Jilly Shimkin

Jilly Shimkin
Shimkin with Texas in 2024
Personal information
Full name Jillian Alexandra Shimkin
Date of birth (2003-02-21) February 21, 2003 (age 23)
Place of birth Rockville Centre, New York, U.S.
Height 5 ft 3 in (1.60 m)
Positions
Team information
Current team
 Brooklyn FC
Number 17
Youth career
Albertson Fury
New York SC
College career
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2021 Penn State Nittany Lions 19 (0)
2022–2024 Texas Longhorns 69 (15)
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2021–2022 Downtown United – (–)
2024 Tampa Bay United 4 (3)
2025–2026 Tampa Bay Sun 23 (1)
2026– Brooklyn FC 0 (0)
International career
2017–2018 United States U-15
2017 United States U-16
2019 United States U-17
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 05:38, August 16, 2026 (UTC)

Jillian Alexandra Shimkin (born February 21, 2003) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a midfielder or forward for USL Super League club Brooklyn FC. She played college soccer for the Penn State Nittany Lions and the Texas Longhorns before starting her professional career with the Tampa Bay Sun.

Early life

Shimkin was born in Rockville Centre, New York, one of four children born to Jodie and Pete Shimkin. Her younger sister Chloe played with her at Texas for one season. Shimkin began playing soccer at age four. She attended South Side High School but did not play high school soccer. She played club soccer for Albertson Fury and New York Soccer Club, earning United Soccer Coaches All-American honors three times. She was ranked by TopDrawerSoccer as the seventh-best recruit of the 2021 class. She committed to Penn State as a freshman.

College career

Shimkin played one season for the Penn State Nittany Lions in 2021, starting in 15 games. She then transferred to the Texas Longhorns in 2022. She started all 22 games and scored 7 goals with 7 assists, earning second-team All-Big 12 Conference honors. She opened scoring in the game that clinched the Big 12 regular-season title for Texas and did the same in the first round of the NCAA tournament. In her junior season in 2023, she recorded 12 assists and added 4 goals in 24 games. She assisted Lexi Missimo's winning goal to advance to the third round of the NCAA tournament, where they lost to eventual champions Florida State. She finished her senior season in 2024 with 4 goals and 6 assists in 23 games, winning the SEC tournament in Texas's first season in the conference and assisting in both of the team's games in the NCAA tournament.

During college, Shimkin played in the summer with Women's Premier Soccer League club Downtown United and USL W League club Tampa Bay United.

Club career

Shimkin was a non-roster trialist with the North Carolina Courage in the 2025 preseason. In June, she played for Austin Rise FC at the Soccer Tournament 2025, a seven-a-side tournament. The following month, she signed her first professional contract with USL Super League club Tampa Bay Sun, with whom she had trained the previous year. She made her professional debut on August 23, 2025, replacing Ava Tankersley as a halftime subtitute in the Sun's season-opening 2–1 loss to Brooklyn FC. On March 27, 2026, she scored her first professional goal in a 2–0 win over DC Power FC. Shimkin made 23 appearances and scored 1 goal during her rookie season.

On August 5, 2026, it was announced that Shimkin had signed with fellow USL Super League club Brooklyn FC, returning to her home state. She debuted for the club on August 15, 2026, coming on as a second-half substitute for Sophia Lowenberg in Brooklyn's season-opening defeat to Lexington SC.

International career

Shimkin began training with the United States youth national team at the under-14 level. She appeared in friendlies for the under-15, under-16, and under-17 teams between 2017 and 2019. She played for the under-23 team against NWSL teams in the 2023 preseason.

In 2024, Shimkin tried out for the United States national futsal team in advance of the inaugural 2025 FIFA Futsal Women's World Cup.

Honors and awards

Texas Longhorns

Individual

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Jilly Shimkin". Penn State Nittany Lions. Retrieved February 19, 2025.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Jilly Shimkin". Texas Longhorns. Retrieved February 19, 2025.
  3. ↑ Manliguez, Alistair (February 26, 2024). "Shimkin sisters look forward to finally playing together". The Daily Texan. Retrieved February 19, 2025.
  4. 1 2 3 Francis, Andrew (August 2, 2024). "Shimkin sisters of Rockville Centre will both play for the University of Texas". Long Island Herald. Retrieved February 19, 2025.
  5. ↑ "Women's soccer star Jilly Shimkin of Rockville Centre rises to the top". LIHerald.com. Nassau Herald.
  6. ↑ Clark, Travis (July 24, 2017). "Recruiting Roundup: July 24–30". TopDrawerSoccer. Retrieved February 19, 2025.
  7. ↑ Hygh, John (November 10, 2024). "Women's soccer becomes first UT Austin athletic program to win SEC championship". KTBC. Retrieved February 19, 2025.
  8. ↑ "Match Center - Match Fit Academy vs Downtown United SC". Women's Premier Soccer League. Retrieved July 17, 2025.
  9. ↑ "Metro's DUSC, NYAC Jump Out to Strong Opening-Week Starts". Women's Premier Soccer League. Retrieved July 17, 2025.
  10. ↑ North Carolina Courage [@thenccourage]; (February 19, 2025). "Our non-roster invitees taking note 🗒️". Retrieved February 19, 2025 – via Instagram.
  11. ↑ Lloyd-Hughes, Theo (June 6, 2025). "How Austin Rise FC is making a splash at TST". Squad Depth. Retrieved June 25, 2025.
  12. ↑ Allenson, Kody. "Jilly Shimkin Joins Tampa Bay Sun Football Club". Tampa Bay Sun FC.
  13. ↑ "Brooklyn FC 2–1 Tampa Bay Sun FC". USL Super League. August 23, 2025. Retrieved August 24, 2025.
  14. ↑ "Sunset Report: Tampa Bay Sun FC Claimed Hard-Earned Win Last Night Against DC Power FC, 2-0". Tampa Bay Sun FC. March 27, 2026. Retrieved May 25, 2026.
  15. ↑ Tampa Bay Sun FC [@tampabaysunfc]; (June 12, 2026). "23 appearances in her first pro season! Thank you, Jilly, for your time in Tampa Bay. ☀️". Retrieved June 13, 2026 – via Instagram.
  16. ↑ "Brooklyn FC Women add more Super League experience with New York native Jilly Shimkin". Brooklyn FC. August 5, 2026. Retrieved August 5, 2026.
  17. ↑ Sharma, Justin (August 15, 2026). "Brooklyn Falls 3-0 to Lexington SC in Gainbridge Super League Opener". Brooklyn FC. Retrieved August 16, 2026.
  18. 1 2 Gehlich, Clare; Offner, Daniel (June 25, 2023). "Women's soccer star Jilly Shimkin of Rockville Centre rises to the top". Long Island Herald. Retrieved February 19, 2025.
  19. ↑ "Under-16 GNT Downs Croatia 4-0 to Open Tournament in Belgium". United States Soccer Federation. May 12, 2017. Archived from the original on July 9, 2017.
    "Aidan McConnell plays for U15's as U15's beat Japan". Michigan Wolves Soccer Club. August 25, 2018. Retrieved February 19, 2025.
    "U-17 WNT Opens UEFA Development Tournament in Portugal with 4-0 Victory Against Mexico". United States Soccer Federation. May 14, 2019. Retrieved February 19, 2025.