Edge Rewrite
translate Source code View original
Jump to content

Kaylee Hunter

Add links
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Kaylee Hunter
Hunter with Canada in 2026
Personal information
Full name Kaylee Marie Hunter
Date of birth (2008-01-22) January 22, 2008 (age 18)
Place of birth Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Height 1.65 m (5 ft 5 in)
Position Forward
Team information
Current team
 AFC Toronto
Number 11
Youth career
Calgary West SC
Calgary Blizzard SC
2023–2024 Vancouver Whitecaps
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2023 Calgary Blizzard SC — (—)
2023–2024 Whitecaps FC Girls Elite 15 (13)
2025– AFC Toronto 21 (14)
International career‡
2023–2025 Canada U17 8 (9)
2025– Canada U20 3 (7)
2026– Canada 2 (0)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of October 20, 2025
‡ National team caps and goals as of April 18, 2026

Kaylee Marie Hunter (born January 22, 2008) is a Canadian soccer player who plays as a forward for AFC Toronto in the Northern Super League.

A youth product of Calgary Blizzard SC and Whitecaps FC Girls Elite, Hunter won league titles with both clubs before signing a professional contract with AFC Toronto in January 2025 ahead of the Northern Super League's inaugural season. She scored the first goal in franchise history and went on to finish the season as the league's joint-top scorer, earning NSL Rookie of the Year and Team of the Season honours, while helping the club win the inaugural Supporters' Shield and reach the NSL Championship final.

Hunter represented Canada at the 2024 CONCACAF Women's U-17 Championship and the 2025 CONCACAF Women's U-20 Championship, winning the latter, before earning her first call-up to the senior national team in October 2025. She made her senior international debut at the 2026 SheBelieves Cup in March 2026.

Early life

[edit]

Hunter was born and raised in Calgary, Alberta.[1][2] She began playing youth soccer at age four with Calgary West SC.[3] Growing up with three older brothers, she has said she followed them into the sport, and that her mother would ask at the end of each season whether she wanted to continue playing, to which her answer "was always yes."[4] She has described coming from a smaller soccer hub outside Ontario, Quebec or British Columbia as making her path to the professional game unusual, calling it "what makes my story unique."[4]

Club career

[edit]

Early career

[edit]

In 2023, she began the season with Calgary Blizzard SC playing in the 2023 League1 Alberta Exhibition Series. Later in 2023, she joined Whitecaps FC Girls Elite in League1 British Columbia. She won league titles both years with the Whitecaps and was named the MVP at the 2024 Women's Inter-Provincial Championship.[5] That same year, she was named the Whitecaps Most Promising Female Player / BMO RESP Academy Female Player.[5]

AFC Toronto

[edit]

2025: Debut season

[edit]

In January 2025, she signed a professional contract with AFC Toronto in the Northern Super League.[6][7] In an interview with DARBY, she described AFC Toronto's project as one built around youth and long-term development, saying that the club's "bright future is already here" and highlighting the role of community support in the team's growth.[4] She has attributed her adjustment as the squad's youngest player to the team's culture, saying she was treated equally by her teammates despite her age.[4]

She made her professional debut on April 19, 2025, in a substitute appearance in the club's inaugural match.[8] After beginning the season as a substitute, she said she focused on "trusting in my timing," crediting head coach Marko Milanović with the final say on selection, before earning a regular starting role.[4] On April 27, 2025, she scored the first goal in franchise history, in a 2–1 loss to Ottawa Rapid FC.[9] Reflecting on the goal, she said the achievement "didn't really hit me at all until after the game," calling it "something super, super special" as her first professional goal.[4]

