Hallie Prinos-Grumbach stared at her phone after learning she had torn her ACL for the second time. She had already watched college coaches stop recruiting her and fall by the wayside. Now, she had to break the news to University of Idaho head coach Jeremy Clevenger, the one coach who still believed in her, knowing the conversation on the other end of that phone call could make or break her dreams of playing Division I soccer.
She may not be the flashy player who scores all the pretty goals, but no one has more heart and determination than the sophomore midfielder, who has gone through it all to achieve her dream of being a D1 college soccer player.
The best time of year had come for the midfielder: soccer season. Her senior season had finally arrived after Covid canceled her freshman season and an abrupt ACL tear ended her sophomore season. She was at the peak of her soccer career and getting back to playing the game she loves.
After a stellar junior season, however, a familiar fate would keep her on the sidelines. In the summer leading up to her senior season at Redmond High School, Prinos-Grumbach tore her other ACL, and her high school career was over in an instant.
“The mental part was the hardest,” Prinos-Grumbach said. “I had to take it day by day. And every time I could take the next step in PT, I tried to look forward to each of those throughout the time.”
After the injuries and with only one year of tape for college coaches, the schools that were interested stopped calling and reaching out, except one Clevenger who believed in her when no one else wanted to.
“I started talking to Idaho as well as other schools, and then I tore my second ACL,” Prinos-Grumbach said. “A lot of the teams were like, sorry, we needed to see you play more, it’s not going to work out, which was fine, I totally understood. Jeremy gave me a chance, and I had to call him and tell him that I tore my ACL again. He was super optimistic and still was willing to give me a chance, which I was grateful for. A week after that, I committed here, and ever since, I’ve been really happy.”
Ever since she has gotten to Idaho she has rewarded Clevenger’s faith in her on and off the field.
“Hallie is an amazing player. She has so much talent,” Clevenger said. “I got to know Hallie and watched her for a long time. She’s just a special player. She’s so good in technical ability, she’s smart, she helps us in a lot of different ways. Unfortunately, she got hurt, and sometimes that can derail some people’s recruitment. She was a player that was kind of a no-brainer for me. When she got hurt, I still knew what type of player she was, what type of person she was, and we’re very fortunate to have her on our team.”
The injuries may have derailed her high school career, but they couldn’t erase what she’d already proven. Prinos-Grumbach, a native of Redmond, Washington, had always played with higher competition. With her time at Crossfire Premier ECNL, she played a year up from her age with current teammates Izzy Thoma and KV Miller.
Competition and hard work were not new to Prinos-Grumbach. As she took the field as an Idaho Vandal, she brought that mentality every time she stepped on the field. With her no. 6 jersey always at the heart of the Vandal midfield, the connector of the team, her slick footwork and her passes that no one else can see have made, Prinos-Grumbach was a difference maker since she stepped under the lights at the P1FCU Kibbie Dome.
Before she was an impact player for the Vandals, she was learning how to be a college player. Coming in last season as a freshman, she got some playing time and was able to sit behind experienced players who helped her manage the transition, especially former midfielder Hannah Alfaro-Black, who Prinos-Grumbach has tried to model her game after.
“I was really grateful to get some playing time,” Prinos-Grumbach said. “What really helped me last year was having so many role models, especially Hannah. She was really a big role model for me, and I really wanted to play like her. So, I think having that my freshman year was really helpful for just learning all the stuff I needed to be successful for this team.”
Coming into this year, the Vandals had a lot of change with many players leaving. A lot of roles needed to be stepped into, and Prinos-Grumbach was ready for the challenge.
“Coming in this year, I knew I needed to have confidence and work my hardest,” she said. “Jeremy gave me a chance at starting, and ever since then, I’ve just been working. Nothing’s guaranteed. So, you know, I’ve just been continuing to keep working hard every day, just because you never know.”
Prinos-Grumbach has excelled on the field, and her style of play has fit what the Vandals needed. She has provided one goal and two assists so far, but on the field is not where she has seen the most growth it’s off the field and in the locker room where she has seen herself really shine.
“Off the field, I have really worked on becoming more of a leader, which then kind of translated to the field,” Prinos-Grumbach said.
“Losing so many of our older players, we definitely needed some leadership on the team, which we do have with our captains right now. But throughout all the classes and all that, our whole team honestly, everyone should be a leader.”
From the little girl from Redmond dreaming of being a college soccer player who battled through two difficult injuries that would have made most people quit, the drive and determination of accomplishing her goal is why every time she puts on her no. 6 jersey with Idaho across her chest, she plays for the girl who wouldn’t quit.
Through the months of rehab and the mental toll it took through two surgeries and countless hours of physical therapy, through the coach who believed in her when no one else did Prinos-Grumbach’s story isn’t done being told; it’s just beginning.
Jayden Barfuss can be reached at [email protected].