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Caiya Hanks

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Caiya Hanks
Hanks with Wake Forest in 2024
Personal information
Date of birth (2004-09-26) September 26, 2004 (age 20)[1]
Place of birth Oakland, California, U.S.
Height 5 ft 4 in (1.63 m)
Position(s) Forward
Team information
Current team
 Portland Thorns
Number 7
Youth career
Kona Crush
College career
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2022–2024 Wake Forest Demon Deacons 63 (18)
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2022 Tampa Bay United (USL W) 6 (4)
2023 Racing Louisville (USL W) 3 (5)
2024 Tampa Bay United (USL W) 4 (9)
2025– Portland Thorns 11 (2)
International career‡
2025– United States U–23 1 (0)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of June 15, 2025
‡ National team caps and goals as of May 30, 2025

Caiya Hanks (born September 26, 2004) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a forward for Portland Thorns FC of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). She played college soccer for the Wake Forest Demon Deacons, earning first-team All-American honors after leading Wake Forest to the 2024 national title game.

Early life

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Born in Oakland, California, Hanks moved to Hawaii at age five.[2][3] She grew up in Kailua-Kona.[4] She began playing soccer in the footsteps of her older sister, Jadyn, who later played college soccer at Idaho.[2] Their father, Steve, who played college football at Kansas State, sometimes had them wake up early to practice running track.[3]

Hanks attended Konawaena High School, where she was an all-state member of the soccer team, winning multiple BIIF titles.[4][5] She also starred on the Konawaena track team, winning the state 200 meters race in her senior year.[6] She played club soccer for Kona Crush.[4] Being from Hawaii limited her exposure to college scouts, but she eventually committed to Wake Forest in her senior year.[3][7] While in college, Hanks played during the summer for Tampa Bay United and Racing Louisville in the USL W League.[8][9]

College career

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Hanks started all 22 games and scored 1 goal with 3 assists in her freshman season with the Wake Forest Demon Deacons in 2022.[4] She led the team with 6 goals and added 4 assists in 17 games (15 starts) in her sophomore season in 2023, earning second-team All-ACC honors.[4]

Hanks led the Demon Deacons to one of their best seasons ever as a junior the 2024 campaign. One week in September, she scored twice in a 3–0 win against No. 2–ranked Virginia and days later assisted Emily Colton in a 1–0 win against No. 1 Stanford, which made Wake Forest the first team to defeat the top two ranked teams consecutively. She also scored in a 4–1 win against defending national champions Florida State, which ended the latter's 32–game unbeaten streak.[4][10] Wake Forest went into the NCAA tournament as a two seed. Hanks recorded three goals and five assists in six games during the tournament, including one of each in a 2–2 draw against USC in the quarterfinals (advancing on penalties). She provided the winning assist in a 1–0 semifinal win against Stanford before losing to North Carolina 1–0 in Wake Forest's first national title game.[4] She finished the season with 11 goals and 12 assists in 24 games and was named first-team All-ACC, first-team All-American, and one of three finalists for the Hermann Trophy.[11][12]

Club career

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Portland Thorns FC announced on March 12, 2025, that the club had signed Hanks to a four-year contract with a club option for an additional year.[13] Three days later, Hanks made her professional debut as a second-half substitute for Hina Sugita in the season opener against the Kansas City Current.[14] On April 22, she assisted Mimi Alidou and scored her first professional goal as the Thorns won 4–1 at home against Gotham FC.[15] On June 15, Hanks sustained an anterior cruciate ligament injury during the first half against the Washington Spirit, ruling her out for the remainder of the season.[16] She had 2 goals and 1 assist in 11 regular-season games as a rookie.[16]

International career

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Hanks was called into training camp with the United States under-23 team, practicing alongside the senior national team, in March 2025.[17] In June, she played for the under-23s in a set of friendlies against Germany, drawing a penalty which Korbin Albert scored.[18]

Honors and awards

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Individual

References

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  1. ^ Wake Women's Soccer [@WakeWSoccer] (September 26, 2024). "Happy Birthday, Caiya! 🎉" (Tweet). Retrieved March 3, 2025 – via Twitter.
    "Caiya Hanks". SoccerWire. Retrieved March 3, 2025.
  2. ^ a b Jakahi, Kevin (August 26, 2021). "With U.S. club soccer invite, Konawaena's Hanks is keeping her options open". Hawaii Tribune-Herald. Retrieved January 24, 2025.
  3. ^ a b c Clarke, Ryan (March 1, 2025). "Bud break: Portland Thorns find a gem in rookie forward Caiya Hanks". The Oregonian. Retrieved May 1, 2025.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g "Caiya Hanks". Wake Forest Demon Deacons. Retrieved January 24, 2025.
  5. ^ Gerhart, Matt (January 26, 2020). "BIIF soccer: Hanks sisters spur Konawaena to Division I repeat". Hawaii Tribune-Herald. Retrieved January 24, 2025.
  6. ^ Gerhart, Matt (May 16, 2022). "Outleaned earlier, Hanks not to be denied in the 200". West Hawaii Today. Retrieved January 24, 2025.
  7. ^ Clark, Travis (November 15, 2021). "SIMA Recruiting Roundup: November 15-21". TopDrawerSoccer. Retrieved May 1, 2025.
  8. ^ "Tampa Bay United". USL W League. Retrieved March 12, 2025.
  9. ^ "Racing Louisville's W League team nets nine on the road to St. Charles FC". Racing Louisville FC. June 26, 2023. Retrieved March 12, 2025.
  10. ^ Olorunfemi, Victor (December 3, 2024). "Wake Forest's Path to Women's College Cup". TopDrawerSoccer. Retrieved January 13, 2025.
  11. ^ "Caiya Hanks Named 2024 MAC Hermann Finalist". Wake Forest Demon Deacons. December 11, 2024. Retrieved January 24, 2025.
  12. ^ Langs, Conor (January 17, 2025). "BI athlete's corner: Hanks nominated for MAC Hermann Trophy". Hawaii Tribune-Herald. Retrieved January 24, 2025.
  13. ^ "Portland Thorns FC Sign Forward and 2024 MAC Hermann Finalist Caiya Hanks". Portland Thorns FC. March 12, 2025. Retrieved March 12, 2025.
  14. ^ "Match Recap | Thorns fall to KC Current 3-1 in NWSL Season Opener". Portland Thorns FC. March 15, 2025. Retrieved March 15, 2025.
  15. ^ "Thorns Dominate 4–1 in Home Victory over Gotham FC". Portland Thorns FC. April 23, 2025. Retrieved April 23, 2025.
  16. ^ a b Westlake, Amanda (June 20, 2025). "Injury Update: Portland Thorns rookie and rising star Caiya Hanks placed on the Season-Ending Injury (SEI) list". All for XI. Retrieved June 20, 2025.
  17. ^ "24 Players Called Up for U.S. U-23 Women's National Team Training Camp in Los Angeles". United States Soccer Federation. March 26, 2025. Retrieved March 26, 2025.
  18. ^ "U.S. Under-23 Women's National Falls 2-1 to Germany to Finish European Trip". United States Soccer Federation. June 6, 2025. Retrieved June 20, 2025.
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