- In her second season as an assistant coach for the UIS women’s soccer program
- Helped UIS set a program record with seven conference victories in 2019
- Appeared in 77 games at NCAA Division I VCU and had 12 goals and seven assists
Kelly Graves is in her second season as an assistant coach for the University of Illinois Springfield women’s soccer team in 2020. In the spring of 2021, she is also the athletics department's Human Development Counseling Intern.
In her first year, UIS improved by five victories over the previous year, and the Prairie Stars set a new program record with seven GLVC wins. Graves assisted in the development of Maggie Juhlin, who became the first player in program history to earn first-team all-GLVC honors, and the second to earn an all-region award.
Graves was a player in the NCAA Division I VCU soccer program from 2015-18. She appeared in 77 games in her career and had 12 goals and seven assists, including seven goals and four assists as a senior. Graves was a team captain her junior and senior seasons, and helped the Rams earn back-to-back Atlantic 10 Tournament appearances. She was the team’s Offensive Player of the Year and Team MVP as a sophomore, and helped VCU to a 43-29-7 record throughout her career.
Graves earned the VCU U.S. Army Emerging Leadership Award as a sophomore. She topped off her senior year with VCU’s Atlantic 10 Conference Postgraduate Scholarship Award, and VCU’s Michael Brown Award which is given to an individual in the department who exemplifies the “all around student-athlete”. Graves was also the VCU's nomination for the 2019 NCAA Woman of the Year Award, which honors an athlete's service and leadership, academic achievement, and athletics excellence. She graduated from VCU with a Psychology degree, with minors in Statistics and Business.
Graves attended Chatham Glenwood High School and was the Central State Eight Conference Player of the Year for three consecutive seasons, the only player to achieve that honor. She was a three-time all-state selection and finished her high school career with 81 goals. Graves was also a member of the St. Louis Scott Gallagher club team, including the squad that finished sixth at nationals in 2014, and was a PDP Invite selection.
