KCC signs first women’s soccer player, will hold tryouts June 8

Pictured, from left to right, are Danielle Willis (mother), Head Women's Soccer Coach Eierí Salivia, Baylee Willis and Mitch Willis (father).

Kellogg Community College signed its first women’s soccer recruit this week and is holding tryouts next month to fill out the rest of the new team’s roster.

Baylee Willis, a 2018 graduate of Climax-Scotts High School, is the first player committed to the new women’s soccer team, which will begin competition this fall. Willis, 19, dual enrolled at KCC as a junior and senior in high school and just completed her fourth semester at KCC in preparation for applying to the College’s Nursing Program this fall.

While Climax-Scotts didn’t have a high school women’s soccer team, Willis, a forward, played several years of travel soccer with the TKO Premier Soccer Club (now Midwest United) and later for the Vicksburg Sting Soccer Club. She also played basketball and softball at Climax-Scotts, earning athletic and academic awards in both sports, including a spot on the Battle Creek Enquirer’s 2018 All-Area Girls Basketball Team. She was also on the high honor roll all four years of high school.

Head Women’s Soccer Coach Eierí Salivia said Willis represents exactly what KCC is looking for in its new women’s soccer program.

“Baylee is a committed student-athlete who is hungry to learn as much soccer as possible from the resources we offer,” Salivia said. “She has personal objectives, works out on her own and is in love with the fact we are a young program and she can help us shape the history of women’s soccer at KCC.”

Willis decided to come to KCC because of the Nursing Program – “I love taking care of people and I like being able to help someone out at their most vulnerable,” she said – and when she heard about the new soccer program she jumped at the opportunity.

“I feel me when I play. I feel like every time I go out there I can be myself,” she said. “It’s fun. I like the competition and the people. It’s just a sport that I’ve always been attracted to.”

Willis said she’s “nervous but excited at the same time” to be a trailblazer at the start of the new program.

“I’m just excited to get it started and see how it’s gonna play out,” she said. “It’s gonna be fun no matter what.”

Women’s Soccer Tryouts

Individuals interested in trying out for KCC’s new women’s soccer team can do so during tryouts from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, June 8, on the soccer field on campus at 450 North Ave. in Battle Creek.

Individuals interested in participating in tryouts must:

  • Complete the registration form online at https://forms.gle/qzDQe7gyaLWFbYak9
  • Complete the physical form online at www.kellogg.edu/soccer and bring a copy and a copy of their insurance information to the tryouts (if they had a physical done for the 2019 high school soccer season, they can ask their high school for a copy)

Please note that participants must be high school graduates or graduating this year. Event instructions will be sent to registered participants one week before tryouts, and notification of results will happen before June 22.

For more information, contact Head Women’s Soccer Coach Eierí Salivia at 269-565-2860 or saliviae@kellogg.edu or visit www.kellogg.edu/soccer.

Pictured above, from left to right, are Danielle Willis (mother), Head Women’s Soccer Coach Eierí Salivia, Baylee Willis and Mitch Willis (father).

For more news about Kellogg Community College, view our latest press releases online at https://daily.kellogg.edu/category/news-releases.