final eight opponents and qualifying for the Sun Belt Conference for the third consecutive year. The defensive performance helped the goalkeeping duo of Kathryn Budde and Heather Martin set a new Bobcat season record with a 0.50 GAA and .889 save percentage. TXST also received their second straight United Soccer Coaches Team Ethics & Sportsmanship Silver Award after getting just four yellow cards.
Both Kaylee Davis and Jordan Kondikoff were named to the All-Sun Belt First Team. The duo also made the United Soccer Coaches All-Southeast and Scholar All-West Teams with Kondikoff making the first squad in both and Davis making the all-scholar second team and third team all-region. Davis was also the first Bobcat ever named to the MAC Hermann Trophy Watch List and was joined by Martin on becoming the first players in program history to make the Senior CLASS Award Candidate List.
Kondikoff went on to become the second player ever to make the United Soccer Coaches Scholar All-America Team, getting selected to the third team. A new program record was set as Sarah Everett, Holly Streber, Genesis Turman, Kondikoff and Martin were named to the CoSIDA Academic All-District Team.
Martin would go on to make history by becoming the first Bobcat to earn CoSIDA Academic All-America First Team accolades. She is also the first Texas State soccer player to earn multiple Academic All-American honors. Another historic honor for Martin was receiving the Texas State University System Foundation Regents’ Student Scholar Award. The Midlothian, Texas native was the first Texas State student-athlete to receive the honor. Martin concluded her career under the direct tutelage of Conner by recording a 0.47 GAA and .893 save percentage her senior season, both second best in program history, while setting career marks for GAA (0.73) and save percentage (.858).
The 2018 season was a historic one for the Bobcat program. TXST captured its first-ever Sun Belt Conference regular season championship with a 1-0 win over Coastal Carolina in the regular season finale. It was the fifth conference regular season title in program history and the 10th conference title overall. With an 8-0-2 record in the Sun Belt, Texas State recorded its third undefeated conference mark in program history. Conner would go on to be named Sun Belt Coach of the Year for the second year in a row. The team finished with an 11-5-4 record, advanced to the Sun Belt Championship finals and ended the season on a 13-match undefeated streak, tied for the longest in the nation.
Kaylee Davis tied the program’s single-season record with 18 goals, which also tied for the third most in the nation. Seven of her goals were match-winners to set a new TXST record. The junior’s performance earned her Sun Belt Player of the Year, Offensive Player of the Year, all-conference first team honors and was named the Sun Belt Offensive Player of the Week a conference record four times. She also became the first Bobcat ever to be selected a United Soccer Coaches Scholar All-American, making the third team.
In goal, Heather Martin set season TXST records with a 0.46 GAA, .919 save percentage and nine solo shutouts. Her save percentage ranked as the second best in the nation, was the second best all-time in the Sun Belt and 23rd highest in NCAA history. The junior’s GAA mark ended up as the seventh lowest in the country and ranks second in Sun Belt history. She would go on to be named the Sun Belt’s Defensive Player of the Year, selected to the all-conference first team and named the league’s Defensive Player of the Week three times for the second straight season, the first player to do so in conference history. Martin was selected to the Google Cloud Academic All-America Second Team, becoming the third Bobcat to make one of the teams and making it two straight years a player had earned the honor.
Along with Davis and Martin, Jamie Brown and Genesis Turman were named to the All-Sun Belt First Team while Sarah Everett, Jordan Kondikoff and Mackenzie Smith made the all-conference second team. The seven All-Sun Belt selections tied the conference record in a season. Davis, Kondikoff, Turman and Martin would go on to be named to the Sun Belt All-Tournament Team as well.
Following the 2018 season, the team was awarded the United Soccer Coaches Team Ethics and Sportsmanship Silver Award for accumulating just four yellow cards in the campaign. The team also earned the Emmett Shelton team academic awards for the highest women’s team GPA in the 2018 spring and 2018 fall semesters for a Texas State program.
