CLEMSON, S.C. (BVM) – Born and raised in Edmond, Okla., Hensley Hancuff ironically grew up doing gymnastics before playing soccer. 

“I feel like from a young age that was definitely a good sport to have me in to allow me to have an idea of what my body is like.” Handcuff said. 

Hancuff recalls how her mother signed her up for the soccer season late which restricted her from playing with the team and forced her to sit on the sidelines. It was during one of these elementary school soccer games when her team’s original goalie had braces and got hit in the mouth, which led the team to throw Hensley in goal. Her goalkeeping career immediately took off. Going into high school, she had every intention of graduating early to excel her soccer career in a competitive college environment. 

“Whatever school I ended up at I wanted to be there by January to get a feel for the team before the fall season,” Hancuff said.

Her freshman and sophomore year she attended Edmond North High School and immediately caught the attention of many recruiters after attending numerous camps and playing for the U16, U17, and U18 Youth National teams. By the end of her freshman year she had verbally committed to Oklahoma State University but ended up de-committing her sophomore year. 

“I was 14. I had no idea what I wanted. OSU is a great school and both of my parents went there but I wanted to get out of Oklahoma and experience other parts of the U.S,” Hancuff said. “I didn’t think it would be the best place for me to push myself as a goalkeeper.” 

Edmond North later told her it would be impossible for her to graduate early, so she transferred to Edmond Memorial High School. During her junior year there she committed to Villanova University. 

Unfortunately, as she approached her senior year Edmond Memorial also started to raise concerns regarding her intention to graduate early. As a result, she decided to attend her senior year through an online charter school. 

Because soccer was not very popular in Oklahoma, Hancuff had to travel outside the state to gain experience playing at a competitive level. On receiving word that she would be attending school online her senior year, the Orlando Pride goalkeeping coach, Lloyd Yaxley, reached out and invited her to train with their team as a guest before she headed to Villanova.

Hancuff was thrown into an intense environment training with Alex Morgan, Ashlynn Harris, and the iconic Marta, which forced her to mature very quickly.

“When I was with the national team we would go overseas and sometimes I would go without my parents. And then moving away from home and living in a completely different place it was exciting and also scary,” Hancuff said. “My host family was amazing but it was really time for me to grow up and take care of myself especially being surrounded by professional athletes. You come in everyday and give 110% or you’re not allowed to come back.” 

However, Hancuff’s soccer career came to a halt after she went to the doctor for a routine checkup. They ran regular tests on her body and were not satisfied with the results they received. 

“A couple months later I went back and they told me I had tumors on my ovaries but they didn’t know if they were cancerous or not. They didn’t know how big they were but they said I needed to have surgery which meant I would not be able to naturally become pregnant. That was really hard for me,” she said. “I’m a woman and I want to be able to have kids. It’s the one thing my body can do that men can’t. It’s so special and so I had to accept this very early on which is something I’m very at peace with now.”

At 17 years old, Hancuff was facing challenges most 17-year olds don’t go through. In November of her senior year they scheduled surgery not knowing what they were going to find but hoping for the best. Doctors performed a laparoscopic surgery where they removed two plum-sized tumors from her ovaries. 

“After the surgery the doctor told my mom that I had probably had cancer for about a year and a half which is very interesting because my hips had been hurting,” she said. “I always thought it was just because I was growing but after my surgery they never hurt again. I got extremely lucky.” 

Hancuff has been able to overcome every barrier placed in front of her. From multiple high schools telling her she couldn’t graduate early, to battling ovarian cancer all in the midst of her transition to college, she has never lost sight of her dream. 

“Always be hopeful because there’s always a light at the end of the tunnel. There were so many times when I could have given up or decided to do something else with my life but I stuck with it,” she said. “Soccer is one of my identities. God put me on this earth to play soccer.”

Hancuff started rehab immediately after her surgery and was back by January, a few weeks before moving to Villanova. The surgery, however, took a huge toll on her body which still affects her today. 

“Having your ovaries removed affects your hormones and I basically got a new body after the surgery. I couldn’t eat the same, and I was on a lot of different medication,” she said. “It caused a lot of stress and anxiety. At a young age I went through a lot of emotional distress. Now, every three months I get blood work done and full body scans to check up on my body.” 

Hancuff’s committment to Villanova gave her something to look forward to during this tumultuous time. After her first season with the Wildcats, she earned a spot on the 2018 All-Big East Freshman Team.

“It was really cool after the year I had to come into Villanova and make an impact that quick,” she said.

However, during her sophomore year Hancuff broke her pinky, forcing her season to come to an end. At this point, she made the decision to continue her soccer career elsewhere. 

“I wanted to make soccer my career and at Villanova I wasn’t surrounded by players that also wanted to go pro. I knew it was my time to step away,” Hancuff said. “I’m really grateful for them and how they helped me heal personally and create the person I am. I learned a lot about people when I was there but it was time for me to grow on the field.” 

She decided to move on and enter the transfer portal and when Clemson reached out, she knew they would be the one. 

“Clemson has been known to produce amazing goalkeepers and our coach here is amazing. My main priority was to find a good goalkeeping coach and I couldn’t ask for anyone better,” she said. “There are girls on the team here that want to go pro, and being in that environment every day is so helpful because you have to surround yourself with people who have the same goals as you or else you won’t get pushed.” 

Clemson’s goalkeeping coach, Siri Mullinix, has had a large impact on Hancuff and is someone she admires for her actions both on and off the field.

“She’s been to the Olympics, she’s been to world cups, she’s played on the national team, and she’s just an all-around amazing person,” Hancuff said. “She’s just so open and loving to everybody and it’s super inspiring and motivating to play under her.”

The women’s soccer team has had one of their best seasons yet as they made program history after securing their first perfect home season with a 7-0-0 record when playing at Historic Riggs Field. 

“The first time in program history the first year that I’m here- it’s really hard to find words for how grateful I am for this team,” she said. 

Hancuff is ranked first in the ACC and sixth in the NCAA in save percentage. She has both tied and broke her career-high of eight saves in back to back games. 

“I get really emotional about it sometimes because I’ve been through so much and to be able to be where I am right now and being ranked so high I just want to show other people that adversity is real,” she said. “The ranking doesn’t matter. I just try to be the best person and goalkeeper I can be.” 

Next fall will be Hancuff’s last college season as she will graduate in December and looks forward to what the next chapter holds.

“I definitely want to play professionally,” she said. “I would love to get back in with the national team. I think the people there are just amazing and being able to represent your country is really inspiring.”

Hancuff credits her mother and younger brother as her driving motivational force and is grateful for their support and for always allowing her to make her own decisions. 

“They are my entire life and they mean the world to me. They are my why and the reason I do everything I do,” she said. “A lot of moms aren’t ready to let their child spread their wings and move across the country for college. She has been so supportive of me and has helped me in every way possible so I just applaud her for that and I’m so thankful for her.”

Hancuff has taken away many important lessons from the obstacles placed in front of her and has further appreciated the value of kindness and diversity.  

“Just be nice to everybody, you never know what somebody is going through, or who’s having a bad day,” she said. “I also believe variety is so important and the world would be so boring if everyone was the same. I love authenticity and I think accepting differences is so important.” 

The hurdles Hancuff overcame have morphed her into the strong-willed, admirable individual she is today who exhibits a dedicated work ethic like no other. 

“Everything I’ve had to sacrifice has been so extremely worth it. I would not change a single thing about my process because I love where I am right now both as an athlete and as a person.”

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