Ella Callanan '24 Recruiting Profile

I have loved soccer since I started playing at 3 years old. For the past 12 years I have been playing club then DA then ECNL. I was a high school freshman varsity starter then made the All-League first-team as a sophomore. I've made the ODP State Teams, ODP West Regional Team, and the ODP National Select Team, starting on the ODP National Select team in England and at the Dallas Cup.

As a former competitive futsal player, I’ve won the State Cup, competed in regional & national championships, trained internationally with Atletico Madrid, and played in the World Futsal Championships finals. Futsal improved my technical skills, speed of play, 1v1 defense, and instincts for quick transitional play.

I currently play for the Portland Thorns Academy and also work with Talo, a performance trainer associated with the USWNT to improve my power, speed, agility, and strength while maintaining flexibility for injury-prevention.

I am a scoring defender both as a starting outside back/winger on either side for club or a holding-mid in high school as well a center back on club & ODP who can initiate possession and attack. I quickly adapt to playing new positions - for example, as a sophomore, in the first year that I returned to a central position in 4 years, I was named to the All-League First Team. I pride myself on dispossessing with interceptions and tackles then initiating swift counter attacks to get the opponents off-balance and keep them off-balance with possession and control by focusing on field vision, ball movement, accuracy, and spacing.

I'm really looking forward to college and will be ready to contribute to any ambitious D1 soccer program.  I balance my time with strong academic discipline and I plan to study computer science.