Iliana Hocking

Iliana Hocking
Personal information
Date of birth (1999-12-29) December 29, 1999
Place of birth Anaheim, California, U.S.
Height 5 ft 4 in (1.63 m)
Position Midfielder
Youth career
SoCal Blues
College career
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2018–2022 Arizona Wildcats 84 (5)

Iliana Hocking (born December 29, 1999) is an American former soccer player who played as a midfielder. She played college soccer for the Arizona Wildcats before being selected by NJ/NY Gotham FC in the fourth round of the 2023 NWSL Draft. She is the twin sister of professional soccer player Penelope Hocking.

Early life

Hocking was born and raised in Anaheim, California.[1] She started playing soccer in a local Orange County recreational league before moving to Anaheim Hills and joining club team SoCal Blues.[2][3] With the Blues, she contributed to the club's first-ever ECNL National Championship in program history.[3] However, she was forced to miss the entirety of her penultimate and the first half of her final year of club soccer after breaking her tibia and fibula in a match.[4] Hocking attended Canyon High School, where she was a three-time all-conference honoree. She helped Canyon reach two playoff appearances and earn one league title. Hocking also participated in multiple track and field events at her school. As a junior, she was part of Canyon's 4 × 100 meter relay team that won a league championship.[3]

College career

Hocking played five seasons of college soccer at the University of Arizona. As a freshman in 2018, she came on as a substitute in almost all of the Wildcats' games, tallying 3 assists in approximately 500 minutes. In her sophomore year, she scored her first collegiate goal in a 6–0 season-opening win over Weber State.[4][5] Hocking then went on to start in all but one of her appearances in each of her respective junior, senior, and fifth-year seasons; she also appeared in all of her team's games in the 2021 spring season and in 2022.[3] In her final year at Arizona, she cemented herself as a defensive leader from the midfield.[6] She ended her collegiate career having made 84 appearances, the second-highest in Wildcats program history.[7]

Club career

Hocking was selected by NJ/NY Gotham FC in the fourth round of the 2023 NWSL Draft (44th overall).[2] She became the first-ever Arizona Wildcats player to be drafted into the National Women's Soccer League.[7] Hocking reported to Gotham's preseason training camp, but was ultimately waived ahead of Gotham's season-opening roster announcement.[8]

Personal life

Hocking's parents are former Cypress College basketball player Venetta Dorlis and former Major League Baseball player Denny Hocking.[3] Hocking has a fraternal twin sister, Penelope, and they were the first twins born to a member of the Minnesota Twins.[9] Iliana and Penelope played together at Canyon High School.[10]

Iliana and Penelope were the first sisters selected in the same NWSL Draft. Penelope played collegiately as a forward for the USC Trojans, a Pac-12 rival of Arizona that pitted the sisters against each other.[11] Penelope was drafted by the Chicago Red Stars with the seventh overall pick.[12]

References

  1. ↑ Nieves, Nicole (January 12, 2023). "Penn State women's soccer's Penelope Hocking selected by Chicago Red Stars in 2023 NWSL Draft". The Daily Collegian. Archived from the original on May 30, 2023. Retrieved June 16, 2026.
  2. 1 2 Moeller, Jeff (July 18, 2023). "Family Ties: Soccer success is twice as nice for father, ex-baseball star". Los Angeles Downtown News. Archived from the original on March 12, 2026. Retrieved June 16, 2026.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 "Iliana Hocking". Arizona Wildcats. Retrieved June 16, 2026.
  4. 1 2 Kelapire, Ryan (August 30, 2019). "Iliana Hocking poised for bigger role at Arizona as twin sister stars at USC". Arizona Desert Swarm. Archived from the original on September 21, 2023. Retrieved June 16, 2026.
  5. ↑ "Arizona Soccer throttles Weber State in opener". Kold. August 31, 2019. Archived from the original on August 11, 2020. Retrieved June 16, 2026.
  6. ↑ Prezelski, Ted (January 13, 2023). "Wildcat soccer's Hocking to play for Batman's team". Tucson Sentinel. Archived from the original on March 30, 2023. Retrieved June 16, 2026.
  7. 1 2 Spears, Justin (January 13, 2023). "Arizona's Iliana Hocking becomes first Wildcat in program history drafted by NWSL, taken by Gotham FC". Arizona Daily Star. Archived from the original on January 13, 2023. Retrieved June 16, 2026.
  8. ↑ "Gotham FC Provides Roster Update". Gotham FC. March 6, 2023. Archived from the original on November 15, 2025. Retrieved June 16, 2026.
  9. ↑ Koslow, Ari (October 14, 2021). "Competitive upbringing propels Wildcats midfielder Iliana Hocking". Arizona Daily Star. Archived from the original on April 9, 2025. Retrieved June 16, 2026.
  10. ↑ Turner, Andrew (January 29, 2016). "Canyon's Hocking sisters enjoying the sweet life". The Orange County Register. Archived from the original on April 9, 2025. Retrieved June 16, 2026.
  11. ↑ Kelly, David (October 7, 2019). "Hocking sisters carving out a conference rivalry". KVOA. Archived from the original on April 20, 2023. Retrieved June 16, 2026.
  12. ↑ Stewart, Scott (January 26, 2023). "Hocking Sisters Make NWSL Draft History" (Press release). National Women's Soccer League. Retrieved June 16, 2026.
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