LARAMIE – Kyla Wilde has rediscovered her love of the game.
 
The Wyoming senior is finally healthy and happy to be the leader of the 2024-25 women's golf team, which begins the season on Monday competing in the Leadership & Golf Invitational at Chambers Bay GC in Seattle.
 
Wilde had UW's second-best stroke average and the best individual finish for the Cowgirls as a freshman before dealing with Achilles tendon and hip injuries that required multiple surgeries that temporarily buried her career into the bunker.
 
"Coming back from that has given me a lot of confidence, and I'm so much more grateful for golf," Wilde said. "I love it again and I truly have so much fun out there now. I don't think I would be as grateful for it if I hadn't had those two injuries and hadn't had to work to come back."
 
UW head coach Josey Stender will lean on Wilde and fellow senior Meghan Vogt to mentor a talented young lineup.
 
Junior Sophie Spiva of Casper, sophomore Samantha Spielman of Sheridan and freshman Lucia Morelli of Mercer Island, Wash., are also competing for the Cowgirls in the loaded field at Chambers Bay, site of the 2015 men's U.S. Open.
 
"She has battled through a lot of adversity," Stender said of Wilde. "That has been neat to see her show how you can come out on the other side of it and to see her evolve as a leader. You always like your best player to be a strong, positive leader and culture builder. She has definitely taken that very seriously, and I'm just super excited for her this year.
 
"Kyla has a lot of high goals and if she can just kind of manage her body, I think she'll do well."
 
Wilde, who is from Phoenix, was part of the 2020 high school national championship team. Her father, Charlie, was the head coach at Pinnacle High, which captured the title on the famous Pinehurst Country Club course in North Carolina.
 
The confidence from the run bled into Wilde's fast start wearing brown and gold.
 
"Having my dad as my coach at the time made it that much more special," Wilde said. "We won that together, which was really cool. I'm still best friends with all the girls that were on that team.
 
"I think it really prepared me for college as well with pressure situations and just having the confidence and bringing it into college. That was a really huge moment for me, and I remind myself of it often."
 
Wilde wasn't sure about considering UW during the recruiting process, but Stender convinced her to make the trip from the desert to 7,220 feet with an open mind.
 
"I was a little bit hesitant to come on my visit because it's so different than Arizona," Wilde said. "It wasn't something I had on my radar, but I came up here and I loved it so much that I came back with my dad so he could see it too. My whole family loved it, I loved it, and it ended up being the perfect fit."
 
Wilde played through pain as a freshman and again during five events as a sophomore before having her spring season wiped out another injury. She had three consecutive top 25 finishes before surgery.
 
As a junior, Wilde posted two more top 25 finishes and fought through 11 events, including a 26^th-place finish at the Mountain West championships.
 
"She has been a consistent staple within the lineup when she's healthy and that's difficult to do in such a fluid game," Stender said. "Off the golf course she is such a tremendous teammate, she has such a positive outlook, and I think a lot of that derives from her parents."
 
Wilde earned her undergraduate degree in three years and is currently working on her MBA. She is also focused on playing her best golf as a senior after physical setbacks and long recoveries took the fun out of the game for a couple years.
 
"I have a lot of gratitude for the game and Coach and my teammates now," Wilde said. "I don't regret (the injuries). I think it made me a lot tougher."
 
If you are interested in learning more about NIL (Name, Image and Likeness) or would like to support our student-athletes, please visit 1wyo.org. 1WYO was created out of Wyoming's culture of neighbor helping neighbor. The mission is to promote and strengthen local charitable organizations and develop Wyoming student athletes. 
 
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