Webster Steps Down as Cal Head Coach

After 12 seasons as the Cal Golden Bears Head Coach, Ned Webster is stepping down. 

Born and raised in Baltimore, Webster played at Boys’ Latin before heading to Notre Dame where he started at attack and went to four National Tournaments, graduating in 1999. He comes from a very successful lacrosse family. His father Mickey, is a USAL Hall of Famer, and he has two brothers, one uncle, and one cousin that all played NCAA DI. His cousin Dave has been the Head Coach at NCAA DIII Dickinson since 2001 and led them to the National Championship in 2025. 

One of his first coaching stops was with the Wanneroo Lacrosse Club in Perth, Australia before getting hired as an assistant coach with the San Francisco Dragons of the MLL. In 2009 he was named the first NCAA DII Head Coach at Dominican (CA). He won WILA Coach of the Year twice and led the Penguins to back to back WILA Championships. After the 2014 season, Dominican went to the WCLL conference of the MCLA, the same conference as Cal, and Webster was named Head Coach for the Golden Bears.

When he took over as Head Coach, the team had only been to the National Tournament once since 2002 after winning the 1999 National Championship. In his 2nd season in 2016, he led Cal to the National Tournament where they lost in the first round, and the following year they made it to the Final Four. In 2018, they won their first WCLL title since 2000 and reached the Elite 8. In 2019 they repeated as WCLL champs before losing in the National Championship to South Carolina. In 2020, they started off undefeated and sat at #3 in the polls before COVID ended the season. After dealing with COVID, the Golden Bears returned to the spotlight in 2024 making the National Tournament again. This past season, Cal entered the WCLL tournament as the 3 seed and left with their 8th title, Webster’s 3rd. They fell in the first round of the tournament to Tennessee. 

He is not taking on another coaching role, but rather starting his own business. His company, Ned Webster Assists, will help players navigate college recruiting. You can find more info on the company’s Instagram, nedwebsterassists. 

Cal is currently in the process of replacing him. If interested email McKenzie Brill at [email protected]