Follow KSU Soccer - X /  Instagram 

KENNESAW, Ga. – The definition of the captain's armband is a band of fabric worn on the upper arm by the designated leader of a soccer team. However, for Paris McCulloch, there is much more that went into the journey. Despite three ACL tears, and three missing seasons, McCulloch had to persevere and face more adversity than many people can even imagine. 

When McCulloch was in high school, she originally committed to LSU, but a second ACL tear in her right knee saw a change of plans. After her injury, the spot was no longer available for Paris and going into her collegiate freshman year, she didn't know where home was.

Luckily enough, former Head Coach Benji Walton offered McCulloch a spot here at Kennesaw State with McCulloch calling it "the opportunity of a lifetime." Once given the roster spot, McCulloch took it in stride. She would go on to play over 1000 minutes in her freshman year, starting every game but one. She would pick up six clean sheets with four of them coming in conference play. "Playing a lot of minutes as a freshman, it was the biggest blessing, I really gave everything I could."

Coming off an excellent freshman year, she was poised to continue this growth in her second season at Kennesaw State. However, before the season even started, Paris would tear her ACL for the third time in five years. "To go from 100 to 0 was really hard,” McCulloch said. “It was one of the hardest things I've ever had to endure." With it being the third time McCulloch tore her ACL, the questions started to arise, "When do I get to play soccer?" McCulloch knew her job wasn't over though. "To go from being the best I can be for my teammates on the field, I had to transition to being the best I can be for my teammates from the sideline and showing up when it mattered most." 

Under the direction of Benji Walton, current Owls Head Coach Chris Cahill was tasked with the defensive third of the pitch. This allowed Cahill and McCulloch to form a relationship that not many have at the collegiate level. Cahill remarked, "We kind of grew up together at Kennesaw." This relationship would carry into McCulloch’s sophomore season when Cahill was named head coach and eventually help them bounce ideas of each other for her junior and senior campaigns as well.

When it was time for her junior year, McCulloch felt a "release." She felt she could be herself again and that was defending with her teammates, shoulder to shoulder, not watching from a distance. McColluch would play in all 17 games, starting 16 of them, including every single minute of Conference USA play. 

She would carry that momentum into her senior season at Kennesaw State. Before the Owls kicked a ball in a competitive match in 2026, she was named as one of two team captains alongside Owls goalkeeper Charlee Bernal. "It was just such a happy feeling, I was so grateful and so excited going through this year as a captain," McCulloch said. When asked about representing this group, McCulloch commented that "it means everything." 

Coach Cahill has had nothing but great things to say about McCulloch, "Paris is a person that has literally gone through every up and down you can go through as a student athlete. The hard work that she put in, not only for herself as a growing woman, but also as an athlete, I think that's the biggest story about Paris."

McCulloch has been an anchor for the Kennesaw State backline so far in 2026, starting all 17 games, playing 90 minutes in 14 of those matches, and logging close to 4000 total minutes in her KSU career. 

This isn't a story of the perfect storm and somebody being given everything, Paris McCulloch had to fight for everything at the collegiate level, and as she would say, "Life doesn't stop when you hit rock bottom."

The Champions Fund
The Champions Fund is a newly created, 100% tax deductible, philanthropic opportunity to contribute strategic revenue to Kennesaw State Athletics, with the goal of strengthening our ability to recruit and retain top-tier talent in this new era of collegiate athletics. Contributions to the Champions Fund will help aid in funding student-athlete recruitment and retention, as well as helping the Owls provide competitive excellence through investments in coaching, travel and facilities. The fund will also give an elevated student-athlete experience, including enhanced academic, nutrition, wellness and leadership programs. Donate to the Champions Fund here and help us support our Kennesaw State Owls.