Audrey McKeen goes Pro

Former O’Connell Student goes Pro

By Club VPs: Lily Salva and MJ Selwood

On Jan. 6 2026, former Bishop O’Connell student and 2024 WCAC Player of the Year, Audrey McKeen, made history by being the youngest athlete ever to sign with Racing Louisville, a professional women’s soccer team based in Louisville, Ky. The team is a part of the National Women's Soccer League, and at just 17, McKeen is embarking on her pro soccer career at an uncommonly young age. 

During her two years as a student at O’Connell, McKeen achieved more athletic success than most do in their entire high school sports experience. After becoming the leading goal scorer her freshman year (23 goals), she went on to break the school record of goals in one season with a whopping 37 goals as a sophomore. In her first season she achieved second team All-Met and first team All-Conference, while the following year she not only made first team All-Met, but was also named O’Connell’s MVP, WCAC Player of the Year, and Virginia Gatorade Player of the Year. McKeen helped lead the team to a second-place finish in the 2024 WCAC playoffs and a first-place finish in the NVIS, as well as secure the 16-2-3 record, making them the first team in O’Connell history to win that many games since 2010.

For her club soccer team, she played at a club called Virginia Development Academy (VDA). VDA is a part of the Elite Club National League (ECNL), one of the most competitive leagues in the nation. Within VDA, she reached the ECNL national semifinals and helped the club reach a top 15 ranking in the country. She excelled in the league, named twice as a Youth All-American, once as an ECNL U-17 All- American, and was named to the ECNL All Mid-Atlantic First Team in U-17. 

While McKeen was one of the most successful soccer players at O’Connell, it wasn’t the only sport she played; on the O’Connell Swim Team, she mainly participated in breaststroke, where she swam excellent times. She was largely successful in track as well. Often a member of the 4x200 and 4x100 relay teams, as well as the individual sprint events, she shared the 4x200 record with a time of 1 minute and 46 seconds, as well as the 4x100 with a time of 49.92 seconds. She also ran in the 4x100 at Penn Relays, making her one of the 13 DJO athletes invited to compete in the historic meet. 

While she was only at O’Connell for a short period of time, it’s evident that McKeen was a huge contributor to the success of many athletic teams. After her call up to the US Youth National Team, Mckeen reclassified from Class of 2027 to Class of 2026 and left O’Connell to focus further on soccer. After her call up to the United States Youth National Team, she participated in the U-18 and U-19 camp in Florida. Afterwards, she contributed to the team with a goal in the 1-0 win against Ireland and two goals in the 3-3 draw against Portugal. 

As she joins Racing Louisville, soccer fans and O’Connell students look forward to seeing how she performs. 

Photos Courtesy of Racing Louisville Football Club