Caiya Hanks
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.jpg) Hanks with Wake Forest in 2024 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | September 26, 2004[1] | ||
| Place of birth | Oakland, California, U.S. | ||
| Height | 5 ft 4 in (1.63 m) | ||
| Position | Forward | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Portland Thorns | ||
| Number | 7 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Kona Crush | |||
| College career | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2022–2024 | Wake Forest Demon Deacons | 63 | (18) |
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2022 | Tampa Bay United (USL W) | 6 | (4) |
| 2023 | Racing Louisville (USL W) | 3 | (5) |
| 2024 | Tampa Bay United (USL W) | 4 | (9) |
| 2025– | Portland Thorns | 11 | (2) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2025– | United States U23 | 2 | (0) |
|
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of June 15, 2025 ‡ National team caps and goals as of June 2, 2025 | |||
Caiya Hanks (born September 26, 2004) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a forward for Portland Thorns FC of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). She played college soccer for the Wake Forest Demon Deacons, earning first-team All-American honors after leading Wake Forest to the 2024 national title game.
Born in Oakland, California, Hanks moved to Hawaii at age five.[2][3] She grew up in Kailua-Kona.[4] She began playing soccer in the footsteps of her older sister, Jadyn, who later played college soccer at Idaho.[2] Their father, Steve, who played college football at Kansas State, sometimes had them wake up early to practice running track.[3]
Hanks attended Konawaena High School, where she was an all-state member of the soccer team, winning multiple BIIF titles.[4][5] She also starred on the Konawaena track team, winning the state 200 meters race in her senior year.[6] She played club soccer for Kona Crush.[4] Being from Hawaii limited her exposure to college scouts, but she eventually committed to Wake Forest in her senior year.[3][7] While in college, Hanks played during the summer for Tampa Bay United and Racing Louisville in the USL W League.[8][9]
College career
Hanks started all 22 games and scored 1 goal with 3 assists in her freshman season with the Wake Forest Demon Deacons in 2022.[4] She led the team with 6 goals and added 4 assists in 17 games (15 starts) in her sophomore season in 2023, earning second-team All-ACC honors.[4]
Hanks led the Demon Deacons to one of their best seasons ever as a junior the 2024 campaign. One week in September, she scored twice in a 3–0 win against No. 2–ranked Virginia and days later assisted Emily Colton in a 1–0 win against No. 1 Stanford, which made Wake Forest the first team to defeat the top two ranked teams consecutively. She also scored in a 4–1 win against defending national champions Florida State, which ended the latter's 32–game unbeaten streak.[4][10] Wake Forest went into the NCAA tournament as a two seed. Hanks recorded three goals and five assists in six games during the tournament, including one of each in a 2–2 draw against USC in the quarterfinals (advancing on penalties). She provided the winning assist in a 1–0 semifinal win against Stanford before losing to North Carolina 1–0 in Wake Forest's first national title game.[4] She finished the season with 11 goals and 12 assists in 24 games and was named first-team All-ACC, first-team All-American, and one of three finalists for the Hermann Trophy.[11][12]
Club career
Portland Thorns FC announced on March 12, 2025, that the club had signed Hanks to a four-year contract with a club option for an additional year.[13] Three days later, Hanks made her professional debut as a second-half substitute for Hina Sugita in the season opener against the Kansas City Current.[14] On April 22, she assisted Mimi Alidou and scored her first professional goal as the Thorns won 4–1 at home against Gotham FC.[15] On June 15, Hanks sustained an anterior cruciate ligament injury during the first half against the Washington Spirit, ruling her out for the remainder of the season.[16] She had 2 goals and 1 assist in 11 regular-season games as a rookie.[16]
International career
Hanks was called into training camp with the United States under-23 team, practicing alongside the senior national team, in March 2025.[17] In June, she played for the under-23s in a set of friendlies against Germany, drawing a penalty which Korbin Albert scored.[18]