| KAT CONNER YEAR BY YEAR RECORD |
|
| Season |
School |
Overall |
Pct. |
Conference Record |
Pct. |
Postseason |
| 2000 |
Texas State |
9-9-3 |
.500 |
6-3-3 (Southland) |
.625 |
NCAA Tournament First Round |
| 2000 |
Texas State |
12-8-0 |
.600 |
9-3-0 (Southland) |
.750 |
Southland Conference Tournament |
| 2001 |
Texas State |
14-7-0 |
.667 |
10-2-0 (Southland) |
.833 |
NCAA Tournament First Round |
| 2002 |
Texas State |
9-8-2 |
.526 |
7-3-2 (Southland) |
.667 |
Southland Conference Tournament |
| 2003 |
Texas State |
9-10-2 |
.476 |
8-4-0 (Southland) |
.667 |
Southland Conference Tournament |
| 2004 |
Texas State |
13-10-0 |
.565 |
8-4-0 (Southland) |
.667 |
NCAA Tournament First Round |
| 2005 |
Texas State |
9-10-0 |
.474 |
5-2-0 (Southland) |
.714 |
Southland Conference Tournament |
| 2006 |
Texas State |
7-13-2 |
.364 |
5-4-2 (Southland) |
.545 |
Southland Conference Tournament |
| 2007 |
Texas State |
5-11-2 |
.374 |
3-4-2 (Southland) |
.444 |
|
| 2008 |
Texas State |
13-4-4 |
.714 |
7-0-2 (Southland) |
.888 |
NCAA Tournament First Round |
| 2009 |
Texas State |
14-6-1 |
.690 |
8-0-1 (Southland) |
.944 |
Southland Conference Tournament |
| 2010 |
Texas State |
12-8-1 |
.595 |
5-3-1 (Southland) |
.611 |
Southland Conference Tournament |
| 2011 |
Texas State |
14-6-1 |
.690 |
8-1-0 (Southland) |
.889 |
NCAA Tournament First Round |
| 2012 |
Texas State |
8-12-1 |
.405 |
4-4-0 (WAC) |
.500 |
WAC Tournament |
| 2013 |
Texas State |
8-9-2 |
.474 |
4-3-1 (Sun Belt) |
.562 |
Sun Belt Conference Tournament |
| 2014 |
Texas State |
11-7-2 |
.600 |
5-3-1 (Sun Belt) |
.611 |
Sun Belt Conference Tournament |
| 2015 |
Texas State |
12-6-0 |
.667 |
6-3-0 (Sun Belt) |
.667 |
Sun Belt Conference Tournament |
| 2016 |
Texas State |
6-9-3 |
.417 |
3-5-2 (Sun Belt) |
.400 |
|
| 2017 |
Texas State |
10-6-1 |
.618 |
8-2-0 (Sun Belt) |
.800 |
Sun Belt Conference Tournament |
| 2018 |
Texas State |
11-5-4 |
.650 |
8-0-2 (Sun Belt) |
.900 |
Sun Belt Conference Tournament |
| 2019 |
Texas State |
9-7-3 |
.553 |
5-4-1 (Sun Belt) |
.550 |
Sun Belt Conference Tournament |
| 2020-21 |
Texas State |
4-12-1 |
.265 |
4-4-0 (Sun Belt) |
.500 |
Sun Belt Conference Tournament |
| Career Totals |
218-184-35 |
.539 |
134-60-20 |
.673 |
10 Team Championships |
A slow start saw the Bobcats begin the 2017 season 1-3-1 before easily handling Prairie View A&M 4-0 in the team’s annual Teal Game and opening Sun Belt Conference play with a 3-1 victory at Georgia State. Following a setback at Coastal Carolina, Texas rattled off seven consecutive victories that included five straight shutouts to claim second place in the regular season. The shutout streak matched the longest in program history while the winning streak was tied for the second longest. TXST finished the year 10-6-1 for the program’s 11th 10-win campaign. The Bobcats recorded an 8-2 record in conference play to finish second, the best regular season finish for the team since joining the conference in 2013.
Six players earned All-SBC honors with five (Chandler Cooney, Kaylee Davis, Rachel Grout, Kassi Hormuth and Heather Martin) being selected to the first team and Jordan Kondikoff named to the second team. The five first team selections tied the school record for all-conference selections set in 2008. Taking home specialty awards were Davis (Newcomer of the Year) and Hormuth (Offensive Player of the Year). Conner was picked as the Coach of the Year for the third time in her career.
In the classroom, all members of the team recorded a 3.0 GPA or higher during the 2017 Fall semester. Grout became only the second player in program history to be named a CoSIDA Academic All-American when she was selected to the third team. Both Genesis Turman and Cooney were CoSIDA Academic All-District VII Second Team honorees as well. At the 25th annual Bobcat Academic Excellence Awards, 15 players were Star of Excellence recipients for a 4.0 semester GPA during the 2017 spring and/or fall semester, seven received Academic Achievement certificates for a 3.5 or higher semester GPA and Grout was named the Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year.
