Kelsey Branson

Kelsey Branson
Personal information
Height 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Position Midfielder
Team information
Current team
 Kansas City Current
Number 34
Youth career
2018–2022 Cathedral Catholic Dons
College career
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2022–2025 Washington Huskies 81 (16)
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2026– Kansas City Current 0 (0)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals

Kelsey Branson is an American professional soccer player who plays as a midfielder for the Kansas City Current of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). 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 NWSL preseason in January 2026, joining Huskies teammate Kolo Suliafu.[11] On March 21, she signed her first professional contract with the club on a one-month injury replacement deal.[12]

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.
  12. ^ "Kansas City Current Signs Midfielder Kelsey Branson to Short-Term Deal". Kansas City Current. March 21, 2026. Retrieved March 21, 2026.
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