Colorado Buffaloes forward Hope Leyba has been named Colorado Sportswoman of the Year in the college soccer category, according to an announcement made last week.
This marks the second year in a row that a player from the University of Colorado’s women’s soccer team has received this recognition. Last year, her teammate Jordan Nytes was honored with the same award.
Leyba had a standout 2025 season for the Buffaloes. She increased her goal tally significantly, finishing as the nation’s top goalscorer with 22 goals over 24 matches. In her first two seasons at Colorado, she scored 10 goals in 43 games.
She set new program records for both goals and points (45) during the season, which contributed to her being named Big 12 Forward of the Year. Leyba achieved two hat tricks in 2025, making her the first player in program history to have multiple three-goal games in one season and only the second to record more than one hat trick in a career. She began the season by scoring in each of Colorado’s first five matches, including three multi-goal games and totaling nine goals—setting another school record for most goals through five matches. Two of those early-season goals were game-winners out of six total on the year. Later in conference play, she scored seven times across another five-game streak as Colorado went undefeated with four wins and one draw.
Leyba led nearly every offensive category within the Big 12 Conference and ranked among national leaders: fourth nationally in total points and goals per game (0.92), ninth in points per game (1.88), and placed within the top twenty for shots per game (4.04) and shots on goal per game (2.00).
Her achievements also earned her selection as a finalist for Top Drawer Soccer’s Player of the Year award and semifinalist status for the 2025 MAC Hermann Trophy.
Additionally, Leyba participated as one of just 24 players at last week’s U.S. National Team Development Camp.
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