Thori Staples Bryan

Thori Yvette Staples Bryan (; born April 17, 1974) is an American retired soccer defender who previously played for the United States women's national soccer team and the Bay Area CyberRays in the Women's United Soccer Association.

Early life Bryan grew up in Joppatowne, Maryland and played soccer for the Columbia Crusaders for five years. She won state championships in long jump, 400-meter dash and 800-meter run.

North Carolina State University In 1992, her first season with North Carolina State University, she started all 22 games and was named the ACC Rookie of the Year in 1992. During her time at North Carolina, she was a three-time All-Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) and All-South Region selection.

Bryan was nominated for the Missouri Athletic Club National Player of the Year award in 1994 and 1995. During her senior year, she started all 22 regular season games while the Wolfpack posted an 18–4–0 record and No. 9 national ranking. She was a first-round pick and the first American player to be selected in the inaugural draft.

In April 2004, Staples-Bryan signed for Carolina Dynamo. She made eight appearances for the club in the 2004 USL W-League season.

In 2008, after a more than four-year hiatus after the folding of the WUSA, she returned to play with the Carolina Railhawks in the W-League.

International Bryan made her first appearance for the United States women's national soccer team on March 11, 1993, in a game against Denmark. She would go on to earn 64 caps with the team from 1993 to 2003.

Coaching career Bryan was an assistant coach at Virginia Tech.

Personal life Staples Bryan married Kip Bryan in 1998.