YOUTH SOCCER: Rising the Charts: Nationals sophomore standout Lily Jeakle lifting her game to new heights
- Jonathan Turner
- Apr 24, 2025
- 8 min read
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LAKE ORION, Mich. – In her household, Lily Jeakle’s family can get a little bit competitive.
After all, everyone has a background in athletics – mainly soccer.
“So both of my parents, mom and dad, played high school soccer, and my dad played club as well. It has always been part of my family,” said Jeakle during a recent interview with the NSN staff. “They started my brother off (at soccer) and he was young and I just kind of followed along and started playing in the back yard and eventually in little (recreational) leagues and then club soccer.
“There’s been some battles in our backyard,” added Jeakle.
Lily Jeakle’s father, Jake Jeakle, starred for Warren De Salle High School and Detroit Sports Club 1924 in club soccer back in the early 1990s, even playing on some state championship teams with De La Salle in 1992 and 1993. Her mom Jenny Jeakle played competitively at Royal Oak Kimball High School in the 1990s as well.
Even her older brother Will Jeakle competed for Lake Orion High School’s soccer program the last four years, including the last two on varsity where he helped the Dragons win an Oakland Activities Association White Division championship and reach the Division 1 district finals last fall as a senior.
With all of the discussions at the dinner table or living room and backyard battles that have taken place at her residence, the youngest Jeakle may have a few legs up on her family members.
Lily Jeakle may be the most talented of them all. She is uber talented – and extremely highly-rated for her age group.
Recently turning just 16 years of age, the Lake Orion High School sophomore has risen the charts at a youth level and has added more to her soccer resume over the last 3-4 years than most do in their lives. And she still has a little bit more than two years of going to high school before heading off to college.
The versatile Jeakle, who plays with the Nationals SC Girls Academy 08 Blue in the ECNL (Elite Clubs National League), plays a lot of different positions, including forward, attacking center midfielder, outside midfielder and even right outside back. Simply, wherever a certain coach needs her to play, she will take on that role.
Coach David Robertson, who has worked with Lily Jeakle since she was in middle school with the Nationals Girls Academy, sees a hard-working and gifted player who simply keeps getting better and better with age.
“Lily is a player who has grown by leaps and bounds year after year, and it is no wonder that she is regarded by so many as one of the top prospects in the United States in the 2027 graduating class,” said Robertson. “As a Nationals lifer, we have had the unique vantage point of seeing her and her family buy into the hard work, dedication, and commitment to not just her individual growth but to that of her growth within a top team and program.”
With the millions of young kids now playing the sport in the U.S., Lily Jeakle is in some elite company as a top 25 prospect in her age group. In February, Jeakle had the pleasure of attending the U-17 U.S. Soccer Youth National Team Camp that took place in West Palm Beach, Florida, from February 18-25. She also attended a national team camp two years ago.
As a top-flight prospect, Jeakle said there is some additional pressure to perform, but it’s a welcomed challenge nevertheless.
“A little bit of both,” she said. “It’s awesome to be considered one of the top 25. But there is definitely stress coming with that. Having to get better and having to stay at it. To get better (to try to reach) the top 10.
“The first time I got called into (USYNT camp) was around two years ago and that was an awesome experience. I’d never experienced anything like that,” said Jeakle. “I didn’t get called back in for a while, and I don’t know what words to say, but I had to take a few steps back, get myself together so I could keep going forward. I just got called back in like a month and a half ago maybe, which was (incredible). That was kind of like getting the accomplishment that I’ve been working towards. I don’t know how to describe it – playing against some of the best people in the country and you’re constantly pushing each other, constantly developing and you're learning so many things.”
The mental approach to the game, no matter the sport, can be some of the most challenging, especially at the highest levels.
“My first two days in the camp a lot of the girls had been there before and you could tell they understood the answers to all of the questions and they knew the tactics, what was going on and it took me a few minutes to catch up to them,” recalled Jeakle. “So when you're mentally prepared – it’s the biggest part of getting through the mental battles so you can get through the physical ones.”
But then playing the game is almost like second nature for Lily Jeakle.
