| Kayla Sharples | |
| Fullname: | Kayla Lynne Sharples[1] |
| Birth Date: | 17 June 1997 |
| Birth Place: | Naperville, Illinois |
| Height: | [2] |
| Position: | Defender |
| Currentclub: | Bay FC |
| Clubnumber: | 27 |
| Youthclubs1: | Eclipse Select |
| Collegeyears1: | 2015–2018 |
| College1: | Northwestern Wildcats |
| Collegecaps1: | 87 |
| Collegegoals1: | 9 |
| Years1: | 2019–2023 |
| Clubs1: | Chicago Red Stars |
| Caps1: | 35 |
| Goals1: | 1 |
| Years2: | 2020 |
| Clubs2: | → KuPS (loan) |
| Caps2: | 6 |
| Goals2: | 1 |
| Years3: | 2021–2022 |
| Clubs3: | → Adelaide United (loan) |
| Caps3: | 11 |
| Goals3: | 1 |
| Years4: | 2024– |
| Clubs4: | Bay FC |
| Caps4: | 4 |
| Goals4: | 2 |
| Club-Update: | April 22, 2024 |
Kayla Lynne Sharples (born June 17, 1997) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a defender for Bay FC of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL).
Sharples was born in Naperville, Illinois, and attended Naperville North High School where she played basketball and soccer, winning a state championship in soccer as a freshman in 2010.[3] [4] She played club soccer with Eclipse Select, winning multiple state championships.[5] Her Chicago Red Stars jersey is displayed outside of Naperville North's gym, among jerseys of other professional athlete alumni.[6]
Sharples attended Northwestern University where she played for the Northwestern Wildcats. She led the Wildcats to four straight NCAA Tournament appearances between 2015 and 2018, a best in program history. Their furthest NCAA appearance came in the 2016 tournament, reaching the Round of 16 where they ultimate fell to the #3 seed Duke Blue Devils. It was the Northwestern's best NCAA tournament appearance since 1998.[7] Sharples started all 87 of her matches for Northwestern, which included a streak of 86 straight starts, which is the second longest such streak in program history.[8]
Sharples was selected 26th overall in the 2019 NWSL College Draft by the Chicago Red Stars, her hometown team.[9] [10] She made her professional debut on June 2, 2019, as a substitute in a 3–0 loss away to the Portland Thorns FC.[11] Sharples had limited minutes in the 2020 NWSL Challenge Cup, but started in the final where the Red Stars lost the inaugural Challenge Cup Championship to the Houston Dash.[12] She suffered a season ending ACL injury on June 12, 2022, in a match against the Orlando Pride.[13] She made her return from injury on May 31, 2023, as a substitute during a Challenge Cup group stage match against Racing Louisville FC.
In August 2020 Sharples received an offer to join Kuopion Palloseura on loan for the remainder of the 2020 Kansallinen Liiga season. After consulting with Chicago head coach Rory Dames who told her that she may not get playing time in the 2020 NWSL Fall Series, Sharples accepted the offer.[14] She made six total appearances, scoring one goal, contributing to KuPS's third place finish that season, the highest ever for the club in their history.[15] [16]
In December 2021, Sharples was loaned to Australian club Adelaide United, just before the beginning of the 2021–22 A-League Women season. Sharples stated that it had been a goal of hers to play in Australia due to the quality of the league.[17] Sharples missed the start of the season due to quarantine protocols upon entering Australia due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Following her quarantine, she started in 11 of Adelaide's 14 regular season matches, scoring one goal in a 3–0 win away to Western Sydney Wanderers on January 28, 2022.[18] [19] Sharples was part of a squad that led the club to their first ever Finals appearance in fourteen A-League seasons. On March 13, Sharples started in the club's finals debut, but Adelaide ultimately lost 1–2 to eventual 2022 A-League grand final champion Melbourne Victory.[20] [21] Following the loss, her loan concluded and she returned to the Chicago Red Stars to prepare for the 2022 NWSL season.
On December 21, 2023, Sharples signed with NWSL expansion side Bay FC, having become a free agent after her contract with Chicago expired.[22] She was part of Bay FC's inaugural starting eleven in their first regular season NWSL match, which was a win away to Angel City FC.[23]
| Club | Season | League | Cup[24] | Playoffs[25] | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |||
| Chicago Red Stars | 2019 | NWSL | 2 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | — | 2 | 0 | |||
| 2020 | NWSL | — | 3 | 0 | — | 0[26] | 0 | 3 | 0 | ||||
| 2021 | NWSL | 14 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 16 | 0 | |||
| 2022 | NWSL | 8 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 12 | 0 | |||
| 2023 | NWSL | 11 | 1 | 4 | 0 | — | — | 15 | 1 | ||||
| KuPS (loan) | 2020 | Kansallinen Liiga | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 6 | 1 | |||
| Adelaide United (loan) | 2021–22 | A-League | 11 | 1 | — | 1 | 0 | — | 12 | 1 | |||
| Bay FC | 2024 | NWSL | 4 | 2 | — | — | — | 4 | 2 | ||||
| Career total | 56 | 5 | 13 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 70 | 5 | |||