The Bobcats started the 2016 campaign with two straight shutouts for the first time in program history. The team earned its 100th victory at the Bobcat Soccer Complex with a 1-0 overtime win over Little Rock during the program's Ovarian Cancer Awareness Game. During the 2016 season, Texas State also set a program record by playing in seven overtime contests.
The 2015 campaign saw Conner take a reduced coaching role as she battled ovarian cancer. In the Bobcats’ second season as a member of the Sun Belt Conference, Conner guided Texas State to its second consecutive SBC semifinal match before ultimately falling to Troy. The 2014 Bobcats notched Conner’s ninth, 10-win team at Texas State and had a pair of student-athletes earn all-conference accolades.
As a junior in 2014, Lynsey Curry became the first Texas State soccer player to be named First-Team All-Sun Belt Conference after leading the Bobcats with seven goals including two game winners. Freshman defender Elizabeth Havenhill earned Second-Team All-SBC honors as a pivotal member of the Bobcat backline.
In Texas State’s first season in the SBC, Conner led the team to a 4-3-1 record and a semifinal finish in the tournament. The move to the SBC was the third conference realignment in as many years for Texas State.
After earning Freshman of the Year honors in the WAC in 2012, Curry was named Second-Team All-SBC alongside Tori Hale, who finished her Texas State career as program’s all-time assists leader. In 2013, Hale tied the single season record in assists with nine.
Conner’s latest appearance in the NCAA Tournament came in 2011 after the Bobcats defeated Stephen F. Austin in the Southland Conference Tournament, 1-0. Heading into the game, SFA was the leading goal scoring team in the country with over 3.4 goals per game.
Texas State finished that season 14-6-1, just one of 20 teams in the country to win at least 12 games. From 2008-11, the Bobcats won a combined 53 games, 30th most in the NCAA.
Individually, Texas State finished the 2011 season with a league-high six All-Southland Conference selections along with Newcomer of the Year, Andrea Mauk.
During her tenure in the Southland, Conner coached three Conference Players of the Year, four Newcomers of the Year, three Freshmen of the Year, one All-American and 55 All-Conference team members.
| THE KAT CONNER FILE |
|
| Coaching Honors |
| Southland Conference Coach of the Year |
2008, 2009 |
| Sun Belt Conference Coach of the Year |
2017, 2018 |
|
| Coaching Experience |
| Pacific Lutheran - Assistant Coach |
1991-92 |
| Texas A&M - Assistant Coach |
1993-98 |
| Texas State - Head Coach |
1999-present |
|
| Playing Experience |
| Hardin Simmons |
1987-89 |
| Pacific Lutheran |
1990 |
|
| Team Championships |
| 1999 |
Southland Conference Tournament |
| 2001 |
Southland Conference Regular Season |
| 2001 |
Southland Conference Tournament |
| 2002 |
Co-Southland Conference Regular Season |
| 2004 |
Southland Conference Tournament |
| 2008 |
Southland Conference Regular Season |
| 2008 |
Southland Conference Tournament |
| 2009 |
Southland Conference Regular Season |
| 2011 |
Southland Conference Tournament |
| 2018 |
Sun Belt Conference Regular Season |
In Texas State’s inaugural season in 1999, Conner led the Bobcats to a 9-9-3 overall record and a 6-3-3 mark in the Southland Conference to finish third overall and advance to the league’s postseason tournament. Despite the inexperience, Texas State claimed its first-ever SLC Tournament title and played in the NCAA Tournament play-in game.
Two years later, the Bobcats returned to the NCAA Tournament after posting a 14-7-0 overall record and claiming the SLC title and sweeping through the SLC tournament. It was just the second time in league history a team had won both the conference and conference tournament championships.
Conner continued her winning ways in 2002 when Texas State shared the SLC championship with Southeastern Louisiana, and again in 2004 when the Bobcats won the SLC Tournament and made its third appearance in the NCAA Tournament.
Texas State turned in the best season in school history during the 2008 season. The Bobcats posted a 13-4-4 overall record and went undefeated against SLC opponents with a 7-0-2 mark to claim the SLC championship. Duplicating the feat previously achieved in 2001, Texas State also won the Southland Tournament and advanced to the NCAA’s.
