Maggie Illig

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Maggie Illig
Texas vs MSU - NCAA 2024 - 038 (Illig).jpg
Illig with Michigan State in 2024
Personal information
Date of birth (2004-03-01) March 1, 2004 (age 21) [1]
Height 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m)
Position Center back
Team information
Current team
 Sporting JAX
Number 21
Youth career
Sporting St. Louis
2018–2021 Troy Buchanan Trojans
College career
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
2022–2025 Michigan State Spartans 81 (6)
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
2026– Sporting JAX 1 (0)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of January 31, 2026

Maggie Illig (born March 1, 2004) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a center back for USL Super League club Sporting JAX. She played college soccer for the Michigan State Spartans, earning third-team All-American honors in 2025.

Contents

Early life

Illig grew up in Troy, Missouri, the youngest of four children born to Tamara and Ned Illig. [2] She attended Troy Buchanan High School, where she was named all-state after scoring 23 goals with 10 assists in her senior year. [3] She also played four years of varsity basketball in high school. [2] She played GA club soccer for Sporting St. Louis, where she won four consecutive Missouri State Cup titles. [4] She originally committed to play college soccer for the NCAA Division II–level Grand Valley State Lakers, but after their head coach Jeff Hosler moved to the Michigan State Spartans, she re-committed to play for him there in the NCAA Division I. [4]

College career

Illig played in 15 games primarily as a substitute and scored 1 goal for the Michigan State Spartans as a freshman in 2022. [2] She helped the Spartans win the Big Ten Conference regular-season title and reach the Big Ten tournament final. [2] Having been recruited as a forward, she moved to center back as a sophomore in 2023, becoming a starter in the new position. [5] She tripled her minutes played in 19 games and scored 1 goal that season as the Spartans defended their conference title and reached the NCAA tournament third round for the first time. [2]

Illig played in 22 games and scored 1 goal with 2 assists in her junior year in 2024, earning second-team All-Big Ten honors. [2] She led the team in field minutes played as they again made the NCAA tournament third round. [2] In her senior year in 2025, she started all 25 games and scored 3 goals as she led the Spartans to runner-up finishes for the Big Ten regular-season and tournament titles. [2] The team earned a program best two seed in the NCAA tournament and reached the quarterfinals for the first time. [6] Illig was named first-team All-Big Ten and third-team All-American as the heart of the Spartans defense. [6]

Club career

On January 28, 2026, Illig signed her first professional contract with USL Super League club Sporting JAX, reuniting with former Spartans teammates Kaitlyn Parks and Meg Hughes. [7] She made her professional debut three days later as a second-half substitute for Kacey Smekrud in a 1–0 win over the Carolina Ascent. [8]

Honors and awards

Michigan State Spartans

Individual

References

  1. ↑ Uptain, Greg (March 1, 2022). "Birthday girl Illig leads Troy past Fort Zumwalt South and into fifth straight district final" . St. Louis Post-Dispatch . Retrieved January 28, 2026.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Maggie Illig". Michigan State Spartans . Retrieved January 28, 2026.
  3. ↑ Overbey, Steve (July 18, 2022). "M: Maggie Illig, senior, Troy Buchanan" . St. Louis Post-Dispatch . Retrieved January 28, 2026.
  4. 1 2 Overbey, Steve (November 10, 2021). "Troy's Illig ready to make jump to Michigan State" . St. Louis Post-Dispatch . Retrieved January 28, 2026.
  5. ↑ "Michigan State women's soccer inks eight on National Signing Day". SoccerWire. October 10, 2021. Retrieved January 28, 2026.
    Oszust, Owen (November 1, 2024). "Seven MSU women's soccer players named to All-Big Ten Teams". WILX-TV . Retrieved January 28, 2026.
  6. 1 2 Henry, Genevieve (December 11, 2025). "No. 7 MSU women's soccer reaches new heights as its season ends". The State News . Retrieved January 28, 2026.
  7. ↑ Henry, Genevieve (January 28, 2026). "MSU women's soccer's Maggie Illig signs with Sporting Jax". The State News . Retrieved January 28, 2026.
  8. ↑ Maggie Illig at Flashscore OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
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