Standout women’s soccer player from Newton, Kansas will rep K-State with KC’s pro squad

Gene Taylor’s soccer toolbox is growing at a rapid pace.

When he was first appointed as Kansas State’s athletic director in 2017, it consisted of the basics. The soccer program was launched in 2016, meaning by the time he arrived, the school already had an established team and coaching staff and season under its belt — the essentials were already in place.

By the end of 2017, the Wildcats had competed in their first year of Big 12 conference play and beaten arch-rival KU. That was KSU’s lone win in 2017, but Taylor’s toolbox was growing — the program was gaining strength.

In 2019, the team moved into the Buser Family Park soccer complex. That was followed by a 2020 season in which the Wildcats went 3-6 in the Big 12 and, if not for COVID-19, would have qualified for the conference tournament for the first time in program history. And Taylor’s soccer toolbox was becoming more like a shed.

Last month, senior midfielder Brookelynn Entz was selected 38th overall by Kansas City’s new National Women’s Soccer League team — the first player in program history to be drafted into the NWSL.

“Another tool in the toolbox, so to speak,” Taylor told The Star, “to show that those kinds of athletes can come here and be successful and have the opportunity to play at the next level.”

Taylor wants to keep adding tools to his collection, so the goal-setting continues. Sustaining success in the Big 12 is next, following by qualifying for the Women’s College Cup.

As the goals evolve, so does the work necessary to attain them. The journey certainly hasn’t been easy thus far.

From the ground up

Entz’s first couple of years as a Division 1 athlete broke from the norm.

She arrived in Manhattan via Newton, a town of 19,000 located half an hour north of Wichita. She had a couple of offers from Division I schools but was never heavily scouted because of the club level at which she played.

One Power Five coach who did show interest: Mike Dibbini of Kansas State.

Arriving via Cal Poly Pomona, Dibbini was brought to back to the Midwest by former K-State AD John Currie as the team’s inaugural coach. Dibbini had spent much of his coaching career in Kansas, first with Salina Central High from 1999 to 2006 and then with Kansas Wesleyan from 2005-12, so he knew well the state’s soccer landscape.

At Kansas Wesleyan, Dibbini had run soccer camps and built a relationship with Entz. The midfielder was on his list of potential first recruits.

“I knew what she was capable of doing,” Dibbini said. “This was a player that could be a Hall of Fame player for women’s soccer here and I did everything in my power with my staff to try to convince her to come (to KSU) to be the first to do a lot of things. It was a unique opportunity.”

She eventually received offers from other programs, too, but Entz accepted Dibbini’s offer. It wasn’t until she arrived in Manhattan, however, that she truly realized just how new the Wildcats’ program was.

The coaches’ offices were located in Bramlage Coliseum. The new team’s locker room was Bramlage’s visitors’ locker room. And the soccer field was in a completely different location with nary a building in sight.

“I think we were a little bit more blue-collar,” Entz said. “I think that really instilled in me a work ethic that I hadn’t had before.”

Despite the circumstances, Entz helped lead a KSU team that won two games total from 2017 to 2019 to three victories in 2020 — by any measure, a step in the right direction.

Entz’s own progression increased dramatically as she entered her junior year in 2019. Some tough discussions with Dibbini, about needing to improve defensively and be a better team player, were part of that evolution.

“I think that they were really good conversations,” she recalled, “conversations that needed to be had, but conversations at the time that I didn’t really want to have but were necessary.”

With improvements came records. Entz holds 28 career, season and single-game marks for the still-young KSU team. But what happened next, not even Entz could’ve predicted that.

The milestone moment

On the day of the 2021 NWSL Draft, Entz was in Oklahoma, getting in some warmer-weather training. She was staying with a host family and preparing for the 2021 spring season — her last season with the Wildcats.

She’d finished her workouts for the day and had settled down to watch the draft. That’s when she heard the words that changed her life:

Kansas City NWSL has selected Kansas State midfielder Brookelynn Entz with the 38th pick of the 2021 NWSL Draft.

“I was just watching the whole thing and then all of a sudden my name came up and I was just taken aback,” she said. “I was just super-surprised because I was not expecting it.”

The pick represented a milestone moment — for the KC franchise, and for Entz, and for K-State’s soccer program.

“It’s massive because it goes to show there are so many different paths to the pros,” Dibbini said. “She’s paved that way for us, and we did it in five years. Between development and dedication and commitment to your craft, and that’s what she’s done, (those things) will allow you that opportunity.”

Entz’s progression to pro soccer is a moment that figures to help K-State challenge for recruits in Kansas and beyond.

“I’m sure the coaches will use that to their advantage to talk to recruits about it,” Taylor said, “and I’m sure Brookelynn, where she can legally in the recruiting process, will be a part of it.”

Dibbini described Entz as “a soccer junky.” He believes she helped create and foster a culture in Manhattan that will only continue to grow long after she’s gone.

“The mindset has shifted,” he said. “But I think that really goes back to Entz: She was one that really paved that way, and we have a lot of other players that are following her lead and buying in and developing that culture.”