Chyna Taylor Is the 2025 SportsKid of the Year

It would be easy to look at hockey phenom Chyna Taylor’s résumé and assume she was SportsKid of the Year material from the start. In 2024, when she was just 15 years old, Chyna was the youngest player on the U-18 national team. It made her the first person from Kentucky to ever play at the national level in men’s or women’s hockey. And at the world championships in 2025, she was named best player for her team when the U.S. took home silver against Canada.

On a more local level, she also excels. At Lovell Academy in Massachusetts, where Chyna lives and trains, she holds both the boys and girls records for most goals, assists, and points by a defenseman. She had 110 points last year, a total she passed by mid-December this season.

Last summer, Chyna committed to playing for the University of Wisconsin. It’s one of the best programs in the country, and the school she wanted most of all, but before she could say yes she had to take a few calls. On June 15, the day when universities were officially allowed to contact players, 30 programs called expressing interest. The phone started ringing just after midnight.

“She’s the best in the country,” says Chyna’s coach at Lovell Academy, Caitrin Lonergan. Like any good mentor and coach, Lonergan puts that into a healthy perspective. “But she wasn’t always.” 

Chyna grew up playing hockey in Louisville on coed teams and was known for being a great skater, with good edge work and an incredible feel for the ice. Those were things she picked up through figure skating, which she started at age 4. “I only skated for a year because I thought it was kind of boring,” Chyna says. “I was more of a competitive player, not so into individual sports.”

It helped produce outstanding skating, but her hockey game was underdeveloped. “We recruited her last,” Lonergan says about Chyna’s incoming class at Lovell. 

At 12 years old, the new recruit was good enough for the team, but just barely. Lonergan says it was Chyna’s athleticism that stood out. “It was off the charts,” she says. “I remember talking to [academy] owner, Tim Lovell, and saying, ‘This kid has a 27-inch vertical jump.’ When Kacey Bellamy was on the Olympic team, she had a 27-inch vertical jump. That number was unheard of, especially for a 12-year-old girl.”

Chyna started on the third team as a defenseman who didn’t see a lot of time on the ice. And then, Lonergan says, “She started to explode.” Over the next two years at Lovell, Chyna’s game elevated. By the time she was 14, her team was the best in the country. And Chyna was the best on the team. “A lot of kids come here with expectations to become like Chyna, but she’s the one who did it,” says Lonergan.

Kentucky isn’t known for turning out star hockey players, and Chyna certainly stands out in a sport that is predominantly white. When she spends time at home in Louisville, she says it’s incredible to see the support. Scholarships from groups like the Black Girl Hockey Club and Black Bear Youth Hockey Foundation also highlight her community’s pride and belief in what she can do. Only three Black women currently play in the Professional Women’s Hockey League, making Chyna’s visible excellence all the more important as the sport strives to become more inclusive. 

As she steps into bigger roles and the pressure builds, Chyna’s love for the game helps tune out the noise. “I definitely understand the big moments,” she says, “but I just try to stay calm about it. Because it really is just fun.” Lonergan says the kid has ice in her veins: “Chyna is so calm under pressure–she never cracks. She’s just a cool kid.” Very cool. Lonergan cites a recent example: “We had the state tournament, Chyna led our team in goals, assists, and points. She’s become a true offensive defenseman. When we needed a goal in the semifinal, who gets the breakaway? Chyna does. And she scores the goal.”

With a trip to the world championships just around the corner, the U-18 star can add SportsKid of the Year to her growing list of achievements. Chyna says, “I always loved hockey, but I never expected any of this.”

Chyna is a quiet kid who loves her friends and spends her free time doing what many girls her age love to do: Taking trips to Target. But she is laser-focused about achieving her long-term goals. She may not have anticipated ever being this good, but now she has her sights set on the biggest goal of all. Chyna says, “I want to be an Olympian.”