SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Sacramento State head women's soccer coach Randy Dedini is one of three former players that will be inducted into the PIttsburgh Riverhounds SC Hall of Fame as part of its 2024 class, the club announced on June 26.

"Soccer has been my life's passion and I'm extremely honored by this induction into the Pittsburgh Riverhounds Hall of Fame," Dedini said. "I loved my teammates, coaches, and the city of Pittsburgh. Playing for the 'Hounds were some of the best years of my life and I'm so humbled and grateful for the recognition that I was a good teammate and a productive player."

A member of the inaugural Riverhounds' team in 1999, Dedini is joined by former assistant coach Paul Child and midfielder Gary DePalma in the club's third Hall of Fame class, which will be feted on July 13. The group was selected in a vote of current club staff, the living members of the Hall of Fame, and select members of the media who have covered the team.

The starting goalkeeper for the Hounds' first team, Dedini played five years in Pittsburgh from 1999-2003 and established a number of records that still stand today. During his tenure, he finished with 57 wins between the pipes, holding all-time club marks for victories, shutouts (29), and matches played (125), while continuing to hold the single-season mark for saves with 136 in 1999, helping the team to its first-ever playoff berth and playoff victory that year.

All told, Dedini played 11 professional seasons following an All-American career at Sonoma State, where he was inducted into the school's Hall of Fame in 2008.
 

A Northern California native, Dedini's coaching career began as the Hornets' goalkeepers coach in 2004 and was named the program's top assistant in 2005 before taking over as head coach in 2007.

That first year, Dedini guided Sacramento State to a program-record 12 wins, the Big Sky Conference's regular season title, and the program's first conference tournament title while picking up the first of his three Big Sky Coach of the Year awards.

He also won the conference's top coaching honor in 2010 after leading the Hornets to another Big Sky tournament title and, again, in 2016 after leading Sacramento State to a 6-2-2 conference mark after the Hornets had been picked to finish sixth in the league.

Now entering his 17th season at the helm in 2024, Dedini has helped lead Sacramento State to 119 victories while mentoring 27 All-Big Sky first team selections, 28 second team awardees, and 54 honorable mention choices. Four of his charges have been named Big Sky Defensive MVPs, two more have earned the league's top offensive honor, and another named the top goalkeeper in the conference. 

His student-athletes have also seen success in the classroom as 161 of his players have gone on to earn Big Sky All-Academic honors, including 12 in 2024 — the most since 2021 and the seventh time in the last eight years that Sacramento State has had 10-or-more honorees.