Mykiaa Minniss

Mykiaa Minniss
Personal information
Full name Mykiaa Nichole Minniss[1]
Date of birth (2000-06-11) June 11, 2000
Height 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Position Center back
Youth career
Real Colorado
Real National
Pride Predators
College career
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2018–2022 Washington State Cougars 104 (1)

Mykiaa Nichole Minniss (born June 11, 2000) is an American former soccer player who played as a center back. She played college soccer for the Washington State Cougars before being selected by the Kansas City Current in the third round of the 2023 NWSL Draft.

Early life

Minniss grew up in Colorado Springs, Colorado,[1] as the youngest of five siblings.[2] Her brother, Xavier Ford, played basketball professionally in Europe, while one of her parents played soccer collegiately at Dana College. Minniss played club soccer for Real Colorado's development academy in addition to Real National and Pride Predators 99. She attended Doherty High School, where she earned three varsity letters each for soccer and basketball and won league championships in both sports. With the soccer team, she picked up all-league and all-state honors across multiple years. Despite entering college as a defender, Minniss was also an offensive threat for Doherty, earning two Golden Boot awards.[1]

College career

As a freshman in 2018, Minniss quickly inserted herself into the Washington State Cougars' starting lineup at central defense.[3] Two weeks into her rookie season, she scored her first collegiate goal and also earned Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Week honors.[4] She went on to be named to the Pac-12 All-Freshman team after making 19 starts and playing every minute of the campaign before a brief injury midway through the season.[1] The following year, Minniss continued to be a defensive leader for the Cougars. On November 29, 2019, she scored the overtime game-winner against South Carolina to send Washington State to its first-ever NCAA College Cup.[5]

In the 2021 spring season, Minniss was named to the All-Pac-12 third team after leading all Cougars field players in minutes. Once the fall came around, she earned All-Pac-12 first team and all-region first team honors after leading the entire team in minutes en route to 13 shutouts, the second-best single-season figure in program history. In 2022, Minniss returned to Washington State for a fifth year, taking advantage of the extra season of NCAA eligibility offered to student-athletes following the COVID-19 pandemic. She started the year on the preseason Mac Hermann Trophy watchlist, and ended it on the All-Pac-12 and all-region third teams.[1] She departed from Washington State having played over 8,300 minutes.[6] She also recorded 92 career starts,[7] setting a program record for field players.[8]

Club career

The Kansas City Current selected Minniss in the third round of the 2023 NWSL Draft (35th overall).[8][9] Minniss reported to the Current's preseason training camp, but was removed from the squad ahead of Kansas City's roster update in March 2023.[10] Minniss then spent a brief stint as a trialist with the Orlando Pride.[11]

In April 2023, Minniss' mother shared a social media post claiming that Minniss had been mistreated by the Kansas City Current.[12] She alleged that Minniss had to pay for her own flight and provide for her own meals in her first week at camp, before being abruptly waived without any reasoning or feedback, in addition to other instances of sub-professional treatment.[11][13] Minniss' mother alleged that the experience caused both Minniss' physical and mental health to suffer, leading her to no longer enjoy soccer.[14]

International career

In December 2019, Minniss received a call-up to the United States under-20 national team for a training camp in Lakewood Ranch, Florida.[15]

Honors and awards

Individual

  • First-team All-Pac 12: 2021
  • Third-team All-Pac 12: 2020, 2022
  • Pac-12 All-Freshman team: 2018

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "Mykiaa Minniss". Washington State Cougars. Retrieved June 28, 2026.
  2. ↑ Doran, Maui (June 18, 2020). "Mykiaa Minniss Brings a Spark Outside of Soccer". Washington State Cougars. Retrieved June 28, 2026.
  3. ↑ Carmody, Kevin (September 17, 2018). "Where are they now? Doherty grad makes sudden impact as freshman at Washington State". The Gazette. Retrieved June 28, 2026.
  4. ↑ "Women's soccer: Washington State's Mykiaa Minniss, Idaho's Morgan Crosby earn weekly honors". The Spokesman-Review. August 28, 2018. Retrieved June 28, 2026.
  5. ↑ Grant, Sam (December 2, 2019). "Athlete of the Week: Mykiaa Minniss". The Daily Evergreen. Retrieved June 28, 2026.
  6. ↑ Ploen, Brendan (January 12, 2023). "NWSL Draft: Five Coloradans picked as list of local women's soccer players expands even further". The Denver Post. Retrieved June 28, 2026.
  7. ↑ Bowman, Gabrielle (December 8, 2022). "Mykiaa Minniss: most improved player". The Daily Evergreen. Retrieved June 28, 2026.
  8. 1 2 Dudley, Kevin (January 14, 2023). "Mykiaa Minniss drafted into NWSL". CougCenter. Retrieved June 28, 2026.
  9. ↑ Medina, David (January 12, 2023). "Kansas City Current adds 6 additional picks in later NWSL draft rounds". KSHB-TV. Retrieved June 28, 2026.
  10. ↑ "Kansas City Current open preseason as 2023 campaign begins". Kansas City Current. January 30, 2023. Retrieved June 28, 2026.
    "Kansas City Current return home as preseason preparation continues". Kansas City Current. March 7, 2023. Retrieved June 28, 2026.
  11. 1 2 Linehan, Meg (April 3, 2023). "KC Current draft pick Mykiaa Minniss faced mistreatment from team, mother says". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved June 28, 2026.
  12. ↑ Hruby, Emma (April 4, 2023). "KC Current draft pick 'set up to fail' by team, her mother says". Just Women's Sports. Retrieved June 28, 2026.
  13. ↑ Vertelney, Seth (April 1, 2023). "KC Current made draft pick Minniss hate soccer, mother alleges". Prosoccerwire. USA Today. Retrieved June 28, 2026.
  14. ↑ Green, PJ (March 31, 2023). "KC Current draft pick's mom alleges mistreatment from team". WDAF-TV. Retrieved June 28, 2026.
  15. ↑ Venkataraman, Karthik (December 9, 2019). "Three WSU women's soccer players to represent USA national teams". KREM (TV). Retrieved June 28, 2026.
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