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7 Days Until the State Girls Track & Field Announcement
Gatorade 2025 - 2026: Player of the Year

Girls Soccer - Iowa

Gatorade Player of the year

Dreya Kern

Midfielder
LINN-MAR HS
MARION, IOWA
SENIOR
Height: 5-FOOT-7
Press Release

Peak Performance

19

Goals

28

Assists

2.8

Average Points Per Game
“Dreya Kern is the kind of player you hope to get once in 20 years of coaching. She broke our school’s single-season assists record—passing a U.S. Women’s National Team player, Sofia Bush, and 2024-25 Iowa Gatorade Player of the Year Abi Roberts in the same breath. And somehow, she made it look routine. She’s a captain who leads by example, a teammate who lifts up everyone around her and a competitor who has won at every level: conference, regional and national club championships.”
Hannah Clark
Head Coach - Linn-Mar

Athletic Excellence

The 5-foot-7 attacking and holding midfielder led the Lions (12-4-3) to the Class 3A quarterfinals this past season. Kern scored 19 goals and passed for a state-leading 28 assists, averaging 2.8 points per contest in 17 games played. A member of the 2026 IGHSA All-Tournament team, Kern is a two-time Second Team All-State honoree and the 2026 All-Metro Player of the Year. She led her club team, FC United, to the U-16 Premier Group National Championship in 2024. Also a standout basketball player, she was a First Team All-Metro selection last season and concluded her prep career as a 1,000-point scorer.

Academic Achievement

Kern has maintained a weighted 3.72 GPA in the classroom. She has signed a written letter of athletic aid to play soccer on scholarship at South Dakota State University this fall.

Exemplary Character

A Certified Nursing Assistant, Kern was the recipient of the Lea Jost Nursing Scholarship at Linn Mar, awarded to students for outstanding service to their community. A member of her school’s Students Opposed to Drugs and Alcohol organization, she has served as the school mascot at public events and has volunteered locally on behalf of park and school cleanup initiatives. She has also donated her time as a youth soccer coach.