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Kelsey Branson

Kelsey Branson
Personal information
Height 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Position Midfielder
Youth career
2018–2022 Cathedral Catholic Dons
College career
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2022–2025 Washington Huskies 81 (16)

Kelsey Branson is an American soccer player who plays as a midfielder. She played college soccer for the Washington Huskies.

Early life

Branson was raised in San Diego, California, the daughter of Ali and Tim Branson, and has two siblings.[1] Her mother played college soccer and her father played college rugby for the Santa Clara Broncos.[1] Branson attended Cathedral Catholic High School in San Diego, where she scored 60 goals with 21 assists over her career.[2] She helped the team win their first California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) Open Division title as a sophomore in 2020.[3] She was named first-team all-conference every year and was named the CIF-San Diego Western League Player of the Year as the team's leading scorer and senior captain in 2022.[4] She also played beach volleyball in high school.[5] She played club soccer for San Diego Surf.[1] She committed to Washington in her senior year.[6]

College career

Branson played in 16 games, starting 7, and scored 5 goals for the Washington Huskies as a freshman in 2022.[2] Despite being limited by injury, she ranked second on the team in goals and was named to the Pac-12 Conference all-freshman team and ranked 29th by TopDrawerSoccer in their top 100 freshman list.[2] She started all 19 games and scored 4 goals as a sophomore in 2023, again second on the team.[1] In her junior year in 2024, she started all 21 games and scored 2 goals in Washington's first year in the Big Ten Conference.[1] Washington reached the Big Ten tournament semifinals and earned their first NCAA tournament berth in four seasons.[7] In her senior year in 2025, she captained the Huskies to their first Big Ten regular-season and tournament titles,[8] then reached the NCAA tournament quarterfinals for the third time in program history.[9] It was also a difficult season for Washington as she and the Huskies lost her close friend and teammate Mia Hamant to a rare form of kidney cancer.[10] Branson started all 25 games and scored 5 goals, ranking third on the team in scoring, and earned third-team All-Big Ten honors.[1]

Club career

Branson joined the Kansas City Current as a non-roster invitee in the 2026 preseason, joining Huskies teammate Kolo Suliafu.[11]

Honors and awards

Washington Huskies

Individual

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f "Kelsey Branson". Washington Huskies. Retrieved January 14, 2026.
  2. ^ a b c Grosse, Ken (February 13, 2023). "Former Don soccer star Kelsey Branson looking forward after big first year at Washington". The San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved January 14, 2026.
  3. ^ Grosse, Ken (March 6, 2020). "Cathedral Catholic girls end season with 3-2 CIF regional loss to Upland". The San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved January 14, 2026.
  4. ^ "Women's Soccer Signs Standout Midfielder For 2022 Season". Washington Huskies. March 8, 2022. Retrieved January 14, 2025.
  5. ^ Grosse, Ken (January 5, 2022). "Branson, senior leadership put Cathedral girls among prep soccer elite". The San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved January 14, 2026.
  6. ^ Clark, Travis (March 14, 2022). "SIMA Recruiting Roundup: March 14-20". TopDrawerSoccer. Retrieved January 14, 2026.
  7. ^ "Huskies Take Big Step Forward During 2024 Women's Soccer Season". Washington Huskies. December 20, 2024. Retrieved January 14, 2026.
  8. ^ "Kelsey Branson: SoCal Surfer Girl Turned Seattle Iron Woman". Washington Huskies. November 14, 2025. Retrieved January 14, 2025.
  9. ^ Vesely, Sophia (November 28, 2025). "UW Husky women's soccer loses to Duke in Elite Eight as remarkable season ends". The Seattle Times. Retrieved December 16, 2025.
  10. ^ Jane, Sam (December 2, 2025). "How Washington soccer rallied around memory of Mia Hamant: 'We just played our hearts out'". The Athletic. Retrieved January 14, 2026.
  11. ^ "Kansas City Current Provides Roster Update for 2026 Preseason". Kansas City Current. January 14, 2026. Retrieved January 14, 2026.
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