Player: Kaleiya Romero
University: Pepperdine
Area of Study: Psychology
Expected Graduation: 2024
Soldier Honored: David Roger Lee Staats
PEPPERDINE 2020-21: Received All-WCC first team honors as a freshman ... Was in the lineup for all seven tournaments and 20 rounds ... Averaged 76.00 strokes ... Tied for second at the WCC Championships (75-75-72=222) ... Took third place at the Dick McGuire Invitational with a 4-under 212 (71-69-72) ... Tied for 24th at the NCAA Stanford Regional (74-67-75) ... Best round of the season was a 4-under 67 at Stanford ... A WGCA All-American Scholar ... Earned WCC Commissioner’s Honor Roll “silver” honors ... A Pepperdine-Scholar Athlete.
JUNIOR/AMATEUR GOLF: A 2019 AJGA All-American honorable mention selection and a 2018 AJGA Junior All-Star Team pick ... Ranked as high as ninth by Golfweek/Sagarin (first in the class of 2020), 12th on the Junior Golf Scoreboard (second in the class of 2020) and 22nd by the AJGA ... Posted four AJGA victories and had five AJGA Invitational top-10 finishes ... A two-time NCGA/JGANC NorCal Players Champion ... Won nine times on the Junior Tour of Northern California ... Was the co-medalist in stroke play at the 2019 California Women’s Amateur.
HIGH SCHOOL: Graduated from California Connections Academy, an online school, in 2020 ... Attended Evergreen Valley High School, located in San Jose, Calif., in 2016-17 ... Played two years of high school golf and was the Blossom Valley Athletic League MVP as a freshman and sophomore ... Team won BVAL team titles both years.
PERSONAL: Majoring in communication studies ... Born in San Jose, Calif. ... Daughter of Rick Romero and Maricel Romero ... Has two siblings, Kyreece and Kiara ... Her father played baseball at UC Irvine and her grandfather, Lon Romero, played baseball at San Jose State ... Chose Pepperdine because “I believe that it has the perfect combination of quality academics and athletics that will allow me to achieve my goals of earning a meaningful degree and one day competing on the LPGA Tour. Pepperdine has an outstanding golf program, coaches and athletic facilities that will provide me with the opportunity to continue my progression as a student-athlete. I believe that Coach Laurie is the best coach to help me navigate my college experience and help me develop my game to have a successful college career. I also feel a real positive connection with the current members of the team and love how hardworking and dedicated everyone is. Pepperdine also has a beautiful campus and the students and faculty that I have met have all been so kind and generous with their time. This provides a great learning environment.”
FAVORITES: Enjoys playing baseball, tennis and basketball with her siblings, as well as photography and traveling ... Lists her sports hero as Kobe Bryant ... Favorites include Jordan Spieth (pro golfer), Liberty National (golf course), Seven Days in Utopia (book), Tangled (movie), Gossip Girl and The Vampire Diaries (TV show), Harry Styles (musical artist), spaghetti and smoothies (food) and baseball (sport other than golf) ... Favorite thing about golf is “how very challenging physically and mentally that it is. It requires you to stay focused for four to five hours. I also just love to compete and play in tournaments all over the country because it lets me see different parts of the U.S., play different courses and meet so many new people.”