Saint Mary's Director of Athletics and Recreational Sports, Mark Orr announced the hiring of Kai Edwards as the head women's soccer coach at Saint Mary's College on February 2, 2009. Edwards is the fifth head coach in the 29 years of the Saint Mary's women's soccer program.

The attack minded Edwards improved the team's goals per game average from 1.00 (2008) to 1.45 GPG (2009). The Gaels also jumped 63 spots in the RPI, moving into the top 100, and were ranked in the top 10 in the West Region (NCAA/NSCAA) throughout the majority of the 2009 campaign.  The Gaels excelled in the classroom as well, earning a Team Academic Award from the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA).  

Edwards enters his second year, after a promising 2009 campaign in which the Gaels improved to 9-11 overall with three players earning All-West Coast Conference honors. Jessica Menzhuber was a first team all-conference selection and a third team NSCAA All-West Region selection, Daelyn Paul was an honorable mention all-WCC honoree, and joined Christina Tognetti on the conference's all-freshman squad.

Edwards moved Menzhuber from defender to forward for her senior season and she responded by leading the Gaels with 26 points on 11 goals and four assists. Menzhuber, who was fourth in the WCC in goals and points, helped the Gaels score at least one goal in 19-of-20 games in 2009. Paul had an outstanding freshman campaign, as she was second on the team with 16 points on five goals and a team-high six assists.

In 2009, the Gaels had key victories over top-30 teams Texas (2-1) and San Diego (2-1). During the middle of the season, SMC won 7-of-10 games, with their three losses during that stretch to No. 10 Texas A&M (2-1), No. 9 California (4-1) and No. 1 Stanford (1-0).

Edwards came to Saint Mary's after spending two seasons as the associate head coach for the women's soccer program at UC Santa Barbara. Edwards served as the Gauchos' recruiting coordinator and he played an instrumental role in UCSB's 2008 recruiting class, which was ranked 38th in the nation by Soccer Buzz Magazine, the highest in program history.

The affable Edwards joined the UCSB coaching staff in the spring of 2007, after spending one season at Sonoma State, where he helped guide the Seawolves to a 12-6-3 record and a spot in the California Collegiate Athletic Association Tournament in 2006. Prior to his one season as an assistant at Sonoma State, Edwards spent two years as an assistant at Division II Western Washington.

He has also been involved as a coach with the Region IV Olympic Development Program. He has his USSF "A" license and also his NSCAA Advanced Regional Diploma. An offensive-minded coach, each team Edwards has coached has increased its goals per game average each year of his tenure.

Edwards, a graduate of Sonoma State, played two seasons for the Seawolves. As a senior in 2003, he scored five goals and had four assists, and in 2002, he was a member of Sonoma State's NCAA Division II National Championship team. Prior to his two years at Sonoma, Edwards played soccer for two years at San Francisco State where he was a team captain.

As a high school player at Rolling Hills Prep in San Pedro, Calif., he was a First Team All-State choice, once scored 11 goals in a single match and still holds record for goals in a game, season and career. Professionally, he played for the Seattle Sounders Select team, Surrey United in Canada and semi-pro for the Bellingham Blaze indoor team. Edwards also competed on the U.S. National Tae Kwon Do team.