When we talk about soccer, the most famous players are mostly male. However, the world has some exceptional female soccer players, and Kealia Ohai is one of them.
Kealia Ohai is an American professional soccer athlete who is currently signed with the Chicago Stars of the NWSL.
With her remarkable skills and fast pace, she has played a significant role in winning the 2012 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup. She has many incredible award honors under her name throughout her journey.
Furthermore, let’s dive into the life of this enthusiastic, gifted, and beautiful soccer athlete. Here, we will be providing you with all the details about her early life, education, prospering career, net worth, and her famous athlete husband.
Before we leap in, let’s look into some quick facts first.
Kealia Ohai | Quick Facts
| Full Name | Kealia Ohai Watt |
| Birth Date | January 31st, 1992 |
| Birth Place | Draper, Utah |
| Age | 32 years old |
| Nickname | Not Available |
| Religion | Not Available |
| Nationality | American |
| Ethnicity | White |
| Education | The University of North Carolina (UNC), Alta High School |
| Horoscope | Aquarius |
| Father’s Name | Ben Ohai |
| Mother’s Name | Cindy Ohai |
| Siblings | Megan Cushing |
| Height | 5 feet 5 inches (1.65 meters) |
| Weight | 60 kgs |
| Figure | Athletic |
| Shoe Size | Not Available |
| Hair Color | Blonde |
| Eye Color | Hazel |
| League | NWSL |
| Active Years | 2000- Present |
| Marital Status | Married |
| Spouse | J.J Watt |
| Children | None |
| Profession | Professional Soccer Player |
| Position | Midfielder, Forward |
| Former Team | Houston Dash |
| Net Worth | $1 million |
| Career Highlights & Awards | NCAA Women’s Soccer Championship- 2012
CONCACAF Women’s U-20 Championship- 2012 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup- 2012 |
| Social Media | Instagram, Twitter, Facebook |
| Merch | Books |
| Last Update | April, 2024 |
Kealia Ohai | Early Life, Family, & Education
NWSL player Kealia Ohai was born on January 31st, 1992, in Draper, Utah, to her proud parents Ben Ohai and Cindy Ohai.
According to the horoscope, Ohai is an Aquarius. The most common Aquarius traits are assertive, analytical, and independent. Without a doubt, Ohai possesses these traits. We can observe them throughout her career as a professional soccer athlete.
Age, Height, and Body Measurements
Nevertheless, Ohai is one of the most attractive soccer players out there. She has a beautiful smile and an impressive athletic figure.
Moreover, She is a gorgeous woman who stands at the height of 5’5” (1.65 m) and weighs 60 kgs. Also, Ohai has pretty hazel eyes, blonde hair, and sharp facial features.
Education
As for her education, Ohai attended Alta High School, located in Sandy, Utah, and graduated in June 2010. She was a varsity soccer player at her school for four years. She was very passionate about soccer and indeed flourished in her career as a professional soccer player.
Likewise, for college, Kealia attended the University of North Carolina, where she played for the college soccer team North Carolina Tar Heels.
Kealia Ohai | Career and Profession
High School Career
As a four-year varsity soccer athlete at her school, Alta High. Henceforth, the school team participated in the state soccer championship, winning the tournament four times in a row from 2006 to 2009.
With her exceptional soccer talent, Ohai won many titles and honors from 2006 to 2009 during her high school playing career.
She was three-time 5A soccer Most Valuable Player, a three-time first-team high school All-America, three-time All-State selection, and last but not the least two-time Gatorade state player of the year.
Furthermore, In 2010 she won the title 2010 NSCAA National High School Player of the Year and Parade All-American honors.
Apart from playing for her school team Ohai also played soccer for a competitive soccer club of Utah called the Utah Avalanche, a non-profit organization dedicated to excellence in the growth of competitive youth soccer players.
While playing club soccer for the Utah Avalanche, Ohai won a total of four state titles. Kealia indeed had remarkable milestones set for her future career.
College Career
With her tremendous honors, Ohai attended the University of North Carolina and played for the college team North Carolina Tar Heels from 2010 to 2013. She arose as one of the top goal scorers.
Ohai started strong from the very first year she played with the Tar Heels as a freshman. She received the honors of the First-Team All-Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) and ACC All-Freshman Team. During the tournament, she started 22 of the total team’s games of 24 and scored 14 goals altogether.
Additionally, during her sophomore year, Ohai started in all of the 20 games she played in the tournament, where she scored a term high of three game-winning goals and served six assists. Also, she scored a total of six goals in the game.
During the 2012 NCAA Divison Women’s Soccer Championship, Ohai scored the semi-finals’ game-winning goal during overtime. Her incredible performance won her the title of Tournament’s Most Outstanding Offensive Player.
In 2013, Ohai was selected by the UNC Tar Heels as the 2013 Senior CLASS Award winner in NCAA Division I Women’s Soccer, an award given annually to the most outstanding senior student-athlete in Division I women’s soccer team.
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Professional Career
Houston Dash
Kealia Ohai, known for her excellent speed and competitive mindset, was selected as the second overall pick by the Houston Dash in the 2014 NWSL College Draft. She was the expansion team’s very first college draft pick.
During Ohai’s draft selection, Dash head coach Randy Waldrum stated, “I couldn’t have asked for things to fall into place so well. It is an amazing day for the Houston Dash. Starting with the selection of Ohai, we got one of the nation’s best forwards. She has great pace, is extremely athletic, and can stretch defenses with her speed.”
With her excellent skills, Ohai soon became the club’s captain midway in the 2016 season, which corresponded with a scoring streak that saw her 11 goals in 10 games. She won the title NWSL Player of the Week for weeks fifteen and seventeen of the season.
