Milwaukeean Kate Markgraf appointed general manager of the women's soccer national team

JR Radcliffe

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Kate Markgraf (left), shown in 2016, will be the new general manager of the United States women's national soccer team. She has lived in Milwaukee since 2007.

Kate Markgraf, a former World Cup champion who has lived in Milwaukee since 2007 and has two degrees from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, was named Monday as the new general manager of the women's national soccer team.

Markgraf, originally from Michigan, was part of the 1999 World Cup champion and also won two Olympic gold medals (2004 and 2008) as a player. She also played professionally in two domestic women's soccer leagues and was a captain on every team for which she played.

She has a Master's in Kinesiology and a Master's in Educational Psychology from UW-Milwaukee. She's also served as an analyst for ESPN and NBC sports, as a counselor at Cardinal Stritch University in the Milwaukee area and as a volunteer assistant coach with four Division I college programs, including Marquette University and at her alma mater at Notre Dame. She also coached youth soccer in Milwaukee for five years.

Markgraf's primary areas of responsibility as general manager will include managing and hiring senior and youth coaches (and staff members) for the women's national teams. She will also be tasked with overseeing the metrics and goals for the women's national teams at all ages and establishing performance standards. The role is being expanded from beyond the scope of only the senior team.

Her first order of business will be hiring the next head coach of the women's national team before the 2020 Olympic Games. Jill Ellis stepped down from that role after leading the USWNT to a second consecutive World Cup victory in the 2019 tournament. She's coached in a U.S. record 127 matches, and she officially departs in October.

"Having won multiple championships, (Markgraf has) truly steeped in the culture of the program," said U.S. Soccer Federation President Carlos Cordeiro in a release. "At a time when more countries around the world are investing heavily in women’s soccer and competition is getting more intense, Kate will help ensure that we achieve excellence across all our women’s teams and programs, both at the Federation and across the United States."

The U.S. soccer offices are based in Chicago.

JR Radcliffe can be reached at (262) 361-9141 or jradcliffe@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @JRRadcliffe.