Caiya Hanks

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.

Early life Born in Oakland, California, Hanks moved to Hawaii at age five. She began playing soccer in the footsteps of her older sister, Jadyn, who later played college soccer at Idaho. Their father, Steve, who played college football at Kansas State, sometimes had them wake up early to practice running track.

Hanks attended Konawaena High School, where she was an all-state member of the soccer team, winning multiple BIIF titles. She also starred on the Konawaena track team, winning the state 200 meters race in her senior year. She played club soccer for Kona Crush. While in college, Hanks played during the summer for Tampa Bay United and Racing Louisville in the USL W League.

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. 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.

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. 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. On April 22, she scored her first professional goal and assisted Mimi Alidou as the Thorns won 4–1 at home against Gotham FC. She quickly became a fan favorite at Providence Park. She finished her rookie season with 2 goals and 2 assists in 13 appearances in all competitions.

On August 15, 2026, Hanks returned from injury after 14 months, coming off the bench late and scoring the 2–1 stoppage-time winner against the Orlando Pride.

International career Hanks was called into training camp with the United States under-23 team, practicing alongside the senior national team, in March 2025. In June, she played for the under-23s in a set of friendlies against Germany, drawing a penalty which Korbin Albert scored.

Honors and awards

Individual First-team All-American: 2024 First-team All-ACC: 2023 Second-team All-ACC: 2023