Stanford senior forward Jasmine Aikey was awarded the 2025 Missouri Athletic Club (MAC) Hermann Trophy, the most prestigious award in NCAA Division I soccer, on Jan. 9. This coveted honor joins a long list of her accomplishments in the past year alone, including TopDrawer Player of the Year, ACC Championship All-Tournament MVP and Honda Sport Award for Soccer Finalist. It is also only the second time in history that a player has been selected as both the MAC Hermann Trophy winner and the Academic All-America Team Member of the Year.
Long before she was collecting accolades, however, Aikey was just a girl who loved the game.
“My dad signed me up for rec soccer when I was six, and I was on a team called the Lucky Leprechauns,” she said. “I just loved running around, chasing after the ball.”
Growing up in the Bay Area, Aikey knew from a young age that she wanted to don the Cardinal red.
“When I was seven years old, I asked my friend’s parents what the best and hardest school was and they told me it was Stanford,” she said, laughing at the memory. “From that moment, I was set on Stanford. As I got older, I figured out what an amazing academic institution it was. The recruiting process was pretty easy since I really wanted to come here.”
At Stanford, Aikey made an impact immediately, appearing in 22 matches, scoring a team-best 10 goals and helping the Cardinal win the 2022 Pac-12 Championship. Since then, she has continued to dominate on the field, being named Pac-12 Midfielder of the Year as a sophomore and contributing to Stanford’s 12 shutouts as center defender junior year. During the 2025 season, Aikey led the Cardinal to an ACC regular-season title and 2025 ACC Tournament win, scoring an ACC-best 21 goals, tallying 11 assists and seven game-winners, and becoming the only player in the ACC with 50 or points on the season (finishing with 53).
“Winning the Pac-12 my freshman year was really fun and then doing the ACC-double this year was so rewarding,” Aikey said, looking back on her time at Stanford. “It felt like all of the team’s hard work had paid off. It wasn’t always easy being a student athlete, but I think I got everything I wanted out of my experience.”
Aikey’s decorated collegiate career culminated in her winning the MAC Hermann Trophy, a feat she largely credits to her team.
“Getting nominated doesn’t happen unless your team performs really well,” she said. “I’m just grateful to be on such an amazing team and getting the chance to even be up for an award like this.”
Aikey announced on Jan. 8 that she signed a two-year contract (through 2027 with a mutual option for 2028) with Denver Summit FC, the newest expansion team in the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL). She shared her enthusiasm ahead of their inaugural season.
“Everything about this team has been super exciting,” Aikey said. “And everyone’s been so welcoming. I just moved into my new apartment, and I love the area I’m living in. It’s going to be a big adjustment going from college to NWSL, but I’m excited for all the challenges it may present.”
As she leaves Stanford and looks forward to playing with Denver Summit FC, Aikey stressed that her success would not have been possible without her robust support system.
“The biggest thing for me is that you can’t get to a high level or the level you want to achieve without having the right people around you,” she said. “I’ve been lucky to be surrounded by amazing friends and family and teammates, and I think that’s what people should strive to look for as they’re looking to go on to the next step of their lives.”