Kelsey Kaufusi

Kelsey Kaufusi (; born January 22, 2001) is an American former soccer player who played as a defender. She played college soccer for the Utah State Aggies, earning Mountain West Defensive Player of the Year honors in 2023. She was selected in the second round of the 2024 NWSL Draft by Portland Thorns FC .

Early life Kaufusi was raised in Syracuse, Utah. She played club soccer for Crush L30, winning a Presidents Cup in her latter years. She attended Syracuse High School, participating in soccer, basketball, and track and field. As a member of the track team, Kaufusi reached regional championships across multiple events, in addition to two state third-place finishes in the long jump and one in the 4×100 relay. In her freshman season in the spring of 2021, she was named second-team all-Mountain West after leading the Aggies with 922 minutes played across the campaign. The following season, Kaufusi once again played every minute of the campaign. She earned Mountain West all-tournament honors as Utah State were eliminated in the semifinals by eventual champions New Mexico. resulted in Utah State conceding the least goals in the conference.

Club career In the offseason before her senior year of college, Kaufusi played for Minnesota Aurora FC in the inaugural season of the pre-professional USL W League. She became the first-ever player from Utah State to be drafted into the NWSL. Kaufusi attended the Thorns' initial training camp, and was named to the squad that attended the Coachella Valley Invitational preseason tournament. However, she did not make the team's final roster.

Personal life Kaufusi is the oldest of four siblings born to Thomas and Allison Steed. Her mother played soccer collegiately at Weber State.

Honors and awards Utah State Aggies

Mountain West tournament: 2023

Individual

First-team All-Mountain West: 2023 Second-team All-Mountain West: 2020, 2022 Mountain West Defensive Player of the Year: 2023