Ryleigh Anne Heck (born March 30, 2004) is an American college field hockey player for the

North Carolina Tar Heels The North Carolina Tar Heels are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The name Tar Heel is a nickname used to refer to individuals from the state of North Carolina, the ''Tar Heel ...

. She has won two NCAA championships with the Tar Heels, in

2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; 2022 Sri Lankan protests, Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretari ...

and

2023 Events Predicted and scheduled events * January 1 ** In the United States, books, films, and other works published in 1927 will enter the public domain, assuming there are no changes made to copyright law. ** Croatia will adopt the eu ...

, and was recognized as the national player of the year in 2023.

High school career

Heck was a three-time All-American and three-time state champion at Eastern Regional High School in New Jersey. She played alongside her senior sister Kara as a freshman in 2018, scoring 44 goals as the team became undefeated Tournament of Champions winners. She had been a center midfielder on her club team but was moved to center forward during her first season at Eastern. She totaled 78 goals in 25 games as a sophomore in 2019, as the team finished runners-up in the Tournament of Champions. She scored 76 goals in 14 games in the abbreviated 2020 season, when the state playoffs were not held. In her senior year in 2021, she broke the national single-season scoring record with 125 goals, with her last one being the game winner to claim her second Tournament of Champions.
She was named the '' USA Today'' Field Hockey Player of the Year.

College career

Heck started every game for the

as a freshman in 2022, receiving

Atlantic Coast Conference The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) is a collegiate athletic conference located in the eastern United States. Headquartered in Greensboro, North Carolina, the ACC's fifteen member universities compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Associa ...

(ACC) Freshman of the Year, first-team All-ACC, and second-team All-American honors. She helped the team go undefeated en route to winning the 2022 NCAA championship, where she opened scoring in the final to help beat Northwestern 2–1. As a sophomore in 2023, she led the team in scoring with 34 points on 13 goals and 8 assists, finishing the season with the winning goal of the title game penalty shootout in the 2023 NCAA tournament. She earned All-ACC and All-American first-team honors, the NFHCA National Player of the Year award, and the

Honda Sports Award The Honda Sports Award is an annual award in the United States, given to the best collegiate female athlete in each of twelve sports. There are four nominees for each sport, and the twelve winners of the Honda Sports Award are automatically in th ...

as the country's best player.

International career

Heck was first called up to camp with the United States senior national team in July 2022 ahead of the

2022–23 Women's FIH Pro League The 2022–23 Women's FIH Pro League was the fourth edition of the Women's FIH Pro League, a field hockey championship for women's national teams. The tournament began in November 2022 and finished in July 2023. The Netherlands won their third t ...

. She won gold with the national under-21 team at the 2023 Women's Junior Pan American Championship and competed at the

2023 Women's FIH Hockey Junior World Cup The 2023 Women's FIH Hockey Junior World Cup was the tenth edition of the Women's FIH Hockey Junior World Cup, the biennial women's under–21 field hockey world championship organised by the International Hockey Federation. It was held in Sant ...

. In indoor hockey, Heck represented the United States on the winning team at the

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...

and 2024 Women's Indoor Pan American Cup.

Personal life

Heck was raised in Ocean City, New Jersey, the youngest of four children of Roy and Kerry Heck. Her father and her brother Jordan played college basketball at Stockton University; her mother played for James Madison's field hockey and lacrosse teams and coached Heck's last high school season; her brother Andrew played football at Ursinus College; and her sister, Kara, played field hockey at

Boston College Boston College (BC) is a private Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. Founded in 1863, the university has more than 9,300 full-time undergraduates and nearly 5,000 graduate students. Although Boston College is classifie ...

. Heck trained with the WC Eagles field hockey club.

References

External links

North Carolina Tar Heels bio
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Heck, Ryleigh Living people 2004 births American female field hockey players Female indoor hockey players North Carolina Tar Heels field hockey players Female field hockey forwards