Brian Pensky enters first month as Florida State soccer coach with immediate pressure

The microphone Brian Pensky lowered during his introductory press conference tumbled to the floor just seconds after the new Florida State women’s soccer coach started speaking from a podium in the Moore Athletics Center on Tuesday.

“This is what happens when you are short,” joked Pensky, who comes from the University of Tennessee and claimed SEC Coach of the Year last season.

Besides fumbling the microphone, Pensky handled his first moment in the spotlight well. He looked to be an effective communicator, mixing humor with humility. Pensky also embraced the pressure that comes with replacing head coach Mark Krikorian after his abrupt resignation.

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Contending for national championships won’t be enough for this program. Pensky understands he will be expected to win at the highest level, too. It’s the price of admission for being the encore to a coach that claimed his third national title with the Seminoles last season.

Keeping that national championship team intact will be Pensky’s biggest priority in his first month. He’s actively re-recruiting his players in hopes that they won’t transfer elsewhere. He's also looking to retain Krikorian’s assistant coaches, Mike Bristol and Morinao Imaizumi.

The Democrat confirmed that a majority of the starters from last season recently entered the transfer portal, including Beata Olsson, Clara Robbins, Cristina Roque, Emily Madril, Jenna Nighswonger, Lauren Flynn and Kristina Lynch.

“Almost all of them have gone into the transfer portal with the red triangle, which basically means they are closed. Schools cannot contact them,” Pensky said. “Basically, they wanted the comfort to own their own life in some ways. And I understand that. I owned my own life when I chose to come here last week, right?

“This program is amazing. This university is amazing. Our soccer program is going to continue to be amazing. And I’d like to think that eventually, they are going to be up to that place, and they are going to want to return and take their names out of the portal.

“But they’ve got to be at peace with that. They’ve heard me say that. I’ve been very clear, open, honest, transparent. I want them to want to be here. They do know that they love this place. They know that they love each other. …

“We all have to make our decisions and own our stuff when we are ready to do it. And I fully respect that for all of these kids.”

Lynch announced last week that she’s transferring to Notre Dame. The others in the portal could still choose to withdraw their name if FSU agrees to take them back. As Pensky alluded, the do-not-contact players likely entered the portal to keep their options open while they see if they like Krikorian’s successor.

The NCAA’s one-time transfer rule has a May 1 deadline for players in fall sports. Specifically, players who transfer have to put their name into the portal by May 1 to be eligible to play in the coming season.

The Seminoles officially hired Pensky last Monday, six days from that critical deadline. He met with the team collectively and individually all of last week. Then they returned home for the summer break after the spring semester ended.

“A couple of them know me a little bit from recruiting them while I was at Tennessee,” Pensky said. “But they don’t really know me. Relationships don’t happen overnight. Unfortunately, they are gone. So it makes it a little challenging. But it’s OK. They are going to give me that time, and we are going to get to know each other as best as we can as soon as we can.”

The coming weeks could be the first sign of whether Pensky can reach his championship-level expectations. If he can convince all or most of FSU’s players in the portal to return, Pensky will have one of the best rosters in soccer.

Pensky can’t afford to mishandle his re-recruitment of the portal players like he did with that microphone.

“I have told them, ‘I am not a chest-beater,’” Pensky said. “I am not that guy who is going to get in front of them and tell them how great I am. However, I have tried and done my best to make them well aware of how hard we are going to work and how good we are going to be.

“To sit here and say I am going to fully fill Mark Krikorian’s shoes would be a little bit naïve and a little bit ignorant. But we are going to do our darndest to give it a shot. We are going to win. I believe we are going to win at a high level.

“I am excited to continue to get to know these kids and get to a place where they are all ready to move forward in their lives. Unfortunately, that doesn’t always happen overnight.”

Brian Pensky’s other notable quotes

Below are some of the other significant quotes from Pensky’s press conference.

On replacing Krikorian

“I take Mark’s spot with a ton of humility. He has been unequivocally – in my opinion, and a lot of people’s opinion – the best in the business over the last 10 to 15 years. He’s a phenomenal coach. He’s won at a very high level. I certainly have a big job of following in his shoes. I’m well aware of that, but I’m excited to give it a shot.”

On if he had any doubts about FSU’s commitment to soccer

“Not one ounce. Unfortunately, I ooze what I’m feeling. So you would be able to tell if I thought that. Not at all. Not at all. When (senior associate athletics director) Jim (Curry) said to me, ‘Hey, we are going to continue to support (soccer),’ I cut him off. I was like, ‘I don’t need to hear that. That’s not a conversation. I trust that you are going to do it. All good there.’”

On FSU’s “phenomenal” facilities and resources

“The SEC is a phenomenal league. The resources and the facilities, I’m coming from a pretty blessed situation in terms of all of that at the University of Tennessee. Big jump up from what I had been accustomed to at the University of Maryland. So all pretty parallel here. The biggest difference is obviously the success that this program has had and being back in the ACC.”

On his conversations with the recruits verbally committed to the Seminoles

“Yep, all of them. Good conversations. No Zooms. All phone conversations. I’m going to plan on trying to get out to see them whether it’s in the next couple weeks or some time in June depending on where they are in the country.”

On turning around struggling programs like Maryland and Tennessee

“That was one of the things that drew me here. There are probably a lot of people out there that drew them away from here, following this. It’s just a different opportunity for me in my life. I’ve been the head coach now for almost 20 years. I’ve been in the college game for almost 25 years. I’ve never faced a challenge like this. I believe in myself, and I believe in my abilities.

“I believe in my ability to put together a staff. And trusting the players. They are good players. Part of coaching is empowering kids. And learning from kids. And listening to kids. And handing it to them in some ways.

“So as we continue this transition in terms of our team and what our team is actually going to look like come the fall, I will have a better idea of, ‘OK, how much of my fingerprints are going to be all over this team?’ Because you could make the argument that if we return almost everybody from a National Championship and ACC Championship team and two-thirds of the staff, my leadership almost becomes follower-ship in this first time period.

“So we are sifting through all of that right now. I will learn a lot. I will watch a lot of game film over the summer. I’ve already started to do so. I’ve watched a lot of Florida State. I followed Mark for a long time. I’ve followed this program for a long time.

“So when I sat in that room last Monday and met the team for the first time, I was able to address a lot of them individually and tell them my own experience. Whether it was back in their club days or in their experience here at Florida State.”

Reach Carter Karels at ckarels@gannett.com or follow him on Twitter @CarterKarels.

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This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: FSU soccer coach Brian Pensky tackles key topics in his first press conference