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Sports EdgeMACALLAN 1926June 12, 20262 min readAd-free
Bay FC Names Albertin Montoya Head Coach, First Hire Shapes $53M Expansion Build
Seattle Reign assistant takes NWSL's newest franchise with expansion draft two months out and stadium terms unfinished.
Sports Edge deskSports Edge · Huang GoodmanSource: CBS Sports ↗
In plain words
Montoya has **63 days** to staff up and prepare for expansion draft with half the allocation money Angel City had and no coordinators hired.
63 days
before the December expansion draft
2022
Shield run
0.91
expected goals per match
12
players into professional contracts
Bay FC named Albertin Montoya head coach Wednesday, the first personnel decision for the NWSL expansion franchise that begins play in five months. Montoya arrives from Seattle Reign, where he spent two seasons as assistant under Laura Harvey. The club paid no compensation—his contract expired in November.
The hire lands fourteen weeks before Bay FC's inaugural match and 63 days before the December expansion draft, where Montoya will protect one player from each existing roster. He inherits a technical staff of zero, a training facility lease unsigned past March, and a temporary home at PayPal Park in San Jose while the organization negotiates permanent stadium terms in the East Bay. The front office is Montoya, general manager Matt Potter, and six business operations staff working from a Portola Valley office park.
Montoya's credibility sits narrow but functional. He coached Seattle's defensive shape during their 2022 Shield run, holding opponents to 0.91 expected goals per match, third-best in the league. Before that: three years as Colorado Rapids' academy director, where he moved 12 players into professional contracts, and a brief NWSL assistant stint at Utah Royals before the franchise folded. His playing career ended at 28 with lower-division stops in Chile and Ecuador. What matters now is whether ownership trusts him to spend their allocation money correctly.
Bay FC ownership—led by tech investors including former Kleiner Perkins partner Sheryl Sandberg and venture capitalist Brandi Chastain—paid a $53M expansion fee, the highest in NWSL history. That buys Montoya $300K in allocation money for his first roster, half of what Angel City spent in their 2022 debut. The difference reflects league salary cap compression: the average NWSL starter now earns $86K, up 34% since Angel City entered, but expansion allocation hasn't moved. Montoya will need to identify undervalued internationals or draft well. He has done neither at scale.
The franchise timeline compresses from here. Expansion draft rules get finalized in mid-November. Kit manufacturer announcement expected before Thanksgiving, with early sponsor partnerships—the club is in late-stage talks with a Bay Area health system and a consumer electronics brand—likely bundled into a December media event. Montoya's coordinator hires matter more than usual; NWSL expansion teams that retained their first head coach past year two all had assistant coaches promoted from MLS or international clubs within 90 days of hire.
Bay FC begins play in February against a schedule opponent yet to be announced. The club projects $4.2M in year-one ticket revenue based on 8,100 season-ticket deposits, below Angel City's 15,000 but ahead of San Diego's 6,800 at comparable timeline. Montoya's win total will determine whether that converts to renewals. His player acquisitions start now.
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