« Women’s Soccer 2018

CeCe Kizer

School
University of Mississippi
Position
Midfield/Forward
Major
General Studies

Classroom

CeCe Kizer has said numerous times that if it weren’t for soccer she probably would not have attended college. Four years later, she is not only on track to graduate this fall with a 3.39 cumulative GPA, but has thrived academically and received numerous scholarly laurels. Kizer is a four-time honoree on the Ole Miss Dean’s List and, in 2017, became the sixth player in Rebel history to be named a first-team United Soccer Coaches Scholar All-American while also earning CoSIDA Academic All-District honors. Additionally, she has made the SEC First-Year or Fall Academic Honor Roll all three seasons at Ole Miss and has helped the Rebels achieve the USC Team Academic Award each year.

Character

Kizer comes from a very large family with which she has a very tight-knit relationship. One of the most important things to her is to be a positive role model for her younger siblings back in Overland Park, Kansas. She has also proven to be a positive role model for the younger children within the Oxford community—never failing to take the time to interact, sign autographs and take pictures with the kids after each match despite playing nearly the entire 90 minutes. While not having the most vocal personality, Kizer is a leader by example for the younger teammates on the team—always giving her all on the pitch, in the weight room and in the classroom.

Community

Despite having very little free time, Kizer finds time to volunteer at the local parks and with the recreation programs at Oxford. She serves as a mentor for a youth team in the Oxford area, giving young players the chance to hang out with their idol. While Oxford and Mississippi don’t have the strongest soccer presence, she is arguably the biggest name in soccer history in those areas, and you can truly see the kids revel in the opportunity to simply spend time with her.

Competition

Kizer is as decorated of a player as you will find in the nation and is making a strong case to be the greatest player in the history of Ole Miss soccer. As of nomination time, she was NCAA Division I’s active leader in career goals with 44—tying the school record at Ole Miss. She was also just three points shy of breaking Ole Miss’ all-time career points record, having 106 to date. Kizer was also leading the nation in both goals and points with nine and 22 respectively and had two of the top-10 scoring seasons at Ole Miss.

Kizer has received a bevy of honors designating her as one of the nation’s most elite players including the opportunity to wear the stars and stripes after being invited to the U.S. National Team U-20 and U-23 team camps. Kizer was also tabbed to the watch list for the 2018 MAC Hermann Award.

In 2017, she put together one of the top seasons in the country, becoming Ole Miss’ first-ever USC All-American (third team) after ranking fourth in the nation in goals and points per game and was also recognized as a first-team All-South Region and first-team All-SEC honoree.

In 2015, Kizer announced her presence early, after leading the nation in scoring for a freshman with 14 goals. She was named a Freshman All-American, the SEC Freshman of the Year and a first-team All-South Region honoree.