Kelsey Turnbow (born January 10, 1999) is an American soccer player who plays as a forward for

San Diego Wave FC San Diego Wave FC is a National Women's Soccer League expansion team that began play in 2022. The team is based in San Diego, California. The team is owned by Ron Burkle. The team is the San Diego area's first women's professional soccer team s ...

of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL), the highest division of women's professional soccer in the United States. She began her professional career with Wave FC following an accomplished collegiate career with Santa Clara.

Early life

Turnbow played high school soccer for Central Valley High School in

Spokane Valley, Washington Spokane Valley is a city in Spokane County, Washington, United States, and the largest suburb of Spokane. It is located east of Spokane, west of Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, and surrounds the city of Millwood on three sides. The city incorporated as ...

and Pinnacle High School in

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ; nv, Hoozdo; es, Fénix or , yuf-x-wal, Banyà:nyuwá) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona, with 1,608,139 residents as of 2020. It is the fifth-most populous city in the United States, and the on ...

. She also regularly played for the U.S. youth national teams.

Santa Clara

Turnbow helped Santa Clara win the 2020 NCAA Women's Division I championship, scoring in regulation and the penalty kick shootout in the final, and was named the 2020–21 College Cup Offensive Most Outstanding Player. She had previously been named the 2017 West Coast Conference Freshman of the Year among other accolades. Following the title, Turnbow was named the TopDrawerSoccer National Player of the Year. Although the team fell in the semifinals of the 2021 College Cup, Turnbow was named a MAC Hermann Trophy finalist and First Team All-American.

Club career

In the second round of the

2021 NWSL Draft The 2021 NWSL Draft was the ninth annual meeting of National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) franchises to select eligible college players. It was held on January 13, 2021. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it was the first NWSL Draft to be held virtu ...

, with the 18th overall pick, the

Chicago Red Stars The Chicago Red Stars are a professional women's soccer club based in Bridgeview, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago. A founding member of the Women's Professional Soccer (WPS) league, they have played in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) sin ...

selected Turnbow from Santa Clara. However, Turnbow opted not to join the Red Stars for the 2021 NWSL season and returned to Santa Clara, where she led the team to the semifinals of the 2021 NCAA College Cup.

San Diego Wave FC

In December 2021, the San Diego Wave Futbol Club announced it had acquired the rights to Mexican international Katie Johnson,

Makenzy Doniak Makenzy Allyson Doniak (born February 25, 1994) is an American professional soccer player. A forward, she plays for the San Diego Wave of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). Spent time on loan at HB Køge in the Elitedivisionen. Club ...

, and Turnbow in a trade with the Chicago Red Stars. Turnbow made her club debut in March 2022 as a starter in Wave FC's inaugural match against

Angel City FC Angel City Football Club is a National Women's Soccer League expansion team that began play in 2022. The team is based in Los Angeles, California, and was announced on July 21, 2020. The team has many high-profile owners, including Becky G, Natal ...

. Turnbow recorded her first professional assist on April 17, 2022, during the 2022 NWSL Challenge Cup, on a goal by

Jodie Taylor Jodie Lee Taylor (born 17 May 1986) is an English professional footballer who plays as a striker for San Diego Wave of NWSL. She began her club career with local team Tranmere Rovers and had brief spells in her home country with Birmingham City, ...

against Portland Thorns, and her first league assist on May 15, also to Taylor, against the Red Stars. ESPN writer Jeff Kassouf included Turnbow as part of the league's best-ever rookie class, and cited her as a key midfielder and frequent leader of San Diego's pressing attack.

Honours

Santa Clara Broncos *

NCAA Division I Women's Soccer Championship The NCAA Division I Women's Soccer Championship, sometimes known as the Women's College Cup, is an American college soccer tournament conducted by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), and determines the Division I women's national ...

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global social and economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, worldwide lockdowns and the largest economic recession since the Great Depression in t ...

Individual * 2017 West Coast Conference Freshman of the Year * 2020–21 NCAA College Cup Offensive Most Outstanding Player * MAC Hermann Trophy finalist (2021) * TopDrawerSoccer.com women's Player of the Year (2021)

References

External links

San Diego Wave profile

NWSL profile

Santa Clara profile
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Turnbow, Kelsey 1999 births Living people Women's association football forwards American women's soccer players Soccer players from Scottsdale, Arizona Santa Clara Broncos women's soccer players National Women's Soccer League players San Diego Wave FC players