UCLA Soccer Star Reilyn Turner Secures the Bag, Becomes Nike’s 1st NCAA Sponsored Athlete

With the NCAA finally allowing student-athletes to cash in on their names, images, and likenesses as of July of this year, Nike is officially staking its claim with the announcement that it’s partnering with its first college athlete: UCLA soccer star Reilyn Turner.

While the terms of the sophomore forward’s deal with Nike have not been disclosed, she was last year’s Pac-12 Freshman of the Year and has blossomed into a premier scorer for the Bruins, racking up 10 goals this season—including a hat trick against Loyola Marymount in September.

Per a press release provided to The Root, any deals that Nike makes with college student-athletes “will include an element that connects back to their local communities.” As such, Turner and the sports apparel juggernaut will “focus on working with nonprofit partners [in Los Angeles] that help create an active and equitable future for youth” in order to continue to demonstrate how sports have the power to inspire and create change.

“As a Black woman and Mexican American, I think about those who have paved the way for me and how they used their platforms to create so much change, even beyond sport,” Turner said in a statement. “I hope to be a role model for those around me and those after me, and I’m so excited to be a part of what Nike is bringing to the future of women’s sport.”

According to Nike, “This sponsorship signals [our] steadfast commitment to supporting women athletes through meaningful partnerships at every stage of their sports legacy.”

“As an athlete, you’re in a position to be a role model, to have a platform to speak up for what you believe in,” Turner told ESPN’s Nick DePaula. “I hope to be a role model for those around me and those after me. I want to inspire little girls and little boys to pursue their dreams too.”

Congratulations to the Aliso Viejo, Calif., native as she continues to not only make an impact on the field, but in her local community.