She linked a mid-season scoring surge, in which she went from two goals in her first eight matches to eight in the following eight, to a run of three consecutive road games that included a match in her hometown of Calgary, saying she began to visualize herself scoring more as her form improved.[4] On June 21, 2025, she scored a brace in a 3–1 victory over Halifax Tides FC.[10][11][12] On July 11, 2025, she scored another brace in a 3–0 victory over Ottawa Rapid FC.[13][14] Discussing her approach in front of goal during this stretch, she said that "sometimes you need to score the messy one" rather than waiting for a perfect chance, an approach she pointed to when describing a long-range goal scored against Montreal Roses FC after noticing goalkeeper Anna Karpenko positioned off her line following a pass from teammate Esther Okoronkwo, which she later named her favourite goal of the season.[4] She was named the league's Player of the Month for July 2025, an honour she described as reflecting her work ethic while crediting her teammates, and said she was consciously competing for the league's Golden Boot alongside Delaney Baie Pridham.[4] On her attacking partnership with teammates Okoronkwo, Nikayla Small and Jade Kovacevic, she said the group's on-field chemistry stemmed from daily competition for starting positions in training.[4] She also spoke positively of the Northern Super League's inaugural season, calling the level of competition and passion around the six-team, home-and-away format "amazing" despite the challenge of facing the same opponents repeatedly, and described York Lions Stadium, the club's home venue, as feeling "like our home," while noting a personal rivalry with Vancouver Whitecaps supporters, for whom she once played, saying their reaction gave her extra motivation when the team travelled there.[4]

She was part of the team which won the inaugural NSL Supporters Shield for finishing top of the regular season table.[15] She was named as the NSL Rookie of the Year for the 2025 season as well as being named to the league's Team of the Season.[16][17] Hunter scored in the first-ever NSL semifinal as Toronto won 2–0 in the first leg against Montreal Roses FC on November 1, 2025.[18] In the final, she scored the opening goal against the Vancouver Rise to give AFC Toronto the lead, but they would go on to lose the inaugural championship 2–1.[19]

International career

[edit]

In August 2023, Hunter was called up to the Canada U17 for the first time for CONCACAF qualifying matches.[3] On August 27, 2023, she scored four goals in a 21-0 win over Dominica U17.[20] She was subsequently named to the roster for the 2024 CONCACAF Women's U-17 Championship, where she scored a hat trick in the third place match on February 11, 2024, in a 4–1 victory over Haiti U17.[21]

In March 2024, Hunter was called up to a camp with the Canada U20.[22] She scored in a 3-1 friendly loss to the United States U20 on April 7, 2024.[23] On February 21, 2025, she scored five goals in a 22-0 victory over Dominica at the 2025 CONCACAF Women's U-20 Championship qualification tournament.[24] The Canadians went on to win the championship, the country's first since 2008.[25]

After AFC Toronto refused to release Hunter to participate in the 2025 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup in October of 2025,[26] she was instead called up to the Canada senior team for the first time, for a pair of friendlies.[27] Hunter has said her long-term ambition is to play professionally in Europe and for Canada's senior national team, in addition to competing at the World Cup and Olympics.[4] She made her senior debut on March 7, 2026, starting the match against Argentina in the 2026 SheBelieves Cup.[28]

Personal life

[edit]

Hunter has cited Canadian forward Christine Sinclair as her primary soccer idol growing up, saying Sinclair "inspired generations" of players in the women's game, while also naming Cristiano Ronaldo, Kylian Mbappé and Neymar as players she admired on the men's side.[4] She has named Chelsea as the club she supports and hopes to play for in the future.[4] She has also reflected on the growth of women's soccer in Canada, describing community appearances with young fans as an opportunity to help "leave a legacy" for the next generation of players coming up in the sport.[4]

Career statistics

[edit]
As of November 17, 2024
Club Season League Playoffs Domestic Cup Continental Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Whitecaps FC Girls Elite 2023[29] League1 British Columbia 4523——0068
2024[30] 11822—502[a]22012
Total 1513450050222620
AFC Toronto 2025 Northern Super League 211432–––2416
Career total 3627770050225036

Honours

[edit]