Ohai finished the season tied with Lynn Williams for the golden boot, where Williams received the award as she had more assists than Ohai. Kealia was the 2016 NWSL Best XI of the season.
During season 2017, Ohai scored two goals in ten games before getting an injury where she tore her ACL on June 24th in a game against the Orlando Pride. Her injury forced her to miss the rest of the 2017 season.
However, Ohai returned to play on April 22nd, 2018, against the Orlando Pride. During the 2018 season, she appeared in a total of nineteen games and scored five goals.
Chicago Red Stars
The Houston Dash traded Kealia Ohai to the Chicago Red Stars in exchange for Katie Naughton on January 6th, 2020.
Furthermore, on February 29th, 2020, Ohai served as the Grand Marshal for the Downtown Rodeo Parade. CEO of Houston Dash thanked Ohai for her outstanding leadership for the Houston Dash. They mentioned that it was an honor to have her leading the Downtown Rodeo Parade.
Today, Ohai’s contract with the Chicago Red Stars is worth $6,50,000 and she is expected to have an annual average salary of $52,500.
National Team Career
Kealia Ohai was a member of the U.S youth national programs since the age of thirteen. She has played with the under-15 team, under-17 team, under-18 team, under-20, and lastly, the under-23 team.
Ohai was a member of the 2012 US U-20 Women’s National team for the 2012 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup, where she scored the game-winning goal in the final 44 minutes that led the U.S. towards victory against Germany.
Kealia made her international debut with the senior team of the United States Women’s National Soccer Team (USWNT) on October 23rd, 2016, against Switzerland in a friendly match held in Minneapolis.
During the friendly match, Ohai scored 48 seconds after entering the game as a substitute in the 81st minute. Her remarkable score set a record for the fastest goal in a US women’s national team debut.
In 2016, many were sure that Ohai would land on the U.S. national team for the World Cup and Olympics. However, she couldn’t make it.
Later, Ohai received a call-up during July 2018 to the team’s training camp for the 2018 Tournament of Nations, her first call-up since injuring her knee in 2017 while playing against the Orlando Pride. However, Ohai did not make it to the final roster for the tournament.
General Facts
Back then in 2018, she faced a grade 3 ACL sprain and medial meniscus tear on her left knee during the NWSL games. They confirmed the case through an MRI scan the same night and she was on the injured list for the remaining days.
Following it, the injury sent her months in surgeries, rehab, and regeneration. As Ohai herself explained, it was the worst part of her life.
Apart from it, Kealia Ohai suffers from rare astigmatisms and is legally blind in her right eye. To illustrate, she only sees through her left eye with the assist of the corrective lens or contact lens.
As a matter of fact, she has been struggling with it since her early days.
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Kealia Ohai | Salary and Net Worth
As a National soccer player for the United States, Ohai’s entitled salary is $37,800, significantly less than that of men’s national players. As a result, her net worth is likely to be lesser than that of the top male soccer athletes.
The payment is also not fair enough while concerning the prize of FIFA. The total worth of the Women’s World Cup 2019’s award valued was only $30 million, whereas the total prize value for the 2018 men’s World Cup football was $400 million.
Reportedly, NWSL pays $265,000 as a salary to female soccer players. The accurate details regarding Ohai’s salary and net worth are still under wraps. Moreover, she has endorsement deals with various famous companies like Puma, Blink Fitness, etc.
So, it can be estimated that Kealia Ohai’s Net Worth falls around $1 million.
Kealia Ohai | Husband
Beautiful soccer star Kealia Ohai is married to J.J Watt, a professional American football athlete of the National Football League (NFL). The couple dated for nearly about five years before they got married.
They kept the relationship a secret from the public eye until October 2018. Ohai confirmed their years-long relationship on the 2 Up Front Podcast.
Ohai and J.J Watt got engaged on May 26th, 2019, and finally tied the knot in February 2020 in the Bahamas.
Back when Watt proposed Ohai, he had loads of surprises for her under the sleeve. After the romantic proposal, he flew to Houston alongside his family and friends to celebrate their news together.
Also, their wedding was at the end of Valentine’s week at The Ocean Club, a Four Seasons Resort, in the Bahamas.
Right then, Ohai was adorned in a beaded Berta dress with dainty bedazzled straps and an elegant train. She paired her dress with Christian Louboutin’s shoes and jewelry from Emily Sole Growney.
In the meantime, Watt wore a light-colored suit with a flower on his lapel. Altogether, their wedding was planned by Piper Hatfield of Piper & Muse.
Additionally, their wedding location was filled with wildflowers and large chandeliers.
Kealia Ohai | Social Media Presence
Ohai is quite active on all her social media platforms.
She has around 346k followers on Instagram. She usually posts about various moments with her family and snippets of her gamedays.
On Twitter, Ohai has around 72.2k followers.
She is moderately active on Facebook and has around 4k followers.
Interesting Facts about Kealia Ohai
- Kealia Ohai is sightless in one eye as she was diagnosed with severe astigmatism in her right eye when she was only six years old. In her early school years, she was used to wearing a patch over her left eye with the faith that her right eye will regain strength again. However, it never happened.
- Kealia Ohai had the remarkable talent to score goals early when she was only three years old. As a toddler, she started playing pee-wee soccer.
Kealia Ohai | FAQs
How do you pronounce Kealia and what does it mean?
Kealia is pronounced as Kay-LEE-uh. If we go through the geographical meanings, it literally means “the salt encrustation” in Hawaiian. As for her name, she is named after Kealia Beach in Hawaii, which her father is familiar with.
