SAINT LOUIS, Mo. – The Missouri Valley Conference league office has announced its women's soccer Scholar-Athlete team for the 2025 season. Illinois State had six student-athletes selected to the team.
Senior Jade Rehberger and Junior Ava Watson were nominated to the MVC Scholar-Athlete team for the second time in their careers.
Rehberger posted a 3.79 cumulative grade-point average while majoring in Biological Sciences/Zoology. Rehberger started in all 22 contests for the Redbirds, logging 1,929 minutes played across the 2025 season. On Oct. 23 against Drake, Rehberger scored her first career goal in a 1-0 victory over the Bulldogs.
Watson recorded a perfect cumulative grade-point average of 4.00 while studying Biological Sciences. This season, Watson matched a career best with 20 starts and tallied a career high of 1,778 minutes.
Four Redbirds earned their first career selections to the MVC Scholar-Athlete team this season.
Redshirt Sophomore Madi Valenti earned her first career nomination after posting a 3.95 cumulative grade-point average while majoring in Risk Management and Insurance. In 2025, Valenti was awarded the MVC Goalkeeper of the Year award after a historic campaign. Valenti posted 12 shutouts this season, breaking the MVC and Illinois State record for the most shutouts by an individual goalkeeper.
Sophomore Chloe Cline received the Scholar-Athlete team recognition for the first time in her career after recording a 3.58 cumulative grade point average. Cline played an important role in the Redbirds' victory over Southern Illinois as she became the first player to record a postseason brace since Kate Del Fava in 2019.
Sophomore Kaya Durkee earned her first Scholar-Athlete team award after recording a cumulative grade-point average of 3.68 while studying Mass Media. In 2025, Durkee led the Redbirds with 1,996 minutes played, which is the third most for a season in Illinois State history.
Senior Abby Hall was recognized for the Scholar-Athlete team for the first time in her career after recording a 3.98 cumulative grade point average while studying Computer Science. In the semifinals of the Missouri Valley Conference tournament, Hall converted a penalty in the closing moments of Illinois State's 1-0 victory over Drake.
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