Over the last five years, when you heard the last name "Kelly" at a UTPB athletics event, there's a good chance our announcers were referring to student-athlete Hayden Kelly. After all, Hayden was a star on the football field, winning 12 awards in his career and helping the Falcons win their first-ever Lone Star Conference Championship. There's no doubt Hayden's presence will be missed on the field this coming year, but we're looking forward to still having him on the football team as a linebackers coach. 

Even better, "Kelly" will still be a recognizable last name for Falcon fans as Hayden's sister, Hadley, is set to join UTPB's soccer team this fall. 

"I'm very excited to follow in my brother's footsteps," said Hadley. "It will be tough to live up to a four-time All American, but I'm going to try my best to continue his legacy."  

For Hadley, soccer has always been the sport she enjoyed the most, so she's looking forward to playing at the next level. 

"I got into soccer because I tried volleyball, basketball, but none of them allowed me to embrace my strength and physicality, so I tried out soccer and ended up loving it." 

Hadley's love of the game and strong work ethic led to her success in high school and helped her team make it past the first round of playoffs every year.  

"My high school soccer career has been great," said Hadley. "It helped me grow as a teammate because you learn how to play with a variety of players." 

Similar to her brother, Hadley is no stranger to winning awards. Recently, she was awarded First Team All-District, Academic All-State, and Academic All-District for the 2023-24 season. While Hadley has had success on the soccer pitch, she has also proven to be successful in anything she puts her mind to – even powerlifting. 

"The football coaches randomly came up to me one day at school and said, 'You look like you have strong legs, would you be willing to come try powerlifting?' So, I decided just to try it, and I turned out to be very successful in it." 

The success Hadley is referring to is surpassing her squat goal by 10 pounds.   

"I like to challenge myself, so I made a bet with the coaches that if I squatted 405, I would get my name on the boys' leader board, which led me to squatting 415." 

With Hadley's strong work ethic and determination, she may even surpass her brother one day whose max squat is 565 pounds.  

Becoming a Falcon 

To no surprise there were many colleges who wanted Hadley to join their program. However, UT Permian Basin Head soccer coach Carla Tejas sold Hadley on the vision she had for the program. 

"I've talked to multiple coaches, but talking to Coach Tejas was different because she has true meaning behind everything she says," said Hadley. "She is very straight forward with her intentions, and I can tell she will do whatever it takes to win."  

Hadley is sure to be a great addition to the soccer program and is excited about being able to put on that Falcon uniform. 

"What I'm looking forward to the most about being a collegiate athlete are the intensity, new challenges, and meeting a new team of talented athletes," said Hadley. "My goals for my first year in college are to push myself to the best of my ability and learn from players and coaches about how to be a better soccer player. I'm so excited to attend UTPB next year, and I can't wait to set new goals and meet new people."