Oklahoma State’s all-time leading scorer Grace Yochum hired as assistant coach

STILLWATER – Grace Yochum has moved into an assistant coach role on Oklahoma State’s soccer staff.

A former standout student-athlete for the Cowgirls, Yochum had served as OSU soccer’s player development coordinator since last July. She is now one of three assistants on head coach Colin Carmichael‘s coaching staff, joining Justin Elkington and Dustin Stein.

“I am beyond excited to have Grace move over to an assistant coaching role in our program,” Carmichael said. “It has been amazing to watch Grace’s growth and development from student-athlete to volunteer to player development coordinator and now to assistant coach. Grace knows what it means to represent Cowgirl Soccer and will be able to offer valuable insight and guidance to our student-athletes.

“She has achieved at the highest level both on the field and in the classroom while competing for our program and should serve as the standard that our current players look to emulate. Grace is loyal and true through and through, and I’m looking forward to seeing how she adapts to this new role.”

A native of Houston, Yochum starred for the Cowgirls from 2018-22 and graduated with a degree in education and a minor in coaching science from OSU in May 2021.

“I want to thank Coach Carmichael and the athletic administration for giving me this opportunity and believing in me. They have been incredible supporters since day one. I love getting to work with student-athletes every day, and I’m looking forward to building something special at OSU.”

Yochum established herself as the most prolific scorer in Oklahoma State soccer history during her five-year career with the Cowgirls, and she capped her career by earning All-America honors in ’22, becoming the sixth player in program history to achieve that feat.

During her senior season with the Cowgirls, Yochum set program records for career goals with 41 and also career points with 91; both of those records had stood since 2008. Yochum set the goals record with a pair of scores against Stephen F. Austin and eclipsed the points mark with her goal vs. Iowa State.

Yochum played 86 games in her career and also finished with 21 game-winning goals, including leading the NCAA in that category in 2021 when she netted eight en route to posting a career-high 12 goals. She collected All-Big 12 honors four times in her career, one of only six Cowgirls to ever earn that status, and she is one of four OSU players to be named All-Big 12 First Team three times.

In January 2023, Yochum became the second-highest NWSL Draft pick from OSU when she was selected in the second round with the 14^th overall pick by the Chicago Red Stars.

Yochum was named a United Coaches Scholar All-America First Team in 2022, becoming just the fifth first-team Academic All-American in program history, and she was also a four-time Academic All-Big 12 performer.