Makena Honda enters her first season as the Assistant Coach and Goalkeepers Coach for the Idaho State soccer program in 2026.

Honda joins the Bengals after serving as the Director of Operations and Player Development/Management at UC Riverside during the 2025 season. In her role, she oversaw the Highlanders' day-to-day operations while supporting recruiting, travel logistics, match analysis, student-athlete development and team culture. She also played a key role in player development and mental performance initiatives throughout the program.

In addition to her collegiate coaching experience, Honda has worked as a personal goalkeeper coach, developing individualized training programs focused on technical development, positional play, confidence and overall performance. She also coached youth athletes at Village Sports in San Francisco from 2022-23.

Honda began her collegiate coaching career after playing goalkeeper at the University of San Francisco during the 2021 and 2022 seasons. 

A native of Manhattan Beach, California, Honda was a four-year varsity letterwinner at Mira Costa High School. She earned All-Area First Team Bay League honors from The Daily Breeze and helped lead the Mustangs to the 2020 CIF Southern Section Championship and the 2021 Bay League title. She also played seven years of club soccer for Beach FC.