Kiya Gilliand Commits to Play Soccer at the University of Wisconsin-Madison

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Courtesy of Temo Photo

Junior Kiya Gilliand is excited to play soccer for the University of Wisconsin of Madison.

About two weeks ago, junior Kiya Gilliand committed to play Division 1 soccer at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Gilliand played soccer growing up and is currently playing club soccer for Tonka Fusion Elite. She is a forward for both her club team and the BSM Girls Soccer team. It was always a goal for her to play in college. “I always wanted to play college soccer and I always pictured myself being in the Big 10… I’ve always wanted to play at that high level,” Gilliand said.

By starting her recruitment process early, she was able to set herself up in a good position for when she was finally able to talk to coaches. “It started off with sending a lot of emails and then just meeting different coaches at showcases. Then after June 15, I could start talking to the coaches directly. It was a lot of phone calls and getting [to go] to different campuses and meeting coaches [and] players,” Gilliand said.

I always wanted to play college soccer and I always pictured myself being in the Big 10… I’ve always wanted to play at that high level

— Gilliand

Her recruitment process with Wisconsin specifically, had many steps. “First I went to one of their ID camps, which is a clinic where they can see you play and then after that, we started connecting through email since it was before June 15. And then once [it was] June 15, they sent me an email [saying] that they wanted to have a call to move further along with me in the recruitment process. [Then] we set up a visit and I went down to the school. [Then I] saw the school, saw if I liked it, and on my visit I committed,”Gilliand said.

Gilliand’s decision to commit to Wisconsin was not just for soccer. She loved the academic part of the school as well. “I liked the campus a lot because I want to go to school with a big campus and a large amount of people. The team dynamic is [also] really strong and I love the coaches. [It’s] also a strong academic school, especially with their business school,” Gilliand said.

Because she is only a junior, Gilliand still has one more year of high school and club soccer before she heads to Wisconsin. “I’m super excited for the new experience. This has been something I’ve been working on for so many years and I’m super excited that I actually made it happen and that’s what I’m gonna be doing in the next few years. And I’m really excited [to be] playing with a new team and also the just college side of it and being at a college that I see myself at,” Gilliand said.