Bio entering 2023 season
Brandi Padilla finished her 10th season at San Diego State as an assistant coach after joining the Aztec coaching staff in August 2012.
With Padilla serving on the SDSU staff, the Aztecs have garnered 77 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation all-academic honors and 35 all-conference selections.
In her role, Padilla works primarily with the SDSU attack and draw takers. Her work has proved vital to the team’s success, with the Aztecs posting consecutive winning seasons for the first time in program history in 2017 and 2018.
Thanks in part to Padilla’s efforts, San Diego State won a school-record 11 games during the 2018 campaign, culminating in the Aztecs’ first-ever MPSF championship with an 11-10 overtime thriller over UC Davis in the conference title game.
In 2022, Padilla oversaw Deanna Balsama, who set school records for most points (73) and goals (62) in her first season on The Mesa and became the first Aztec to be named the IWLCA All-Region Team.
Individually, Padilla was instrumental in the emergence of Harlowe Steele (38) and Jill Haight (37), who earned all-MPSF honors after becoming the first SDSU duo to score more than 35 goals apiece. In addition, the Aztecs landed five other players on the all-conference team and garnered a league-high 15 MPSF Player of the Week accolades.
Collectively, San Diego State ranked 14th nationally in draw controls (15.26/gm), with Haight (74) and Steele (58) taking over the top two spots on the squad’s single-season charts in that statistic.
The 2017 campaign was also a banner year for the Aztecs, who posted double-digit wins for the first time since the program’s inception after finishing with a 10-8 record. SDSU capped its breakthrough season with its first-ever postseason victory with an 18-13 triumph over Oregon in the MPSF quarterfinals.
Under Padilla’s guidance, senior Kristen Hickey led the Scarlet and Black with 34 goals, which ranks fifth on the school’s single-season list, earning first-team all-conference honors in the process.
Padilla also aided in the development of Christina Ricciardulli, who also received first-team all-MPSF recognition in 2015 after helping the Aztecs to their first winning season at 9-8, highlighted by a second straight conference tournament appearance. Individually, Ricciardulli finished ninth among MPSF competitors during the regular season with 2.06 goals per game and second with 0.94 free position goals per contest. Michaela Jarvis, who topped SDSU with 21 assists, also garnered all-MPSF second-team accolades.
Additionally, Jarvis and Ricciardulli picked up all-MPSF second team honors in 2014, courtesy Padilla’s leadership. Jarvis led SDSU with 39 points on 19 goals and 20 assists during the 2014 campaign, while Ricciardulli bolstered the team with 54 draw controls and ranked second on the squad with 28 goals while occupying the third spot with 32 points.
A four-year letterwinner during her collegiate playing career at Maryland, Padilla started at midfielder and helped lead the Terrapins to the 2010 national championship as well as three straight Atlantic Coast Conference titles (2009-11). The Poway, Calif., native landed a spot on the IWLCA All-America team in 2009 to go with all-ACC distinction.
Padilla was instrumental in Maryland's championship run in 2010, tallying 22 goals and 13 assists as one of the top scoring threats for the Terps. In the national championship game, she scored two goals and handed out an assist in a 13-11 victory over Northwestern.
Padilla led Maryland back to the NCAA finals in 2011 after notching 21 goals, 29 draw controls and 15 ground balls on the year. Despite the team falling short in the title game rematch vs. Northwestern, she was named to the NCAA Championships All-Tournament team.
Prior to Maryland, Padilla was a four-sport star at Poway High School in lacrosse, volleyball, basketball and track and field. In lacrosse, she earned all-CIF honors on three occasions and was twice named CIF Player of the Year. Padilla was also a two-time US Lacrosse All-American and she was tabbed an Under Armour All-American in 2007.
The former Brandi Jones is a 2011 graduate of Maryland, earning a bachelor's degree in family science. She and her husband, Eddie Padilla, a strength and conditioning coach at San Diego State, have three children and are expecting another in the spring of 2022.