Kaitlyn MacBean

Kaitlyn MacBean
MacBean with Penn State in 2025
Personal information
Date of birth (2001-09-05) September 5, 2001[1]
Place of birth Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S.
Height 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
Position Forward
College career
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2021–2025 Penn State Nittany Lions 88 (39)

Kaitlyn MacBean (born September 5, 2001) is an American soccer player who plays as a forward. She played college soccer for the Penn State Nittany Lions, earning fourth-team All-American honors twice.

Early life

MacBean was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, the daughter of Bridget and Craig MacBean, and has two brothers.[1] She grew up in Excelsior, Minnesota, and played club soccer for Minnesota Thunder Academy, earning ECNL all-conference honors twice.[2] She attended Breck School, where she was a four-time all-state selection in soccer, was named Ms. Soccer Minnesota in 2019, and also won a state track title in the 4 × 100 meters relay.[2][3] She committed to play college soccer at Pennsylvania State University before her sophomore year.[4]

College career

MacBean took medical redshirts in her first two seasons with the Penn State Nittany Lions while recovering from an anterior cruciate ligament injury.[2][5] She made her college debut in the 2022 season, playing in 19 games as a substitute and scoring 3 goals, and was named in the Big Ten Conference all-freshman team. In the 2022 Big Ten tournament final, she scored once and Ally Schlegel scored twice in the victory over Michigan State.[2][6] She became a starter during her redshirt junior season in 2023, jointly leading the team with 10 goals and adding 6 assists in 23 games, and was named third-team All-Big Ten. She scored four goals in the 2023 NCAA tournament as she helped the Nittany Lions to their first quarterfinal appearance in five years.[2][7]

MacBean carried a scoring streak into her redshirt senior season in 2024, which stretched to eight games including a hat trick against West Virginia. She finished the season with a career-high 16 goals in 25 games, the most by a Nittany Lion since Maya Hayes in 2013, and was named first-team All-Big Ten and fourth-team All-American. In the 2024 NCAA tournament, she scored twice and again helped the team to the quarterfinals.[2][8] After undergoing surgery after the season, she opted to return for a sixth and final season as a graduate student in 2025, writing on social media: "I'm back".[7][9] She scored 10 goals in 21 games in 2025, earning first-team All-Big Ten and fourth-team All-American honors for the second time.[2]

Honors and awards

Penn State Nittany Lions

Individual

References

  1. ^ a b "Women's Soccer Welcomes 2020 Incoming Class". Penn State Nittany Lions. March 25, 2020. Retrieved August 14, 2025.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g "Kaitlyn MacBean". Penn State Nittany Lions. Retrieved August 14, 2025.
  3. ^ Bisogno, Dominic (July 5, 2023). "Local women's soccer players learning and thriving with Minnesota Aurora". Hometown Source. Retrieved August 14, 2025.
  4. ^ Clark, Travis (July 31, 2017). "Recruiting Roundup: July 31-August 6". TopDrawerSoccer. Retrieved August 14, 2025.
  5. ^ "Soccer Star Kaitlyn MacBean '20 is playing for Big Ten Glory". Breck School. September 12, 2024. Retrieved August 14, 2025.
  6. ^ "Penn State Wins 2022 Big Ten Women's Soccer Tournament Title". Big Ten Conference. November 6, 2022. Retrieved August 14, 2025.
  7. ^ a b Aberegg, Noah (August 8, 2025). "Kaitlyn MacBean reflects on Penn State women's soccer career ahead of last dance". Daily Collegian. Retrieved August 14, 2025.
  8. ^ Olorunfemi, Victor (August 13, 2025). "TDS Women's Player of the Year Favorites". Retrieved August 14, 2025.
  9. ^ Horstman, Will (May 1, 2025). "Penn State women's soccer's Kaitlyn MacBean returning in 2025". Daily Collegian. Retrieved August 14, 2025.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Kaitlyn MacBean.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.