Athletes aren’t born knowing what sport they want to play. Life intervenes and eventually, athletes come to find their passions. This was the case for Kaylee Davis, sophomore forward. With the help of her mother, it didn’t take the Bobcat long to figure out soccer was the sport for her.
“My mom signed me up for it,” Davis said. “She was actually the coach of my first team, so that’s kind of funny to talk about now. I was actually in gymnastics before that and ran summer track and I was pretty quick so we had a couple of family friends that were like ‘you should put her in soccer’ so they did and here we are.”
Davis began receiving scholarships at the beginning of her sophomore year at Allen High School. She made a commitment that same year, but it wasn’t to Texas State. The athlete had committed to Sam Houston State.
Davis played one year at Sam Houston State and appeared in 19 games. She ended the season with four goals and one assist, but it wasn’t anything on the field that made her want to transfer. It was her pursuit of academic excellence off the field.
“Unfortunately, academic wise, my goals there weren’t really lining up at Sam Houston, and I had the opportunity to transfer,” Davis said.
When Davis was looking to transfer, she made sure not to be too far from her hometown in Allen.
“I definitely wanted to stay somewhat close to home,” Davis said.
When she visited Texas State, the academics allowed her to do what she wanted, and the exciting atmosphere was a bonus.
“Outside of school, the city is so much fun,” Davis said. “There’s a lot to do and I clicked really well with the girls on the team.”
Davis’ first time in a Bobcat uniform was playing against University of Texas-San Antonio. She said it was a little nerve-racking, but the athlete adjusted to the game and her new school very quickly.
“I obviously had nerves and was anxious, but after that first game I felt more comfortable,” Davis said.
Davis already has four goals with four games this year and the Sun Belt Conference Tournament left to play. Two of those goals came against Appalachian State Oct. 1.
“I was able to score two goals which was super fun,” Davis said. “We beat App State 4-0 which was huge for our team. And it wasn’t just me scoring. We had a bunch of other people shooting and two other people scoring. It was a real confidence booster for the team as a whole, so regardless if I scored or not, it was fun for the team and it gave us confidence and just let us know that we’ve got a good chance at this and we can do it.”
Davis and the Bobcats are now at an overall 10-4-1. However, according to Davis, their success has just as much to do with what happened before the season as what has happened during.
“Our chemistry is a huge part,” Davis said. “In preseason, even before we started training, we all got on the same page of what our main goal was and that’s to hopefully win a ring and win conference and go to the tournament.”
However, Davis believes the team needs to calm down and not get too arrogant.
“Definitely not trying to let our emotions get too high with it,” Davis said. “We have to stay level headed, we’re just taking it one game at a time and focusing on the next opponent.”