Texas State met Texas A&M in the first round of the NCAA postseason for the third time in program history. The Aggies held a 2-0 lead by halftime, and despite scoring its first two goals ever against the Aggies, Texas State fell by a score of 5-2.
After losing four members from the spectacular squad, the 2009 season seemed to fall right into place. The Bobcats enjoyed another undefeated conference season, going 8-0-1 and with a 14-6-1 overall mark.
Conner was named Southland Coach of the Year and junior Britney Curry was named the 2009 Player of the Year. Curry ranked seventh nationally averaging .842 goals per game and eighth with an average of two points per game. The honor marked the third-straight season Curry was named to a postseason team, a feat a number of athletes have enjoyed under Conner’s leadership.
Conner has coached quite a few stars during her time in San Marcos as Curry finished her career as Texas State’s all-time career scoring leader with 123 points (53 goals, 17 assists). In 2010, she was the leading scorer in the conference, with 33 points (14 goals, five assists). Nationally, she ranked 13th in both total goals (14) and goals per game (0.667) and 18th in points per game with 1.57. For her career, she finished just four points shy of the all-time Southland Conference record of 127 points by Kim McNally (Southeastern Louisiana, 2002-04).
Marva Bailey (1999-2002) earned First-Team All-SLC honors each year of her career at Texas State and Kendra Kade repeated the achievement from 2001-2004. In 2002, Sarah Buchrucker became Texas State’s first soccer All-American after being named to the Verizon Wireless All-American Team. In 2004, Danielle Holloway became the SLC’s first player in history to be named Player of the Year and Freshman of the Year in the same season.
In addition to the success on the field, Conner prides herself on student-athletes performing well in the classroom. Along with a championship caliber program on the field, she demands the same for her player’s education.
In 2015, the soccer team earned its second Emmett Sheldon Award, an honor given to the Texas State’s highest female team GPA. The first time that the Bobcats earned the award was after the 2004-05 school year.
Jayne Sherman, a two-time All-SLC Academic winner, became the first Texas State soccer player to be named SLC Student-Athlete of the Year in 2005.
The 2013 school year also marked a first academically for the Bobcats, as Tori Hale was named a Capital One Academic All-District First-Team selection. Hale matched that honor in 2014 alongside fellow senior Jourdan Brown.
Prior to taking the reins at Texas State, Conner was an assistant at Texas A&M under Aggie head coach G. Guerrieri. There, Conner was responsible for recruiting and coaching all phases of the game, scheduling, travel, budget, summer camps, as well as monitoring academics for the team.
During her five seasons at A&M, the Aggies made four NCAA tournament appearances, won one Big 12 Championship and one Big 12 Tournament championship.
Conner began her coaching career at Pacific Lutheran University after completing a successful playing career for the Lutes in 1990, where she earned a B.A. in physical education. Conner served as the Lutes’ defensive coordinator, handling recruiting and travel. As a coach, Conner helped lead the team to a national championship in 1991 and a national runner-up finish in 1992. The Lutes combined record over Conner’s stay as a player and a coach was 57-8-7 while making the NAIA Championship game all three years.
The 1991 championship team has been inducted into the Pacific Lutheran Hall of Fame. It marked the last time the Lutes won a NAIA national championship.
Prior to finishing her playing career at Pacific Lutheran, Conner played three years at Hardin Simmons. There, she led her team to the NAIA Championship game in 1988. She also was named to the NAIA All-Tournament team in 1988.
Conner earned a master's degree in sport leadership from Northeastern University in May 2018.
In addition to coaching at Texas State, Conner has been involved with developing Texas youth soccer. She has been a member of the coaching staff for the Region III Olympic Development Program and served as the coach for the South Texas U16 team.
Conner also served on teh U.S. Soccer Development Academy staff from 2018 to 2020.
Collegiately, Conner was a member of the 2011 NCAA Central Ranking Committee during the season. She was the chairman of the NSCAA Central Ranking Committee in 2011 after serving on it since 2009.
From 2004-07, Conner was appointed to the NCAA soccer rules committee by both the Southland Conference and the NCAA. Conner holds a USSF “A” license as well as a U.S. Soccer Goalkeeping license and NSCAA Premier License.
Conner, a native of Irving, Texas, graduated from Nimitz High School.
