Jony Muñoz (born November 8, 2001) is an American

college soccer College soccer is played by teams composed of soccer players who are enrolled in colleges and universities. It is very prominent in United States, Japan, South Korea, Canada, and as well as in South Africa and the Philippines. The United Kingd ...

player who is the 2020 recipient of the Gatorade Boys' Soccer Player of the Year Award, a national honor recognizing the best high school soccer player in the United States. After graduating high school, Muñoz played two seasons of NCAA Division 1 soccer: one with

Liberty University Liberty University (LU) is a private Baptist university in Lynchburg, Virginia. It is affiliated with the Southern Baptist Conservatives of Virginia (Southern Baptist Convention). Founded in 1971 by Jerry Falwell Sr. and Elmer L. Towns, Liberty i ...

and one with

University of Missouri–Kansas City The University of Missouri–Kansas City (UMKC) is a public research university in Kansas City, Missouri. UMKC is part of the University of Missouri System and one of only two member universities with a medical school. As of 2020, the university ...

. Growing up, Muñoz played high school soccer for Olathe West High School and for the youth academy teams of Toca FC and

Sporting Kansas City Sporting Kansas City, often shortened to Sporting KC, is an American men's professional Association football, soccer club based in the Kansas City metropolitan area. The administrative offices are located in Downtown Kansas City, Missouri, and t ...

Career

High school and academy

Muñoz played club soccer for

's Academy during his freshman and sophomore years of high school, before playing high school soccer for Olathe West during his junior and senior years. Muñoz, a devout Christian, said the choice was "a

God In monotheism, monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator deity, creator, and principal object of Faith#Religious views, faith.Richard Swinburne, Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Ted Honderich, Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Ox ...

-led decision", which helped him have a more balanced life. During his senior year of high school, Muñoz lead the Owls to a 20–1–0 record, and Kansas Class 6A State Championship, Olathe West's first ever state championship in a team sport. Muñoz played in all 21 matches, scoring 36 goals and dishing out 19 assists his senior year of high school. While in high school, Munoz also played club soccer for Toca FC in the Kansas City metropolitan area. On June 17, 2020, Muñoz was awarded Gatorade Boys' Soccer Player of the Year Award for the top boys' soccer player in the country. He is the first soccer player from the state of

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the ...

to win the honor. He was also named the Gatorade Kansas Player of the Year (2020).

College

Pending developments of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

, Muñoz was scheduled to begin playing

for Liberty University ahead of the

2020 NCAA Division I men's soccer season The 2020 NCAA Division I men's soccer season was the 62nd season of NCAA championship men's college soccer. The season was originally slated to begin on August 28, 2020 and conclude on November 15, 2020. The season was to culminate with the 2020 ...

. However, Muñoz transferred to

(UMKC) ahead of the spring portion of the 2020 season. During his freshman year with UMKC, Muñoz made fourteen appearances, scoring six times, earning third team Freshman All-American honors by ''College Soccer News''.

Personal life

Muñoz is a devout Christian and plays guitar in his church's worship band. With his church, he went on a week-long mission trip to Mexico.

Honors

Individual

*Gatorade Boys' Soccer National Player of the Year Award: 2020 *Gatorade Kansas Player of the Year Award: 2020

Team

*Olathe West High School ** Kansas 6A Boys State High School Soccer Champions: 2019

References

External links

Jony Munoz
at TopDrawer Soccer {{DEFAULTSORT:Munoz, Jony 2001 births Living people American expatriate sportspeople in Spain American people of Mexican descent Men's association football midfielders Expatriate men's footballers in Spain Sportspeople from Olathe, Kansas Sportspeople from Johnson County, Kansas Soccer players from Kansas Liberty Flames men's soccer players Kansas City Roos men's soccer players Kansas Republicans American men's soccer players Christians from Kansas