The following story is from the Spring 2025 edition of the "Roar Report" that came out April 3. It is authored by Gary D'Amato, the former longtime sportswriter and columnist for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, who joined the staff as the feature writer for the Roar Report in the Fall of 2018.

ROLLING WITH ROLLINS
 
Speed, an asset in any sport, is embedded in the Rollins family DNA.
 
Fabian Rollins represented Barbados in the 400 meters and the 4x100 relay at the 2000 Olympic Games. His oldest daughter Kayla Rollins is a fleet-footed forward on Milwaukee's women's soccer team. Middle daughter Maya is a sprinter on the University of Virginia track team and youngest daughter Olivia plays field hockey in high school.
 
"Maya runs the short hurdles and she's killing it," Kayla said. "Olivia is doing field hockey and she's really good. We all get our speed from our dad."
 
Speed alone, though, doesn't put the ball in the net, and Kayla, a senior from Ann Arbor, Mich., has combined her foot speed with athleticism and creativity to become one of the most prolific scorers in the history of Milwaukee's women's soccer program.
 
Last fall, she scored 18 goals, the most by a Panther in more than a decade and just two behind NCAA Division I leader Kate Faasse of North Carolina. Rollins had seven game-winners, scored 12 goals over her final eight games and finished with 39 points en route to repeating as Horizon League Offensive Player of the Year.
 
She led Milwaukee to a 12-7-2 overall record (9-0-1 conference) and was named Third Team Best XI All-American by Top Drawer Soccer, becoming the first Panther to earn All-American honors since Elaina LaMacchia in 2021.
 
"Kayla is an exceptional athlete with added soccer skills and creativity — a perfect blend for a forward," said Panthers coach Kevin Boyd. "She caused significant problems for opponents and created chances for us to score. … What is special is even against planned defenses to stop Kayla, she still scored goals, which is the greatest compliment to her attacking prowess."
 
As noted earlier, Rollins grew up in an athletic family and didn't limit herself to soccer. She played basketball and volleyball in high school, dabbled in tennis and medaled in the javelin at the AAU Junior Olympics, earning All-American honors.
 
"I love having multi-sport athletes, as they have a better sense of movement and reading of situations," Boyd said. "This certainly has enhanced Kayla's game."
 
Rollins was recruited by Troy Fabiano, who preceded Boyd as the Panthers' coach. She played her first season for Fabiano, coming off the bench and scoring six points on two goals and two assists.
 
"I worked hard to show what I can do and help out wherever I could," she said. "Coming off the bench, it was, OK, here's my impact: I have fresh legs, let me help out the best I can."

Under Boyd, Rollins' game blossomed. As a sophomore, she led the team and the Horizon League with 20 points, including a conference-leading nine goals. Her upward trajectory continued as a junior, when she scored a team-high 29 points on 12 goals and a pair of assists.
 
"By her fourth year, opponents had to commit attention and resources to stopping Kayla, which opened opportunities for us to attack through other players and areas," Boyd said.
 
Rollins saved her best for last, scoring three goals in Milwaukee's 7-0 victory over Robert Morris in the conference semifinals and both goals in the Panthers' 2-1 victory over Northern Kentucky in the 2024 final.
 
"It was amazing," she said. "The opportunity that we gave ourselves to get back to that championship game was amazing. Being able to take those opportunities and finishing them was so satisfying."
 
The Panthers' season ended with a 5-1 loss to Notre Dame in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
 
"It does still hurt a little bit," Rollins said, "but they're a great team."
 
She is on track to graduate in May, so what's next? A criminal justice major, she is interning with the Oak Creek Police Department.
 
"I'm doing ride-alongs with them, which is really cool," she said. "So potentially, maybe I'll be a police officer. But right now, I'm focused on playing pro soccer. That's been a dream of mine. So I'm kind of putting everything into that right now."
 
Boyd has no doubt she'll make it.
 
"Absolutely, she is ready for the professional game," he said. "She has both the athleticism and skill to play at the next level. Add to that her ability to play on both sides of the ball and she will be a huge add to whichever team signs her."
 
Patrick Murphy of California-based Equity Soccer is Rollins' agent. He is lining up opportunities for her to work out with several USL Super League teams. Their interest level in her is high, he added, because she puts the ball in the net.
 
"She's a very dynamic scorer," Murphy said. "Everybody loves scoring and everybody is in need of scoring, right? In doing my due diligence on her, she's got a great work ethic. She's got a love and passion for the sport.
 
"But at the end of the day she's a very dynamic scorer, and scoring 18 goals in one season is a pretty incredible feat. In my dealings with teams, everybody is looking for scorers. Their big issue is finishing in the final third, and that's something she has proven she can do.
 
"Her prowess definitely sets her apart from others. You can't win games 0-0, right?"