For the first time in 12 years, Boston College women’s soccer is heading toward Selection Day with real reason to believe its name will be called.
That alone marks a major shift in Newton. A program that spent more than a decade watching the NCAA Tournament from the outside now has a 10-5-2 record, enough of a resume to sit squarely in the at-large mix even after missing the six-team ACC Tournament. As conference championships play out around the country, the Eagles’ case only gets stronger.
Chris Watkins was hired with that kind of turnaround in mind. He already had experience ending long droughts, having been asked to snap Gonzaga’s two-decade absence from the NCAA Tournament.
Before that, he worked in winning environments at Brigham Young, including with both the men’s and women’s programs, and later alongside Jennifer Rockwood and her perennial West Coast Conference power in Utah. After he took over Gonzaga, he guided the Bulldogs past the Cougars and to their first-ever conference championship in 2023.
At Boston College, Watkins made no secret of why he took the job.
"It's the reason why I invest [in a program]," Watkins said in 2024. "BC was in a bit of a lull in its soccer program, and I invested in BC because we should be better.
I hope I can do my part to get there [because] we can get there. This place is beautiful.
I saw the facility, and I saw our resources on campus. We can be a lot better than we are, so I'm here to try and make that happen."
The results have started to catch up to that vision. Watkins won 12 games in his first season, though the Eagles’ RPI sat in the mid-80s because the quality of those wins wasn’t strong enough. The next year brought only five wins, but that season helped lay the groundwork for the team BC has now: a 10-win group with a legitimate postseason profile.
There have been signature moments along the way. BC’s 2-1 win over No.
12 Louisville was its first victory over a ranked opponent in eight years. A win over Dartmouth and a draw against Miami also helped push the Eagles into the top 30 of the RPI, strengthening their standing as the bracket picture comes into focus.
That matters in a league like the ACC, where multiple teams routinely make the NCAA field. Last year, the conference landed eight at-large teams, a reminder of how much room there is for strong ACC programs to get in even without winning the league tournament.
Teams such as Clemson have made the field with records barely above .500, and last season Northwestern, Ohio State and Penn State were all selected with fewer wins than BC has now. Few mid-major conferences can match that kind of depth, with the Ivy League’s four-team showing in 2023 standing out as a rare exception.
The tournament itself gives 64 teams a shot at the title, split between 31 automatic bids and 33 at-large selections. The bracket is divided into four regions of 16 teams, with eight seeds hosting opening-round matches before the field narrows toward the College Cup. This year’s Final Four will return to WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, North Carolina, after last year’s event at CPKC Stadium, home of the Kansas City Current.
BC’s path looks favorable compared with some other teams still waiting on conference results. In the Big Ten, UCLA, Michigan, Penn State and Washington have already secured automatic bids to either Michigan State or Purdue, both of whom are already locked into the field.
The first three are expected to advance, while Washington sits seven places behind BC in the RPI. In Conference USA, Liberty is also locked in regardless of what happens the rest of the way.
The Ivy League has created another interesting comparison. Brown is in a similar spot to Boston College, but the Bears finished third in the regular season behind Dartmouth, which lost to BC, and Columbia, which must win the conference tournament to earn an automatic bid after finishing below .500 in the regular season.
There are still scenarios that could muddy the picture, and the American Athletic Conference or Big East could complicate things if teams other than Memphis or Xavier win those tournaments. Charlotte and Villanova are near BC in the RPI, but the ACC’s weight gives the Eagles a strong edge in the conversation.
Nothing is official until the committee speaks, but this is no longer a season built on hope alone. Boston College has put together a resume that belongs in the discussion, and for the first time in more than a decade, the Eagles are approaching November with a realistic chance to hear their name called.
That would mean more than a return to the tournament. It would be the payoff for the rebuild and the start of something bigger.
In Other News...
Boston College Finally Showed Why Fans Should Feel Better Now
Boston College womens basketball finally had the kind of night that can steady a young season, rolling past UMass Lowell 86-57 at Conte Forum and giving Kate Popovec-Goss her first win as the Eagles head coach. After an uneven start to the year, BC looked far more settled on both ends, with Jocelyne Grier providing the scoring punch and the defense setting the tone by turning pressure into easy offense.
Grier led the way with 23 points, and the Eagles were relentless in forcing 29 turnovers, which became 33 points the other direction. For a team that had been searching for a cleaner rhythm, the performance offered a much better snapshot of what this roster can look like when it is playing with pace and purpose, even if the bigger questions around consistency are still waiting to be answered. [Read more 🡒]
Boston College Must Fix One Costly Habit To Stay Competitive Down The Stretch
Boston College heads into its Week 11 matchup with Notre Dame still trying to clean up the kinds of mistakes that can turn a competitive afternoon into a long one. Bill OBrien has kept the message simple this week: take it one game at a time, focus on each play and avoid giving away easy yards or momentum against a ranked opponent.
The Eagles know the margin for error stays thin down the stretch, especially with the level of competition still ahead. Penalties and red-zone defense have been recurring issues, and if Boston College wants to stay in games like this one, those habits have to improve before the schedule tightens any further. [Read more 🡒]
Boston College Puts Its Fast Start To An Early Test
Boston Colleges early momentum got a lift in its second game, when the Eagles handled UMass 71-55 and moved to 2-0. Money Williams was the driving force, giving the offense a reliable spark as the Eagles looked sharper and more settled than they had in the opener. The win also gave the staff a clearer read on where this group is already ahead of schedule and where the next layer of growth still has to come.
Maryland Eastern Shore is up next, bringing a different kind of test after a recent win over Cheyney and with another ACC opponent now on deck. For Boston College, it is the sort of early-season matchup that can tell a lot about whether the fast start is just a good opening stretch or the beginning of something more durable, especially with both coaches already pointing to performance and improvement as the real storylines to watch. [Read more 🡒]