CALDWELL, Idaho (BVM) – If a women’s college soccer team wanted to score on the College of Idaho, they’ll have to get past Kaya Evans. That isn’t an easy task.

In three seasons for the Yotes, Evans has been a part of some of the best defensive seasons in program history. Last season’s 0.77 goals against (GA) average ranks second all time and is the team’s second GA average below one goal in the last three seasons. 

No other team has had the consistent success of a defense like the College of Idaho because no other team has had a player and person like Evans. 

A Pocatello, Idaho native, Evans has mostly played the center back position for the Yotes since her arrival in 2017. Now a senior captain, she anchors a 2021 team that looks to continue their defensive dominance this spring. 

But Evans is more than a star soccer player. Walk inside Hendren Hall and you’ll find Evans sitting with a College of Idaho student as she points to a computer screen. As an academic mentor, the senior is one of six C of I students to help fellow Yotes stay on track with class schedules and graduation requirements. 

“As a freshman I remember being really intimidated by the idea of picking a major and three minors and making it work in four years,” Evans said. “It seemed really overwhelming, so I just wanted to make that process a little easier for other people who came after me. I just want to make the academic process a little more accessible for people.”

In her own academic studies, Evans majors in political economy with minors in pre-law, Spanish, environmental science and anthropology/sociology. Her busy schedule with various academic programs looks incredibly challenging to the ordinary college student, but Evans is far from ordinary. 

“I always have put and wanted to put academics at the top and that’s part of why I came to C of I,” Evans said. “[Head Coach Brian Smith] has been really good about allowing me to find that balance. For me it’s about staying disciplined about where my priorities and values are and then ordering things according to that scale.”

Evans’ busy schedule includes her internship as a policy analyst and researcher for political campaigns in Boise. As an extension from the summer and fall terms, Evans’ job consists of working with Idaho state legislators and assisting with policy proposals.

Her most notable work came from working on a congressional campaign with Idaho democratic nominee Rudy Soto. Running to represent Idaho’s First Congressional District, Evans got the opportunity of a lifetime to work in a professional atmosphere and dynamic campaign.

“That was amazing to be a part of,” Evans said. “It was the biggest campaign I’ve ever worked on and the time commitment was crazy but it was really fun. I really like to use my major for something that feels like a real world application. I like being able to apply it to things that I feel like are making a positive impact.”

Evans may deal with a balancing act of priorities, but she’s kept herself level while also excelling on the pitch. A two-time Cascade Collegiate Conference (CCC) All-Conference pick, Evans has also been a two-time conference All-Academic Team selection and consistent Dean’s List honoree. 

With a passion for politics, Evans joined the Associated Students of College of Idaho (ASCI) as a student senator for the school. In this role, she represents one of 24 senators that work with ASCI student representatives in carrying out campus legislation. If bills, orders or resolutions want to get passed at the college, they have to go through Evans and the senators first. It’s been the chance for Evans to help her community improve while making her voice heard. 

“I’ve always been impressed that there are so many students, myself included, who are willing to put in the time to make the school experience as good as it can be from our perspective,” the off-campus senator said. “The senate is a really good way for the student’s voice to be heard and I like the ability to make a really strong statement on behalf of the students to hopefully make some changes.”

That voice would also extend outside of Caldwell. In downtown Boise, youth leaders, speakers, and musicians highlighted the 2021 Idaho Womxn’s March in late January. With the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the annual event had to shift to a virtual platform to ensure the safety of others. But this didn’t hinder the message Evans and other empowering women had at the podium. 

“It’s an opportunity for women with different perspectives and different backgrounds to find something communal in a shared struggle for empowerment,” Evans said in an interview with Lynsey Amundson. “It’s an intergenerational effort between women who have made amazing strides and come before us and now our generation having an opportunity to speak and an opportunity to voice our concerns from our perspective.”

Evans’ public advocacy for women’s rights is an inspiration for women and girls in Idaho and around the world. But Evans didn’t find her inspiration on her own.

“A person that got me connected to the women’s march was Keri Steneck who was a campaign manager on the campaigns that I worked on over the summer,” Evans said. “This march was specifically about young women’s voices and I think she thought that I had something to say. She did a really great job of bringing mine and other young people’s voices to the forefront on certain issues.”

Off the field, Evans makes a difference in multi-dimensional fashion for her community. On the field, the undisputed leader of the Yotes women’s soccer team has contributed to the success and earned the respect of the program. 

“Kaya is everything we want a Yote soccer player to be. She is a big character kid that does everything the right way, all the time,” Coach Smith said to College of Idaho Athletics. “She is a great trainer, a great teammate and the biggest supporter of everyone out there on the field. She is everything that we want our program to be.”

With her college career coming to a close in the next few months, Evans is determined to finish everything on a high note. From academic mentoring to working in the college senate to publicly advocating for women’s rights, she’s made sure to make an impact on everyone she comes across. And that includes her coaches and the 30 women she plays alongside with. 

“My message has been to cherish every opportunity to play with people that you love and people that you appreciate,” Evans said. “Go out there and do it for yourself and do it for them because nothing’s guaranteed.”

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