Junior soccer player Hudson Joyner, who has started on varsity since her freshman year, drew interest from multiple Division I schools before choosing Illinois. The Illini compete in the Big Ten Conference, one of the most competitive leagues in women’s college soccer. Joyner said the program’s culture and coaching staff made her decision clear despite multiple other Division I offers.
“Illinois stood out to me because of its community and culture,” Joyner said. “The coaches care about each and every player, it’s like a family. Whenever they see me they get super excited and whenever they come to a game they’re really supporting me.”
Joyner said she felt she would have stability between academics and athletics.
“The school is so attentive both on the soccer side and the academic side,” Joyner said. “I knew I was going to have support with academics and soccer, and I knew I was going to have balance because they provide great resources and so many options.”
Joyner has been a cornerstone of the Midtown soccer team since her freshman year. She was elected Region 4-AAAA All-Region first team during her sophomore year. Joyner is known for her speed and technical abilities on the field. Former varsity girls soccer head coach and athletic director Blair Barksdale said Joyner had a huge impact on the Knights soccer program.
“She’s a very proactive player and she’s brought a lot of skill and ability to the program [at Midtown],” Barksdale said. “She’s very committed, and I think Illinois is ready to have her. It’s significant for the soccer program to have another D1 soccer commit. We have a lot of D1 commits here, but every time we can add another to the list, it’s great.”
Joyner began her soccer career at a local club, Inter Atlanta FC. Joyner’s former club and school teammate Ari Brownlee said Joyner has positively affected her own play.
“In terms of a teammate, she’s very supportive, easy to talk to and very easy to communicate with on the field,” Brownlee said. “She’s someone that you can play off of and she’s very open to trying new things. She’s a very aggressive player too, and that kind of boosts how other people play. She’s the type of person that once you see her qualities, it makes you want to go to the ball and be more aggressive. She’s definitely someone who helps the team.”
Joyner’s development has been shaped by numerous years of club soccer and a strong support system. Barksdale, said her discipline has always set her apart.
“Her skill level and her work ethic definitely increased the skill level and ability of the soccer program,” Barksdale said. “I would say with her proactive ability and then just her skill work and her ability to bring other players under her wing [sets her apart]. Even if she was hurt, she’d always be on the sideline when people came out. Or if [the team] needed water or something like that, she was always looking ahead to see how she could help other players.
After playing at Inter Atlanta for eight years, Joyner switched to Tophat SC in her U13 year. Joyner credits most of her development and opportunities to Tophat.
“Joining Tophat has really evolved my playing a lot because the coaches would really focus on all my weaknesses and enhance my strengths,” Joyner said. “While I was working on the things I wasn’t as good at, I was still building all of my strengths, and I think over the years it all came together where everything was at a solid level.”
Joyner also recognized the different experience that the Knights varsity team allowed her to have.
“Playing high school soccer allows me to play against different players at different ages,” Joyner said. “When I was a freshman I was able to go against some girls who were already committed. It’s kind of like a mini version of college soccer because I’ll be a freshman going against seniors.”
Joyner is planning to graduate after her first semester of senior year, the fall semester of the 2026-27 school year. At Illinois, she will begin training with the team and get a head start on a few classes. Joyner said this decision was an easy choice.
“I decided that I wanted to graduate early because I wanted to get a head start,” Joyner said. “I wanted to get acclimated to the team and lifts earlier rather than going in with a bunch of classes and having to start fresh in the fall. I’ll get to be with some of the seniors and go in with the other players that are graduating early and I’ll kind of just get to build familiarity with the team and create relationships earlier.”
Joyner set a few goals for herself during her time at Illinois.
“Just to be successful in what I do,” Joyner said. “I want to play as much as I can, and I want to create a name for myself. I just want to have fun and then if another opportunity opens up after college, that would be great.”
