Iliana Hocking (born December 29, 1999) is an American former soccer player who played as a midfielder. She played college soccer for the Arizona Wildcats before being selected by NJ/NY Gotham FC in the fourth round of the 2023 NWSL Draft. She is the twin sister of professional soccer player Penelope Hocking.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | December 29, 1999 | ||
| Place of birth | Anaheim, California, U.S. | ||
| Height | 5 ft 4 in (1.63 m) | ||
| Position | Midfielder | ||
| Youth career | |||
| SoCal Blues | |||
| College career | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2018–2022 | Arizona Wildcats | 84 | (5) |
Early life
editHocking was born and raised in Anaheim, California.[1] She started playing soccer in a local Orange County recreational league before moving to Anaheim Hills and joining club team SoCal Blues.[2][3] With the Blues, she contributed to the club's first-ever ECNL National Championship in program history.[3] However, she was forced to miss the entirety of her penultimate and the first half of her final year of club soccer after breaking her tibia and fibula in a match.[4] Hocking attended Canyon High School, where she was a three-time all-conference honoree. She helped Canyon reach two playoff appearances and earn one league title. Hocking also participated in multiple track and field events at her school. As a junior, she was part of Canyon's 4 × 100 meter relay team that won a league championship.[3]
College career
editHocking played five seasons of college soccer at the University of Arizona. As a freshman in 2018, she came on as a substitute in almost all of the Wildcats' games, tallying 3 assists in approximately 500 minutes. In her sophomore year, she scored her first collegiate goal in a 6–0 season-opening win over Weber State.[4][5] Hocking then went on to start in all but one of her appearances in each of her respective junior, senior, and fifth-year seasons; she also appeared in all of her team's games in the 2021 spring season and in 2022.[3] In her final year at Arizona, she cemented herself as a defensive leader from the midfield.[6] She ended her collegiate career having made 84 appearances, the second-highest in Wildcats program history.[7]
Club career
editHocking was selected by NJ/NY Gotham FC in the fourth round of the 2023 NWSL Draft (44th overall).[2] She became the first-ever Arizona Wildcats player to be drafted into the National Women's Soccer League.[7] Hocking reported to Gotham's preseason training camp, but was ultimately waived ahead of Gotham's season-opening roster announcement.[8]
Personal life
editHocking's parents are former Cypress College basketball player Venetta Dorlis and former Major League Baseball player Denny Hocking.[3] Hocking has a fraternal twin sister, Penelope, and they were the first twins born to a member of the Minnesota Twins.[9] Iliana and Penelope played together at Canyon High School.[10]
Iliana and Penelope were the first sisters selected in the same NWSL Draft. Penelope played collegiately as a forward for the USC Trojans, a Pac-12 rival of Arizona that pitted the sisters against each other.[11] Penelope was drafted by the Chicago Red Stars with the seventh overall pick.[12]
References
edit- ↑ Nieves, Nicole (January 12, 2023). "Penn State women's soccer's Penelope Hocking selected by Chicago Red Stars in 2023 NWSL Draft". The Daily Collegian. Retrieved June 16, 2026.
- 1 2 Moeller, Jeff (July 18, 2023). "Family Ties: Soccer success is twice as nice for father, ex-baseball star". Los Angeles Downtown News. Retrieved June 16, 2026.
- 1 2 3 4 5 "Iliana Hocking". Arizona Wildcats. Retrieved June 16, 2026.
- 1 2 Kelapire, Ryan (August 30, 2019). "Iliana Hocking poised for bigger role at Arizona as twin sister stars at USC". Arizona Desert Swarm. Retrieved June 16, 2026.
- ↑ "Arizona Soccer throttles Weber State in opener". Kold. August 31, 2019. Retrieved June 16, 2026.
- ↑ Prezelski, Ted (January 13, 2023). "Wildcat soccer's Hocking to play for Batman's team". Tucson Sentinel. Archived from the original on March 30, 2023. Retrieved June 16, 2026.
- 1 2 Spears, Justin (January 13, 2023). "Arizona's Iliana Hocking becomes first Wildcat in program history drafted by NWSL, taken by Gotham FC". Arizona Daily Star. Retrieved June 16, 2026.
- ↑ "Gotham FC Provides Roster Update". Gotham FC. March 6, 2023. Retrieved June 16, 2026.
- ↑ Koslow, Ari (October 14, 2021). "Competitive upbringing propels Wildcats midfielder Iliana Hocking". Arizona Daily Star. Retrieved June 16, 2026.
- ↑ Turner, Andrew (January 29, 2016). "Canyon's Hocking sisters enjoying the sweet life". The Orange County Register. Retrieved June 16, 2026.
- ↑ Kelly, David (October 7, 2019). "Hocking sisters carving out a conference rivalry". KVOA. Retrieved June 16, 2026.
- ↑ Stewart, Scott (January 26, 2023). "Hocking Sisters Make NWSL Draft History" (Press release). National Women's Soccer League. Retrieved June 16, 2026.
External links
edit- Iliana Hocking at the Arizona Wildcats