Over the course of a second straight offseason, the Kansas soccer program has been characterized by continuity.
That’s not just on the roster but among the coaching staff, as head coach Nate Lie recently signed a new five-year contract after leading the Jayhawks to a Big 12 tournament championship and a Sweet 16 appearance in his first two seasons at the helm.
“We love it here, we love the athletic department, we love Lawrence, we’ve been able to make a little progress on the field,” said Lie, who arrived from Xavier in December 2023. “And so we wanted to be here, and thankfully the administration thought we were doing a solid job, and so it was an easy process.”
So as Lie heads into his third year, he is locked in, and so are his goalkeeper Sophie Dawe and the back five of wing backs Caroline Castans and Livvy Moore and center backs Jordan Fjelstad, Olivia Page and Emily Tobin that anchored the Jayhawks’ defense last season.
Moving forward through the starting 11, however, there are bigger questions to address. KU does retain All-Big 12 second-team midfielders and rising juniors Jillian Gregorski and Kate Langfelder. It lost center midfielder Emika Kawagishi, who played a big role in controlling tempo, to graduation.
But the significant holes are up front. Throughout Lie’s first two seasons, the forward duo of Lexi Watts and Saige Wimes menaced opposing defenses and exerted the relentless pressure that is key to KU’s play style. Watts in particular led KU with nine goals in 2024 and 11 in 2025. Now both are gone, as Watts exhausted her eligibility and Wimes used her fifth year to transfer to Big 12 foe West Virginia.
“I think we have a pretty good team heading into the summer,” Lie said. “Hopefully they can stay fit and motivated and healthy. I think our biggest question when I show up in front of y’all in the fall is ‘Are we going to be able to score enough goals?’
“Can our experience show up and solidify our defense and make us hard to score on? That should, if we’re all doing our jobs, be there — it’s can we score enough goals.”
Lie said he had five players competing for those attacking roles — excluding additional newcomers in the fall — in an “open audition.”
There are strong contenders, including some who came through in big moments during the 2025 season. Lie said Jocelyn Herrema “continues to grow into her role.” Now with 58 career matches to her name and entering her senior season, Herrema could make a case to start for the first time at KU. She netted a memorable go-ahead goal in the conference tournament against West Virginia last season.
Jordan Rowan scored four times as a freshman, appearing in 19 games with one start.
“Part of it is just like how dynamic do they look in comparison to past seasons,” Lie said, “and I think Jordan’s definitely a candidate for one to kind of emerge.”
Other young talents at the forward position had their moments. Another freshman, Faith Johnston, netted twice in the NCAA Tournament, including a critical game-tying goal before halftime in the second round against Louisville. A third, Becca Smith, barely played in August or September before suddenly scoring a brace in a win over rival Kansas State.
Some experience arrives in the form of Norah Jacomen, a former Big East adversary of Lie’s who was the conference’s freshman of the year in 2023 at Butler after scoring nine goals. She was not as productive each of the following two seasons but started all 17 matches with three goals and three assists in 2025.
Jacomen is one of a trio of transfers who joined KU in the spring along with midfielders Sydni Fink, a junior who started five matches at Kentucky last year, and Emma Frey, a fifth-year senior with a host of all-league honors in her IU Indianapolis tenure. Defender Bella Salina and goalkeeper Brooklyn Smith enrolled early as freshmen from a signing class that also includes defenders Jennah Black, Sophia Canepa and Gianna Weiner; midfielders Olivia Joyce, Olivia Kaiser and Chloe Trotter; and forwards Jordyn Huggins and Gabby Thompson.
Whoever ends up pushing the pace upfront for the Jayhawks in the fall, they have one proven goal-scoring option in the midfield in the form of Gregorski. The Wethersfield, Connecticut, native has already excelled for the Jayhawks, but Lie cited her as a spring standout (along with Tobin and Rowan).
“It’s hard to choose her because she scored nine goals her freshman year and 10 this past year, but I do think she’s taken that natural next step,” Lie said. “Leadership, voice is there. I’ve been on Jill’s case for about two years about how she defends. She scored a couple goals off turning teams over. And then she just looks hungry and looks like she wants to be an impact player, and scored a bunch of goals this spring. I think Jill is on the trajectory to hit another level.”
OTHER ROSTER NOTES
Kawagishi, Watts and Wimes were the biggest losses for a KU squad that had just two other players, reserves Mackenzie Hammontree and Emily Minard, go through senior day last season. The Jayhawks only lost one other player to the transfer portal in the winter, reserve goalkeeper Addison Tauscher, although there is another portal window opening on Friday.
The roster is backloaded with a lot of players who appeared sparingly in what was largely a very consistent rotation for the Jayhawks in 2025. Minnesota transfer defender Fiona Skwierawski started 13 matches before a lineup change moved Tobin to center back and displaced her from the lineup. Backup wing back Lydia Viets was one of the most prominent reserves. Marit McLaughlin garnered some minutes in the midfield as a freshman, as did Mary Sola before suffering a season-ending injury. Other returners during the spring season included defenders Maya Mathis, Brooke Otto, Avery Rasmussen and Molly Shepherd; goalkeeper Clara Roche; and midfielder Sophia Mir.
Kansas junior forward Jocelyn Herrema looks for a teammate to pass the ball to during the matchup against Kansas State on Thursday, Oct. 2, 2025, in Lawrence.
Kansas’ Faith Johnston sends the ball toward the goal against Cincinnati on Sunday, Oct. 19, 2025, in Lawrence.
Kansas forward Becca Smith connects with the cross to score a goal against West Virginia on Thursday, Oct. 16, 2025 at Rock Chalk Park.
Sarah Buchanan/Special to the Journal-World
Sarah Buchanan/Special to the Journal-World
Chance Parker/Special to the Journal-World