HERRIMAN, Utah (Tuesday, March 4) - Utah Royals FC announced today the signing of three players to short term contracts: defender Kayla Colbert, defender Sydney Jones, and midfielder Aria Nagai.
Colbert and Jones have signed Injury Replacement Player contracts, while Nagai has signed a Salary Cap Exempt contract.
Kayla Colbert played her college soccer at the University of Southern California. She made 59 appearances over four seasons, recording 15 goals and 16 assists from 2021 to 2024. In her senior year, she played in all 23 games for the Trojans, starting 22 of them, which led to her being named to the All-Big Ten Third Team.
Sydney Jones hails from Ohio State, where the defender made 82 appearances, all of them starts, over the course of four seasons. She scored four goals and provided six assists from 2021 to 2024 for the Buckeyes. Her strong defensive performances in her senior year earned her a spot on the 2024 Big Ten All-Tournament Team.
Aria Nagai played three seasons at Princeton from 2021 to 2023, making 53 appearances, 42 of them starts. She left Princeton with two goals, four assists, and a spot on the 2023 First-Team All-Ivy. She then transferred to Utah Royals midfielder Ally Sentnor’s alma mater, the University of North Carolina. In her graduate season with UNC, she started all 27 games, recording three goals and three assists as the Tar Heels won the 2024 NCAA National Championship.
Utah Royals FC returns to action in 2025, opening the season by hosting 2024 expansion sibling Bay FC at America First Field on Saturday, March 15, at 5:30 PM. Don’t miss this year’s action—tickets are available now at https://www.rsl.com/utahroyals/tickets/.
