On Sept. 1, 2022, Missouri soccer hosted No.1 ranked North Carolina. There was a high sense of anticipation building around the team, but the most excited player was then-freshman forward Kylee Simmons.

Born and raised right outside of Cincinnati in West Chester, Ohio, Simmons was born to be an athlete — her mom, Janelle, an NCAA champion swimmer at Ohio State and her father, Ted, a high school basketball player.  As a kid, Simmons tried out a whole list of sports in addition to soccer, including basketball, softball, swimming and volleyball. 

She eventually narrowed it down to basketball and soccer, playing both sports throughout high school. Simmons followed in the footsteps of her dad, lettering in basketball at Lakota West High School. However, her primary sport eventually became soccer. During the 2019 District Academy season, Simmons finished top 10 in the nation in goals with Cincinnati United. 

“Soccer was something I knew I couldn’t live without,” Simmons said. “The thought of not being a soccer player really hurt me. I never wanted to experience that.”

Simmons has always made an impact with her goal-scoring ability. Last season, she got extremely close to scoring her first goal in several of the games leading up to the highly anticipated matchup against the top-ranked Tar Heels. As a result of her continuously positive impact, she got the chance to start for the first time in her career.

“I kept hitting the post…I was really frustrated,” Simmons said. “We thought ‘maybe the reason I haven’t scored yet is because the universe wants me to score on North Carolina’…it was a running joke leading up to the game.”

It wasn’t going to be easy, as North Carolina hadn’t allowed a goal in its first four matches. But in the 60th minute, Simmons dribbled through a set of North Carolina defenders before burying her first career goal.

“It led you as a coach being able to see her doing that consistently at this level,” head coach Stefanie Golan said.

Simmons was equally as excited.

“It was a surreal moment,” Simmons said. “It was the first time a moment like that had brought me to tears.”

Simmons would rack up another 4 points in her freshman year, with one goal and two assists. But for her, it was all about the long game, slowly improving to get better over time.

“I really wanted to put in extra work before practice, after practice,” Simmons said. 

Coach Golan noticed the improvement as well, touting Simmons’ consistent work ethic put in both during and after the season.

“She came back in the fall extremely fit and extremely prepared to be the impact type of player you are seeing now,” Golan said.

As a result, Simmons has come out swinging during her sophomore year. She has already racked up an SEC-leading nine goals along with 20 total points as of Sept. 29. The Ohio native was voted the Collegiate Player of the Week by the United Soccer Coaches on Sept. 15, along with earning the SEC Offensive Player of the Week on the 18th.

“The other teams know who I am, which I’m not really used to,” Simmons said.

Outside of soccer, Simmons is a big believer in her faith and uses it to help out the local community. Before the season began, she volunteered at The Crossing — a local church in Columbia — every Sunday to help teach preschoolers. 

“I loved doing that. [It] was the biggest thing that filled my cup,” Simmons said.

Simmons also works with other athletes both at Missouri with the Athletes in Action program and Veritas, the college ministry inside The Crossing.

Simmons’ kindness and compassion extends to her teammates, with a reputation as not just a great player, but an even better person.

“She wants to be a good person, she wants to be a good friend, she wants to be a great teammate,” Golan said. “Above anything else, she wants to positively impact other people.”

This sense of selflessness shines through in her friendship with teammate and fellow forward Hannah Joella. Last season, Joella was recovering from an ACL and meniscus tear while Simmons was making her mark as a freshman. Simmons always made it a priority to make Joella feel included, no matter how small the gesture.

“Whatever I was doing- it could be biking, walking [or] coming off the crutches, Kylee would always go out of her way to come over and tell me how good I was doing,” Joella said. “She’d always make time to have a conversation with me about my recovery and how I was doing…I really value that.”

Education is also a major part of Simmons’ life as a health sciences major at MU, with the goal of attending either medical school or a Physician Assistant Program.

“The biggest thing I’m focusing on outside of soccer is my education,” Simmons said.

But for now, soccer remains her main focus, as Simmons remains focused on making the team better as a whole.

“This season has been so special within this program, and I’m so excited to continue with the rest of our games.” Simmons said. 

Edited by Quentin Corpuel | qcorpuel@themaneater.com

Copy edited by Evan Rainville and Grace KnightEdited by Sophie Rentschler | srentschler@themaneater.com