Congrats, to the Tennessee Gatorade Player of the Year, wish she was coming to Tennessee instead.
Katie Shea Collins
Katie Shea Collins of Pope John Paul II Preparatory School is the 2023-24 Gatorade Tennessee Girls Soccer Player of the Year. Collins is the second Gatorade Tennessee Girls Soccer Player of the Year to be chosen from Pope John Paul II Preparatory School.
The 5-foot-2 senior forward scored 44 goals and passed for six assists this past season, leading the Knights (12-2-2) to the Division II, Class AA state quarterfinals. Collins had a direct hand in 50 of her team’s 56 goals on the year. She missed the state quarterfinal while earning a bronze medal at the 2023 Pan American Games in Chile as a member of the U.S. Soccer Under-19 Women’s National Team. She earned a call-up to the Under-20 Women’s National Team in June. She concluded her prep soccer career with 106 goals and 31 assists in 47 games.
Collins has volunteered locally with Habitat for Humanity and as a peer mentor to students with special needs. She has also donated her time as a youth soccer coach. “Katie Shea is one of the most amazing players I have ever coached against,” said Meggie Lucas, head coach of Harpeth Hall School. “Her skill with the ball is unmatched, her patience off the ball is wise beyond her years and her drive and competitive nature make her a force to be reckoned with.”
Collins has maintained a weighted 4.17 GPA in the classroom. She has signed a national letter of intent to play soccer on scholarship at the University of South Carolina this fall.
She joins recent Gatorade Tennessee Girls Soccer Player of the Year and Gamecock, Brinley Murphy y (2022-23 & 2021-22, Bearden High School).