Utah Royals FC Sign Cece Kizer To Help Beleaguered Attack
Apr 19, 2025, 10:35 AM
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON - OCTOBER 23: Cece Kizer #5 of Kansas City Current and Sofia Huerta #11 of OL Reign head the ball during the first half in a NWSL semifinal match at Lumen Field on October 23, 2022 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images)
(Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images)
SALT LAKE CITY – Looking to bolster an injury-riddled roster, the Utah Royals FC reached an agreement with NWSL veteran attacker Cece Kizer. Kizer signed through the 2026 season after agreeing to a mutual termination of her contract with Gotham FC earlier in the week.
The Royals announced Kizer’s signing on Friday, April 18. The Royals are her fifth NWSL team, following her previous stints with Gotham, the Houston Dash, KC Current, and Racing Louisville FC.
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Cece’s officially holding court in Utah
Welcome to Royalty, @cecekizer!
— Utah Royals FC (@UtahRoyalsFC) April 18, 2025
Less than ten hours after the deal was announced, Kizer made her Royals debut in a 1-0 win over the visiting Chicago Stars FC. Head coach Jimmy Coenraets turned to her in the 65th minute, and the newcomer narrowly missed out on a storybook finish.
Late in the match, Ally Sentnor sent a cross through the box that ended up just out of Kizer’s reach on a header attempt. The Royals went on to claim their first win of 2025 when Sentnor finished a penalty kick in the waning seconds.
About Cece Kizer
The Kansas native spent her collegiate career in the SEC, playing four seasons at the University of Mississippi. Kizer etched her name in the record books, scoring a program record 48 goals in 83 appearances at Ole Miss. She left Oxford as the Rebels’ all-time leader with 119 points.
Her storied college career led the Houston Dash to select Kizer in the second round of the 2019 NWSL College Draft. She made 16 appearances with Houston before embarking on a five-game stint with Kolbotn FC in Kolbotn, Norway.
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Cece Kizer is bringing her goalscoring to the Utah Royals!
Kizer signed a contract with the Royals through 2026 after mutually agreeing to terminate her contract with Gotham FC.https://t.co/ujfnyNYFQT pic.twitter.com/AExhlgxdQM
— The Equalizer (@EqualizerSoccer) April 18, 2025
She returned to the NWSL in 2021, starting 22 games and scoring five goals for Racing Louisville FC. The next year, Louisville dealt Kizer to her hometown Kansas City Current. She added seven goals and three assists in 22 appearances (21 starts) with the Current.
Kizer made three appearances with Gotham FC in 2025.
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The Utah Royals FC travel to the Lone Star State on Friday, April 25, to face the Houston Dash. The match kicks off at 7 p.m. MT.
Live radio calls of every Utah Royals game can be found on sports.ksl.com. Select games will be broadcast on the KSL Sports Zone (97.5 FM/1280 AM) and KSL NewsRadio (102.7 FM/1160 AM).
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Brian Preece is a sports.ksl.com insider covering Locals in MLB and the Salt Lake Bees. Follow Brian’s Bees and Beehive baseball here. Find Brian on X, Instagram, and BlueSky at @bpreece24.
