Kaylee Dao

Classroom

Kaylee Dao completed her undergraduate degree with a double major (Environmental Sustainability/Planned Program - Social Sciences and Organizational Studies) in August 2019. A master’s degree was her goal, so she got special permission to finish her undergrad classwork while beginning graduate work in human relations during the 2019 spring semester. She is carrying a 4.0 GPA in graduate school after finishing her undergraduate degree with a 3.85. Her undergraduate GPA allowed her to graduate from OU with distinction.

Dao was named to the 2015-16 Big 12 All-Academic Rookie Team and has been a first-team Academic All-Big 12 honoree twice. She earned President’s Honor Roll honors (4.00 GPA) five times and was named to the Dean’s Honor Roll (3.50-3.99 GPA) twice. She is an eight-time Big 12 Commissioner’s Honor Roll and Sooner Scholar. She received the Gerald Lage Achievement Award, the highest academic award given by the Big 12 in 2018. Dao also received the Dan Gibbens Scholar-Athlete of the Year award in 2019 and has helped the Sooners earn team All-Academic awards from the soccer coaches’ association.

Character

A quiet leader for OU, Dao lets her actions speak until she believes she needs to speak up. And when Kaylee Dao speaks, others listen. As a result of her outstanding leadership qualities, Dao was named a 2019 Athletics Director Leadership Award winner. The award recognizes the special qualities of being a leader, including mental toughness, ability to work with others, giving respect and gaining the respect of others, integrity and accountability.

She represents soccer at Captain’s Table, SAIL and SAC, which reflects the respect her teammates have for her. Her morals are unshaken. It doesn’t matter who is watching or what group she is a part of, she will always be true to who she is. Dao holds herself to high standards and expects the same of her teammates. Earlier this season, when the Sooners went to the locker room for halftime, they were down 1-0 to in-state rival OSU. Dao took the floor and reminded her teammates that they had to work together as a team and that one person could not take the team to a win. The result of her passionate speech was a draw, as the Sooners scored two goals in the second half and just barely missed getting a goal in OT for the win.

Community

Without a doubt, Dao loves to give back to her local and global community. She takes the passion she plays with off the field and applies it to community activities. Her faith is important to her, and she works in a number of activities at Victory Family Church. She brings an unusual amount of maturity to the table. Hers is a voice others heed when needed. While Dao may be fearless and competitive by nature, her concern for others is what resonates. She wants to see those around her succeed, and she is always there to lend a hand or a voice of influence. Dao commits 100 percent in all she does, showing both the work ethic to produce, on and off the field, and the mindset to want to learn and grow as an individual. She has been on several mission trips and thrives in settings in which she can be immersed in someone else’s culture and fully give back. She also is involved with her team with youth clinics as she wants to share soccer with a new generation.

Competition

Kaylee Dao is making her senior year the best of her Sooner career. As of nomination time, she had scored a golden goal in OU’s 3-2 OT win over Tulsa in the season’s fourth game. She also had scored earlier in regulation. The OT game-winner came just two days after she scored two goals against Oklahoma State to set the Sooners up for OT. The two teams finished with a 2-2 tie. It wasn’t just her goals vs. OSU as much as when she scored. Her first goal came off a penalty kick at the 75-minute mark in the second half. Her game-tying goal came at the 87-minute mark. With four goals in two games, Dao moved into a fifth-place tie for career goals with 21. She also is ranked fourth in school history with 8 game-winning goals. She leads the Sooners in scoring with 5 goals, just 1 less than her single-season career best of 6 as a RS junior.

A durable player, she has started 61 matches (out of 65 played) in her career. She started all 19 as a junior and is 4-4 as a RS senior. She earned Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week Sept. 3. That marked her second Big 12 weekly honor as she was Freshman of the Week in 2015.

Dao was named to the All-Big 12 Freshman Team and is a two-time All-Big 12 First Team honoree (2017, 2018).