Kayley Ralton

LUMPKIN COUNTY, Ga.  – After an extensive national search, University of North Georgia Director of Athletics Mary Rob Plunkett has announced the promotion of Kayley Ralton to Head Women’s Soccer Coach Monday afternoon.

Ralton served as the Interim Head Women’s Soccer Coach for the Spring 2021 season, going 7-3 and making the Peach Belt Tournament as the No. 2 seed after reaching as high as a No. 10 national ranking during the season.

“I feel a great sense of pride to be appointed as the new head coach of the women’s soccer program,” stated Ralton. “The University of North Georgia is such an incredible institution, and I am truly honored to be a part of a nationally recognized athletic department. I would like to thank Director of Athletics Mary Rob Plunkett for believing in me to lead the program. I would also like to thank Derek Suranie and the entire search committee, and I am excited to be taking this next step. I can’t wait to begin preparations for the fall season, and I look forward to continually growing the program.”

Ralton served for more than three years as the assistant coach at UNG prior to taking on the interim role for the past season. In that time, she helped lead the women’s soccer program to a PBC regular season title, a NCAA Second Round appearance and a 38-12-5 record. UNG never finished worse than fourth in the conference standings during her tenure as assistant coach.

“We are excited to officially name Kayley our new head women’s soccer coach,” said Plunkett. “Her values and vision for the program align with our university and athletic department, and she has a proven track record of success as both a player and a coach in both the Peach Belt and the Southeast Region. Her passion for using the game of soccer to educate and inspire student-athletes on and off the field is what we were looking for in this search, and I am excited to see where she takes the program moving forward.”

A former four-year standout at Armstrong State from 2006-09, Ralton earned her bachelor’s degree in history from ASU in 2010 while serving as a student assistant for the Pirates that season. She served as a graduate assistant in 2011 & 2012 while earning her master’s in sports medicine in 2013. She then served as a full-time assistant from 2013-16.

In her time on the Armstrong State staff, she helped mentor the Pirates to three consecutive Peach Belt Conference regular season titles (2010, 2011 and 2012) and two PBC tournament championships (2011 & 2012).

The Pirates were crowned Southeast region champions in 2011 and 2012 and reached the NCAA Division II Final Four in 2011.

Individually, she helped develop 12 All-Americans and 30 All-Conference selection including two PBC Players of the Year: Kristina Pascutti in 2011 and Morgan Mitchell in 2012.

Ralton was a member of the Scotland U19 and U17 national teams and captained the U17 in tournament victories against Wales, USA, Holland and Republic of Ireland. As a member of the Scotland U19 team, she represented Scotland in the first stage and secondstage European Championships.

Ralton currently holds an USSF National B License as well as her NSCAA Goalkeeping Diploma and USA Weightlifting Sports Performance Coaching Certification.