“The good news is that I’ve had some good friends who have been at these camps and I can talk to them,” she added. “So I don’t feel so alone because I know some girls there.”
Her Nationals SC club team played in the Girls Academy from her seventh grade through freshman years before making the switch up to the ECNL for the 2024-25 season. The ECNL has proven to be the highest level of youth club soccer for middle and high school-aged girls and Jeakle welcomed the switch.
She does not currently play high school soccer for Lake Orion, even though her school and classmates won a Division 1 district championship last season. Student-athletes in Michigan are not allowed to play the same high school sport and the same club sport at the same time per the MHSAA rules. (An athlete could not play high-level AAU basketball and high school varsity basketball in the same season, or the same analogy applies with any sport for that matter.)
Instead, the 5-foot-4, 120-pound, lightning-quick Jeakle plays nearly year-round with Nationals, where she has earned multiple postseason and all-tournament honors in her career. She did take home the Girls Academy Golden Ball in 2022 and the Girls Academy Golden Boot in 2023 amongst her noteworthy accolades.
Now playing in the ECNL, Jeakle and her teammates get to play more rivalry games with other Michigan-based clubs and consistently play better competition – something that Jeakle relishes.
“We play a lot more local teams. We play the (Michigan) Hawks which we didn’t play in the (Girls Academy) the last four years, which is awesome. That is nice to add them to our best competition, “ noted Jeakle. “They won a national championship a few years ago. The biggest switch would be the competition. You had some great teams in GA and some great teams in ECNL. The physical aspects of ECNL are a lot greater than GA. So that is the biggest challenge for our team. We were always more athletic in GA and now (it is not always the case). We have to be physically there as well.”
Jeakle has had some experience the last couple of years attending a wide variety of high-level tournaments, games, showcases and ID camps and will be a highly-sought after college recruit once NCAA Division I college coaches can open up communications with juniors-to-be after June 15 of this year. She would love to play college and professional soccer one day but is looking forward to the recruiting process which will begin in earnest in a couple of months.
Although anticipated that she will play collegiately at a Power 4 Conference national powerhouse program, Jeakle never stops working and taking on challenges, even if it takes her out of her comfort zone of just training and playing with Nationals. She wants to get better and keep climbing the charts.
The summer after her eighth grade year in Lake Orion, Jeakle gained some valuable game experience playing with Detroit City FC in the USL W League – a league of mostly college players or recent college graduates looking to play at a high level during the late spring and summer months. Jeakle did so at the young age of 14.
Jeakle rejoined Detroit City FC last May and was one of around 35 rostered players that contributed to DCFC’s run to both the USL W League Great Lakes Division and Central Conference championships and helped that club reach the Final Four last July.
She will again retain her roster spot this summer on that DCFC team to get accustomed to playing not only with older and more seasoned players but with players that she does not know well or know at all. That scenario will happen once she gets to college in a little more than two years as well. This decision also comes at a time where a lot of former Nationals SC players will be playing for Union FC Macomb which will train up in Oakland and Macomb counties.
“Obviously I love Nationals and I know the coach there as well. I know his style of play and I know a bunch of the girls. It was definitely a challenge to choose which (team),” said Jeakle. “I know some of the players (at DCFC) but it’s kind of out of my comfort zone at DCFC which I think is very important, especially going into college (in two years) where I won’t have my best friend right there with me to hold your hand. Playing for DCFC (I’ll be) playing with girls that I’m not familiar with (which) is a challenge for me.”
While there are many more chapters to be written in Lily Jeakle’s journey, one thing is for certain. Her upside is through the roof and she has only just scratched the surface of her ability.
“I have no doubt that Lily’s future in the game is bright,” added Robertson. “She will make everyone around her proud as she continues to work relentlessly to pursue her dreams, and help those around her also accomplish theirs."
As for her rivalry with her brother and parents? That will always be there.
“Me and my brother get at it a lot between each other with who is faster or better. He thinks he is and I think I am,” laughed Jeakle. “And my dad likes to think he was better than both of us. It’s always back and forth between (all) of us.”
Perhaps one day Lily Jeakle will clearly be known as the best in her family. She’s well on her way.
fident we are poised to continue making a significant impact in women's sports and our community.”
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