Wes Branstetter enters his third year as head women’s soccer coach at Pittsburg State University.
After being hired on Nov. 6, 2023 to build a fledgling program from the ground up, Branstetter has delivered success at warp speed while laying the foundation for the future for Gorillas Women’s Soccer. The Pitt State mentor led the Gorillas to the 2025 MIAA Regular Season Championship and the program’s first NCAA Division II National Tournament appearance. He enters the 2026 season with a 22-12-4 (.632) overall record and a 13-7-4 (.625) MIAA slate.
In the Gorillas inaugural campaign in 2024, Pitt State posted a .500 record with eight wins, eight losses and a pair of draws. Branstetter’s squad made an impressive debut by posting a 4-2 victory over Missouri University of Science & Technology in the program’s initial match on Sept. 5, 2024, at Rolla, Mo. Pitt State then made its home opener at the Gorilla Soccer Pitch a memorable experience by posting a 3-0 shutout win over Northwestern Oklahoma State University three days later. All told, the Gorillas claimed victories in each of the program’s first three matches to foreshadow future successes that lay ahead. Pitt State posted a 4-6-2 mark in MIAA action in its debut season, finishing in a tie for eighth place in the conference standings while narrowly failing to qualify for the 2025 MIAA Championships.
Year two provided even more thrills in 2025 as the Branstetter led Gorillas stormed to a 9-1-2 conference record to narrowly topple defending MIAA Champion Washburn University from atop the conference standings on the final day of the regular season as Pitt State finished regular season play with an amazing 14-2-2 record. After dropping a 3-2 decision to Northeastern State University in a quarterfinal match-up of the 2026 MIAA Championships, the Gorillas earned the No. 6 seed in the NCAA-II Central Regional. Pitt State fell, 3-0, to third-seeded St. Cloud State University in first-round tournament action at Bemidji, Minn., to finish the season with a 14-4-2 record. Branstetter was selected the 2025 MIAA Coach of the Year, while helping guide nine players to All-MIAA honors including Carrie Cunningham being tabbed the MIAA Offensive Player of the Year. Cunningham and Sailor Jensen also garnered All-Region accolades.
Branstetter came to Pitt State after serving the previous nine years as an assistant coach at NCAA Division I Oral Roberts University in Tulsa, Okla., including four seasons as the Golden Eagles’ associate head coach. He helped ORU post an 8-7-4 record and advance to the semifinals of the 2023 Summit League Women’s Soccer Championship. The Golden Eagles advanced all the way to the Summit League Championship match in 2022, falling on penalty picks to the University of Omaha.
During his tenure at ORU, Branstetter has helped coach both a Conference Offensive Player of the Year and a Conference Defensive Player of the Year. Additionally, he has helped direct 16 All-Conference performers and 16 All Freshman/Newcomer performers during his tenure.
Branstetter began his coaching career in 2003 as the assistant coach of the West Side Alliance Soccer Club 92 Boys. Since 2005 he has been the head coach of multiple teams including the WSA 97 Boys Red, WSA 99 Girls Red, WSA Boys Red, 99 Boys White, WSA 00 Boys Red & Blue, WSA 03 Girls Blue and WSA 03 Girls Black. In 2016, he was named the OSA Oklahoma Coach of the Year. He directed a pair of teams (WSA 97 boys & WSA 97 girls) to state championships in 2016 and 2017. His WSA 03 Girls squad finished sixth at the 2019 national championships, while WSA 01/02 girls finished as semifinalists at the 2019 national championships.
Branstetter hails from Sapulpa, Okla., and he played collegiate soccer for Anderson University.
Branstetter earned a bachelor’s degree in marketing from the University of Tulsa in 2006 and a master’s degree in business administration from TU in 2008. He also enjoyed a successful seven-year career in the petroleum industry.
Wes and his wife, Jenny, have four children, Mia, Declan, Isla, and Nolan.
