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

college soccer College soccer, called college football in some countries, is played by teams composed of soccer players who are enrolled in colleges and universities. While it is most widespread in the United States, it is also prominent in Japan, South Kore ...

player who currently plays for the

Grand Canyon Antelopes men's soccer The Grand Canyon Antelopes men's soccer program represents Grand Canyon University in all NCAA Division I men's college soccer competitions. Founded in 1985, the Antelopes have competed in the Western Athletic Conference since 2013. GCU plays it ...

program in

NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest division of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major collegiate athlet ...

. Muñoz 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 from high school, Muñoz played two seasons of NCAA Division I soccer: one with

Liberty University Liberty University (LU), known simply as Liberty, is a Private university, private Evangelicalism in the United States, evangelical Christian university in Lynchburg, Virginia, United States. It is affiliated with the Southern Baptist Conservativ ...

and one with

University of Missouri–Kansas City The University of Missouri–Kansas City (UMKC or Kansas City) is a Public university, public research university in Kansas City, Missouri, United States. UMKC is part of the University of Missouri System and has a UMKC School of Medicine, medic ...

, before transferring to NAIA. 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 is an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Kansas City metropolitan area. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. The ad ...

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 monotheistic belief systems, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. In polytheistic belief systems, a god is "a spirit or being believed to have created, or for controlling some part of the un ...

-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 landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...

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 and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, 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 in the United States, college soccer. The season was originally slated to begin on August 28, 2020, and conclude on November 15, 2020. The ...

. 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''. After a single season with UMKC, Muñoz transferred to NAIA school,

MidAmerica Nazarene University MidAmerica Nazarene University (MNU) is a private Nazarene (evangelical Christian) university in Olathe, Kansas, United States. It was established in 1966. History Mid-America Nazarene College (MANC) was founded in 1966. In 1996 Mid-America Na ...

for the 2022 and 2023 NAIA men's soccer seasons, winning the NAIA National Championship in 2023. At MidAmerica Nazarene, Muñoz made 39 appearances, tallying 17 goals. Muñoz returned to NCAA Division I soccer ahead of the

2024 NCAA Division I men's soccer season The 2024 NCAA Division I men's soccer season was the 66th season of National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA championship men's college soccer in the United States, college soccer. The season began on August 22, 2024, and concluded on Decem ...

, where he played for

Grand Canyon University Grand Canyon University (GCU) is a Private university, private For-profit higher education in the United States, for-profit Christian university in Phoenix, Arizona. The university offers degrees in over 200 areas of study and is administrativel ...

. There he made 18 appearances, 15 of which were starts, notching a goal and three assists.

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 sportspeople of Mexican descent Men's association football midfielders Expatriate men's footballers in Spain Sportspeople from Olathe, Kansas Soccer players from Johnson County, Kansas Grand Canyon Antelopes men's soccer players Liberty Flames men's soccer players Kansas City Roos men's soccer players MidAmerica Nazarene Pioneers men's soccer players American men's soccer players Christians from Kansas 21st-century American sportsmen