Kotschau Ready to Leave Her Mark

by Brandon Johnson –

Being a child of a professional sports player comes with enormous pressure, and it takes a special player to be able to handle said pressure, on and off the field. There are those who allow the pressure to get to them, and they shy away from it. Others take that pressure and use it as fuel, wanting to live up to the hype, and make a name for themselves.

Reagan Kotschau is undoubtedly one of those special players.

Reagan's father, Ritchie, enjoyed a highly successful 10-year Major League Soccer (MLS) career. Having been around the sport her entire life, it's natural to want to continue the legacy and make a name for herself in soccer. To say she has done just that would be a huge UNDERSTATEMENT. Let's take a look at some of her accomplishments at the club and high school level…

ECNL U17 National Player of the Year
2022 High School All American
Colorado Soccer Coaches 2021 Player of the Year
Back-to-back State Championship Appearances
2021 State Champions
2022 All-State First Team

Suffice it to say, her high school career was one for the books. Transitioning to the college level can be tricky, and Reagan knows what she accomplished in high school means nothing as she has to prove she can do it again, this time at the college level. We were able to sit down with Reagan to discuss the teams' early success this season, her transition to the college level, coming up under the guidance of a professional player, and much more. Here is what she had to say…

With six wins in its first seven games, there seems to be a high level of confidence surrounding the team. What has been the driving force behind this fast start?
I think we're all bought into one goal, which is winning. We want to beat these teams. We treat every game as its own game, lock into what we need to do to win, and do our best to come out on top.

Your father, Ritchie, enjoyed a successful 10-year career at the Major League Soccer level. Growing up around that professionalism and work ethic, how did it help you growing up and guide you to where you are today?
He was hard on me, and especially when I was younger I didn't really want to listen to the advice he was giving. As I grew and matured, I really started to hone in on what he was saying. He'd go out and train with me, tweaked some things that needed correcting, and I really started to gain an appreciation for what he was saying.

You were fortunate enough to enjoy a highly successful high school career. Being named an All-American, winning player of the year, competing in back-to-back state championships are just a few of your many accomplishments. How do you try to stay level-headed, as you've already accomplished so much but know that you still have a long way to go?
I think it's just having that mindset of "everyday is a new day." The past is in the past, I can't sit here and dwell on what I accomplished. It was cool to win all those awards, but I have more to do. As long as I keep working, it's only up from here.

You and fellow freshman, Namoi Clark, have had quite the past as your careers have intertwined more often than not. The two of you played club ball together, competed in state championship against each other your senior year, how is the dynamic between the two of you.
I love Naomi. We've known each other for quite a while, and we're also roommates, so we're very close. She does have bragging rights as her team beat ours in that state championship game, we try not to bring that up too often. As said though, the dynamic is great.

As far as the team goes, there is an expectation that this squad can compete at the highest level, compete for a championship. What needs to happen for this squad to turn expectations into reality?
Focus on one game at a time, make sure we bring the same energy for each game. There can't be any looking ahead on the schedule if we have a supposed "easier" opponent because in this league any team can be beat on any given day. So, as long as we bring the energy every match and respect the opponent in front of us, I think we'll be right where we want to come end of the season.

How has the transition been to the college level so far? Being a freshman coming to a well-established team full of upperclassmen, how has that dynamic been so far?
It's honestly been great so far, no complaints at all. I think coming here in the summer definitely helped, gave me a bit more time to get acclimated and such. The freshman class is great as we all have a good relationship, try to hang out often, and the team in general has been super welcoming, which has done nothing but helped ease that transition even more. The work ethic on this team is noticeable, so it's very easy to feed into that.

What's a goal of yours, team wise and personally, that you want to accomplish during your career here at WSU?
The number one goal is to win a national championship, easy. We have the right personnel to do so and with the work that we show each and every day, winning a chip is definitely top priority. Personally, I want to just keep growing every day into the player I know that I can become, and hopefully that will lead to me becoming an All-American.

Playing soccer since the young age of 3, has there been a professional player that you've always looked up to?
Messi, 100%. He's always been somebody I've looked up to, and he also plays midfielder. The way he plays the game with such ease is definitely something I try to take after.

What's on the playlist? Who do you like to listen to before a game?
I definitely have a lot of Drake on the playlist. Bruno Mars is also definitely a favorite, J Cole too. Before the game I'm sometimes in the mood for a bit of country, so I'll have that on the playlist as well.

A message for all the Coug fans out there?
We're coming! We're coming and we need all the support we can get. Continue to come out to games as we move into the Pac-12 part of the schedule, and we're going to keep winning games. The sky's the limit for this team, I'm excited to see how the season turns out.

As a fan, I can say that we are too, and we're expecting big things! Good luck on the season Reagan, and Go Cougs!

Washington State University Athletics

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