Steve

Ralston

Steve Ralston was born and raised in Oakville, a suburb in south St. Louis County. He attended Oakville High School before spending a year at Forest Park Community College in St. Louis, where he played under former St. Louis Stars and USMNT midfielder Pat McBride. He earned first-team NJCAA All-American honors, helped the program win the Region 16 championship, and later received induction into the NJCAA Region 16 Hall of Fame. He then transferred to Florida International University, where he became a two-time All-American and in 1994 led the entire nation in scoring with 56 points on 19 goals and 18 assists.

Before the MLS College Draft, Ralston signed with the St. Louis Ambush of the NPSL indoor league — his first professional contract. Drafted by Tampa Bay 18th overall in 1996, he won the first-ever MLS Rookie of the Year award and went on to a 14-year career that made him one of the most durable and productive players in league history. When he retired in 2010, he held the all-time MLS records in four categories: assists (135), appearances (378), starts (372), and minutes played (33,143). The assists record has since been surpassed by Landon Donovan, but Ralston remains second all-time.

Internationally, he earned 36 caps for the USMNT and won back-to-back CONCACAF Gold Cups in 2005 and 2007. He scored the game winner in the September 3, 2005 qualifier against Mexico in Columbus — a 2-0 U.S. win that clinched the country's berth in the 2006 World Cup.

Ralston was recognized locally with the Keough Award in 2006, given annually to the outstanding soccer player from the St. Louis area, and was inducted into the St. Louis Soccer Hall of Fame in 2018. He was also named to MLS's "25 Greatest" list in 2020, a panel-selected honor marking the league's silver anniversary.

After retiring in 2010, he moved directly into coaching and has spent the better part of fifteen years as an assistant in MLS. He joined the Houston Dynamo staff under Dominic Kinnear, reaching back-to-back MLS Cup finals in 2011 and 2012, then followed Kinnear to San Jose in 2015. He served a brief stint as San Jose's interim head coach in 2018 following Mikael Stahre's dismissal, and returned to the Earthquakes' staff in 2022. His longevity on the sideline — like his longevity as a player — reflects a career built more on consistency and football intelligence than on individual flash.