Kate Denney, an Alpine native and a freshman defender on the BYU women’s soccer team, has decided to step away from the game for 18 months to serve a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.
She will be serving in the Stockholm, Sweden Mission, speaking Swedish, departing Jan. 19, just after the soccer season.
Denney comes from a long line of BYU athletes, most notably with her father, Ryan Denney, a star BYU football player (1997-2001) and NFL defensive end.
He was drafted to the Buffalo Bills in the second round, the 61st pick overall in 2002. He played with the Bills until 2009, before having one season with the Houston Texans in 2010, upon choosing to retire.
Athletics has run deep in Kate Denney’s blood her whole life, with her dream of playing soccer for BYU. She accomplished that dream quickly by verbally committing to an offer to play at BYU the first day she was allowed to per NCAA regulations on June 16, 2023.
Denney graduated from Lone Peak High School, a semester early to begin training with the Cougars just this last January of 2025. In her freshman campaign, she has already played in 18 games, starting seven, for a total of 758 minutes.
Denney has played an integral role on the team this year. Junior captains Avery Frischknecht and Ellie Walbruch have discussed how much of a positive role Kate has played and the influence she has had on the team.
"Whether it's practice, lifts, or games, she's always fired up and bringing everyone with her," Walbruch said. "She makes this team better just by how much she cares, how hard she competes, and wants to win."
"Kate is one of the kindest, most energetic, competitive, and hardest workers on the team," Frischknecht said. "She is always smiling, and looks out for others ... she will be a great missionary."
With her soccer career in the palm of her hand, many are asking why? Why would she choose to step away with so much potential on the field in the next year-and-a-half alone?
"It does not make much sense for me to leave at all. Things are going much better than I expected," Kate Denney said. "But I kind of realized that I wanted to shift my focus to serving first and then letting everything else work out."
Denney has always had a strong desire to serve, but did not know if it would be possible with the new NCAA rules of roster limits because of the House Settlement. Her plan initially was to "see how soccer went, and then decide if I was going to serve," she said.
In response to these new regulations she said, "It was really stressful for me, but I didn't want to base my decision off of soccer ... but I've gotten to the point where I actually think the Lord will solve it. It's all going to work out."
Denney's faith and desire to fulfill her role with the Cougars for the remainder of the season is something that is propelling her and the team forward as BYU is chasing its first Big 12 tournament title in school history.