KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The United Soccer Coaches named three BYU women's soccer players to the NCAA Division I All-Midwest Region Team. Ellie Walbruch and Lucy Kesler were First Team selections, with Izzi Stratton named to the Second Team.
The Cougars ended their 2025 campaign ranked No. 11 in the nation by TopDrawerSoccer, and earned their first Big 12 Tournament title. The women’s soccer team notched six South Field wins and made a run to BYU’s 10th Sweet 16. South Field continued to be one of the toughest environments to play in throughout the nation, ranking first in accumulative attendance.
As BYU’s highest scorer of the year, Walbruch has been selected for the First Team All-Region for the first time of her soccer career. With a career-high 16 goals, Walbruch is BYU’s highest goal scorer since 2021. With a tournament-high five goals throughout the Big 12 Soccer Tournament, she was named Most Outstanding Offensive Player and earned a spot on the Big 12 All-Tournament Team.
Kesler started in 22 games for the Cougars during her sophomore season, tallying a brace against OSU and three assists. The only two games she missed were because she was called up to the U-19 USWNT Training Camp. After playing an integral role in BYU’s historic Big 12 tournament run, Kesler was named to the Big 12 All-Tournament Team.
After missing the 2024 season while serving a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Stratton played a crucial role as BYU’s starting center back this year. Starting in 20 games for the Cougars, Stratton tallied one assist and 24 shots. She played a team-high 1,900 minutes on the pitch, helping the Cougars notch eight shutouts on the year. She was also named to the Big 12 All-Tournament Team.