Courtesy of Johnson County Athletics

OVERLAND PARK, Kan. – Johnson County Community College sophomore Maya Wallace was named the United Soccer Coaches NJCAA Division II National Player of the Year on Tuesday. She is the first women’s soccer player in in JCCC and Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference history to earn the honor.

Wallace is the fourth female athlete in Johnson County history to earn national player of the year honors in their respective sports. She joins Mikayla Powell (Volleyball-2020), Jaylen Townsend (women’s basketball-2021) and Aspen Burgardt (Softball-2024).

Earlier this year Wallace earned All-KJCCC Division II and All-Region 6 Division II first-team. She was also named the KJCCC D-II Offensive Player of the Week four times and in the first week of the season garnered the NJCAA D-II National Offensive Player of the Week award.

Wallace was key in helping the Lady Cavaliers win Kansas Jayhawk Conference D-II, NJCAA Region 6 D-II and NJCAA District D-II titles and finish runner-up at the NJCAA Division II Tournament with an overall record of 19-1-4.

Wallace led JCCC, ranked second in the conference and ranked 20^th in the country with 46 points. She also ranked third in the conference and tied for 21^st nationally with 18 goals. She also produced four game-winning goals which tied for fourth in the conference. Wallace also had multiple-goal matches which tied for the fifth-most produced in a single season in program history.  At the national tournament, Wallace provided the assist on JCCC’s second goal in a 2-0 victory over Anne Arundel, advancing the Lady Cavaliers to the national semifinals.

“Maya had a great season for us and scored some incredible goals all through the year,’ said JCCC head coach Jim Schwab. “She was a really good player for us for two seasons”

Over her two seasons at Johnson County, Walace helped the Lady Cavaliers post a record of 37-5-6, win two conference and Region 6 titles, one District championship and two runner-up finishes at the NJCAA Division II National Tournament.  She was twice named All-KJCCC D-II and All-Region 6 D-II first-team. She closed out her career with 24 goals and 17 assists for 65 points. She ranks 18^th all-time at JCCC in career goals scored and 19^th all-time in career points.

This year's Player of the Year recipients from all levels of college soccer will be recognized for their accomplishments at the United Soccer Coaches All-America Ceremony & Reception on Saturday, January 11, 2025 in Chicago, Ill., in conjunction with the United Soccer Coaches Convention.