Canada

AFC Toronto

Individual

References

[edit]
  1. ↑ "AFC Toronto Signs Rising Star Kaylee Hunter". AFC Toronto. January 29, 2025.
  2. ↑ Ngabo, Gilbert (August 30, 2025). "Kaylee Hunter is being called Canada's best young soccer player. The AFC Toronto star's childhood dream is only beginning". Toronto Star.
  3. 1 2 Kaylee Hunter at Canada Soccer
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Cem Yılmaz, Çetin (October 17, 2025). "Nikki & Kaylee: AFC Toronto's bright future is already here". Darby Magazine.
  5. 1 2 "Whitecaps FC announce winners for 2024 Player Awards". November 1, 2024.
  6. ↑ Davidson, Neil (January 29, 2025). "Teen striker Kaylee Hunter the latest to join Toronto entry in Northern Super League". Toronto Star.
  7. ↑ Elhilali, Rania (January 29, 2025). "AFC Toronto Signs 17-Year Old Rising Star Kaylee Hunter". Northern Tribune.
  8. ↑ Ko, Mathew (April 20, 2025). "Montreal Roses FC hold on to defeat AFC Toronto in Northern Super League match". Total Soccer News.
  9. ↑ "Kaylee Hunter records AFC Toronto's 1st-ever goal, but fall short to Ottawa Rapid FC". CBC Sports. April 27, 2025.
  10. ↑ Ko, Mathew. "Match report: Kaylee Hunter's brace earns AFC Toronto win over Halifax Tides FC". Total Soccer News.
  11. ↑ Curitti, Noah (June 22, 2025). "Hunter scores brace, AFC Toronto earn third-straight win with 3-1 victory over Tides". Intermission Sports.
  12. ↑ Bashir, Raheem Farhan (June 23, 2025). "AFC Toronto Teenager, Kaylee Hunter, Shines in Toronto". RB Sports.
  13. ↑ "AFC Toronto blanks Ottawa Rapid FC behind Kaylee Hunter's brace". Toronto Star. July 11, 2025.
  14. ↑ Gangué-Ruzic, Alexandre (July 11, 2025). "CanWNT hopeful Kaylee Hunter showing early value of NSL with breakout for surging AFC Toronto". OneSoccer.
  15. ↑ "AFC Toronto Crowned Regular Season Champions, Capture NSL's Inaugural Supporters' Shield". AFC Toronto. September 29, 2025. Retrieved October 15, 2025.
  16. ↑ "Ottawa Rapid forward DB Pridham completes near sweep of Northern Super League awards". Times Colonist. October 31, 2025.
  17. ↑ "Match Recap: AFC Toronto Take Control of Semifinal With 2-0 Road Win in Montréal | 11/01". AFC Toronto. November 1, 2025. Retrieved November 3, 2025.
  18. ↑ "AFC Toronto takes first leg of NSL semifinal in 2-0 victory over Montreal Roses". The Canadian Press. November 1, 2025. Retrieved November 1, 2025.
  19. ↑ Molinaro, John (November 15, 2025). "Vancouver Rise come full circle to win inaugural NSL title over AFC Toronto". Sportsnet. Retrieved November 23, 2025.
  20. ↑ "Canada one win away from qualifying for the Concacaf Women's Under-17 Championship". Independent Sports News. August 27, 2023.
  21. ↑ "Kaylee Hunter scores three goals as Canada finishes third at CONCACAF U-17 tournament". Northeast Now. February 11, 2024.
  22. ↑ "Two current 'Caps and three grads selected to Canada U-20 camp". Vancouver Whitecaps FC. March 27, 2024.
  23. ↑ "U.S. U-20 Women's Youth National Team Defeats Canada, 3-1, to Finish Training Camp in Germany". United States Soccer Federation. April 7, 2024.
  24. ↑ "Canada scores early and often in 22-0 drubbing of Dominica in Concacaf U-20 qualifier". Sportsnet. February 21, 2025.
  25. ↑ "Chukwu's wonder goal lifts Canadian women to Concacaf U-20 championship". Sportsnet. June 8, 2025. Retrieved November 23, 2025.
  26. ↑ Davidson, Neil (October 18, 2025). "Canadian under-17 women suffer injury setback on eve of FIFA U-17 World Cup". CBC Sports. Retrieved November 23, 2025.
  27. ↑ "Kaylee Hunter earns first CanWNT call-up, Casey Stoney names Sydney Collins in 24-player squad for October friendlies". Canadian Soccer Daily. October 13, 2025.
  28. ↑ "Sheridan stars as Canada downs Argentina in penalty shootout at SheBelieves Cup". TSN. March 7, 2026.
  29. ↑ "Kaylee Hunter 2023 L1BC Stats". League1 British Columbia.
  30. ↑ "Kaylee Hunter L1BC Stats". League1 British Columbia.
  31. ↑ "Kaylee Hunter earns the NSL Rookie of the Year 2025 award after a standout debut season! 👏". instagram.com. Retrieved October 26, 2025.
  32. ↑ "Your 2025 NSL Team of the Season 👏 as voted by the players. 🔥". instagram.com. Retrieved October 28, 2025.
[edit]
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Kaylee_Hunter&oldid=1368842898"