Camp Director Ricardo Gutierrez

Ricardo Gutierrez

Ricardo Gutierrez is currently an assistant coach entering his third season at the University of California Berkeley. Gutierrez brings with him a variety of experiences in  the collegiate game, including stops at Grand Canyon University and the University of San Francisco. Gutierrez has had tremendous success at all three institutions, most recently, helping Cal to more than double their win total in  their second season. In 2023 five Cal Bears garnered All-Pac-12 accolades - Kevin Carmichael, Evan Davila, Wyatt Meyer (first team), Nonso Adimabua (second team), and Connor Lambe (honorable mention). Meyer  was named the Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year, and three Bears – Davila (first team), Meyer (second team) and Adimabua (third team) – were chosen to the United Soccer Coaches All-Far West Region Teams. Head Coach Leonard Griffin was named the Pac-12 Coach  of the Year and two Bears were drafted in the MLS Superdraft. Gutierrez has been instrumental in bringing two top-ten recruiting classes to Berkeley. 

In the 2021 season at GCU, Gutierrez was part of a staff that led the Antelopes to a 15-4-1 record, the WAC regular-season championship and a berth in the NCAA tournament. The Lopes were ranked as high as #1 in the 2021 RPI and finished the season ranked 25th in the country. Eight GCU players earned All-WAC honors, including WAC Defender of the Year Esai Easley and Justin Rasmussen, an All-WAC midfielder. Easley and Rasmussen became the first Grand Canyon players chosen in the first round of the MLS SuperDraft when Sporting Kansas City selected Easley at No. 22 and the Portland Timbers picked Rasmussen at No. 27. 

Prior to Grand Canyon, Gutierrez worked alongside Griffin at San Francisco from 2019-2021. While the West Coast Conference preseason poll picked USF to finish last in the  spring 2021 season, Griffin and Gutierrez led the Dons to a third-place finish in the WCC. He coached the WCC Freshman of the Year and All-WCC first-team selection  Nonso Adimabua who eventually followed the staff to Cal. 

Gutierrez has extensive experience in the club soccer scene. He is currently the Boys Director of Coaching at the San Francisco Elite Academy. He was the founder and president  of the Central California Aztecs Organization for over a decade where he brought unprecedented success to the Central Valley and helped multiple players move on to National team programs, premier college programs and the professional ranks. Gutierrez was also  the executive director of the Carolina Renegades Soccer Club from 2016-2018.  

A native of Bakersfield, California, Gutierrez is a 2004 graduate of Albertus Magnus College in Connecticut where he was a member of the men's soccer team. He holds  a USSF B License and is currently a member of both the Diversity Equity Inclusion Belonging and Justice (DEIBJ) Organization and the Latinx Empowerment, Advocacy, and Progression (LEAP) Program at Cal.