Karim Diao has broken many barriers in his time at UCA.

Diao is one of eight seniors on the Bears soccer team this season. He plays an attacking midfielder position for the team. He transferred to UCA from Oral Roberts University to join the soccer program after his sophomore year. 

Diao can hardly recall when he first started playing soccer, but it feels like forever to him.

“I don’t know when exactly I started playing soccer, but as far as I can remember, I could barely walk when I was kicking a ball. But on a club team, I started at four years old,” Diao said.

His lifelong love for soccer has earned him some impressive stats and recognition from highly-respected organizations. 

Diao has started in all 14 games this season and so far has two goals and eight shots on goal. Last season, Diao was the Bears’ second-highest scorer with 13 points on the season.

In August, Diao was named to the 2022 Hermann Trophy Watch List. The Hermann Trophy is the nation’s highest individual honor recognizing the National Player of the Year in soccer. 

Despite being a senior, Diao doesn’t plan on ending his soccer career at UCA. 

“After graduating, I want to take soccer to the next level. I want to play pro soccer so I can pursue my passion and achieve my dreams,” Diao said. 

Diao said that he loves soccer because it challenges him.

“Soccer has taught me also to be relentless, never give up and always push myself in the hard moments because even in the toughest moments, when you’re tired and think that you can’t go, you still have a lot more to give,” Diao said.

He also shared that soccer is a way for him to represent not only himself but those who have helped him get to where he is today.

“It’s also a way for me to make my people proud because when I play soccer, I represent everybody that was involved in my life,” Diao said. 

Having transferred from another school, he said what drew him to choose UCA as his next step was Coach Frank Kohlenstein.

Diao said that Kohlenstein called him and explained his plans for the program, and that’s when he realized that UCA was the perfect fit for him.

“He was truthful and trustworthy,” Diao said about Kohlenstein.

Aside from thriving on the soccer field, Diao spends his time at UCA studying communication. Some of his other passions and hobbies include photography, fashion, sneakers, music and hanging out with his friends and teammates.

Diao’s major in communication has helped him learn English, as it isn’t his first language. He is originally from Bordeaux, France.

“It was a big cultural shock when I first came to America, even soccer wasn’t the same, so I had to learn quick and am still learning from examples,” Diao said. 

Regardless of the short time Diao has spent at UCA, he is still grateful for the experience and connections he has made as a Bear.

“I would like to thank my professors as an international student coming from France. Without knowing any English, they were willing to work with me and help me a lot to be where I am, about to graduate. I want to thank my teammates also for everything they did to make my experience here at UCA better. And I wanted to thank my coaches for their trust, and their daily support and pushing me to get better every day at practice,” Diao said.