The last twelve months have been full of firsts for Mya Kearns. The Canonsburg, Pennsylvania born defender scored her first goal with Robert Morris University last November. A few months later, she’d get her first goal with the United States Women’s National Ball Hockey Team. Her pivotal goal helped Team USA beat Canada for the second time that tournament.
One thing that wasn’t new for Kearns was winning on the world stage. Kearns debuted for the senior team at the 2024 Women’s Ball Hockey World Championships, where Team USA won their first ever gold medal. With their second straight championship win in 2026, Kearns now has two gold medals at only 20 years old.
Team USA’s dominance is a fairly recent phenomenon. They went from never finishing on the podium to back-to-back World Champions within the last decade. A roster featuring players from a wide range of ages and backgrounds is responsible for the revitalization of the program.
The oldest player was Pam Bilger, a 48 year old legend of the sport who also played field hockey. Some are retired professional or semi-professional ice hockey players, such as Elena Orlando and Rachel Llanes. Others are currently playing post-collegiate ice hockey, like Brooklyn Schneiderhan. Kearns stood out as the youngest Team USA player and only player currently playing collegiate ice hockey.
Kearns spoke to The Ice Garden about her unique path to Team USA, balancing ball hockey and ice hockey, and winning Robert Morris University’s Unsung Hero Award.
THE ICE GARDEN:
You started playing ball hockey at fourteen as a goaltender. Do you mind talking a little bit about your journey from that point to becoming a national team player?
MYA KEARNS:
The reason was I wanted to play goalie on ice, and my parents told me no. My dad had played some ball hockey growing up, but up until that point, it was nothing that I had known about. And so they’re like, why don’t we try this, and you’ll still play goalie — it’s relatively similar. Then I ended up playing on some other youth teams in the Pittsburgh area as a player when I couldn’t play goalie. From there, it took off, kind of ended up getting picked up and made a name for myself.
My dad in 2024 got a call from one of his buddies who he knew through ball hockey, who was the general manager for the national team in 2024. He was asking if I was going to try out in Murraysville, PA. We had said no, I didn’t really know they were even here and didn’t hear much about it. I didn’t have any intentions at that point or knowledge about the U.S. team. He told my dad “just have her show up, I think she has a good shot where she’s at.” Even though I could only make one of the two trial days, I went, and apparently it was good enough. I ended up on the team in 2024, and they’ve wanted me sticking around ever since — I ended up making the team again this past summer.
THE ICE GARDEN:
It must have been nice the trials were so close to home in Pennsylvania as well.
MYA KEARNS:
Oh, yeah. I feel like if they weren’t here in 2024, it probably wouldn’t have gone the way it has. So I think that was definitely a big factor.
THE ICE GARDEN:
In the past, you had played with the USA ball hockey U20 team. How did it feel to get the call for the senior program?
MYA KEARNS:
It was honestly amazing. I had gone into the tryouts with no expectations really. I was 17 at the time and didn’t really know a lot of the ball hockey community, besides some of the younger girls who I’d played with. So that was exhilarating, to get a call from a national team organization. There’s a lot of appreciation and respect for that — doing that was a big thing of honor.
THE ICE GARDEN: A lot of players on the roster have been with Team USA for a long time and played pro or semi-pro ice hockey. How have those players impacted your career?
MYA KEARNS:
I think they’ve taught me a lot from their own experiences. They’ve brought in experience from different pathways; everyone kind of had their own journey, whether it was DI, DIII to pro, semi-pro, and whether it took them from here in North America or overseas. I think that’s what made the team exceptional. We all had our own talents and what made us “us,” and when we came together, it just really flowed and we really connected. So having that chemistry and everyone owning their differences of where we came from is what really made us special.
THE ICE GARDEN:
Ball hockey takes place in the summer, and then you’re going right into preparing for the NCAA season. How do you manage that workload and the recovery for yourself?
MYA KEARNS:
I think it’s honestly kind of easy having the transition between [ice and ball hockey]. Once the summer comes around, the season’s died down and we’re going back into skill work and conditioning. I think having ball hockey go hand in hand and fit right into the rotation of seasons helps me stay in shape, but also have something to work for. I’m very competitive, I feel like if you would ask people, that’s what they would say. And so having the goal of going overseas or wherever the tournament may be and working to winning a national title is something that keeps me ambitious. When I’m not striving for wins on the ice, we take it to the deck and that work and mindset just keeps building on itself.
THE ICE GARDEN:
Has there been any way that you kind of felt like your ball hockey career has influenced your ice hockey career? A specific skill set that just helped you work down or vice versa?
MYA KEARNS:
I didn’t get into ball hockey until I was a little bit older from when I started ice hockey. I think building my hockey IQ on the ice made the transition to ball hockey a lot easier. And granted, there are some things like systems, the way certain things are ran, offsides, or how the zones change in ball hockey compared to ice hockey that throws it off, but having the different mindsets give me a bit of an advantage in terms of [knowing] ‘what can I do?’ and ‘what can I create?’ to contribute to whatever is going on on the deck.
THE ICE GARDEN:
You have a lot of cool moments from this tournament, scoring the game tying goal against Canada, winning gold. Did you have any moments where you were immediately thinking ‘I’m going to remember this for the rest of my life?’
MYA KEARNS:
Definitely those two for sure. Especially the goal. That was my first goal and only goal so far for the senior team and having it be such a detrimental goal to the game. A game tying goal, later in the third period against Canada — it was a big step up for me in terms of realizing what I’m capable of and how I can contribute to the team.
It’s really all so memorable to me because other than like those tournaments and camps, I don’t really get to see and interact with a lot of those girls and the coaching staff. So I cherish those moments and I’ve been so grateful and lucky that [they’ve] taken me under their wing. It meant a lot to me, so I’ve leaned on that and know that they don’t look at me as lesser or anything other than a teammate.
THE ICE GARDEN:
Last year for RMU, you were named the team’s unsung hero. Could you talk a little bit about receiving that award and what that means to you?
MYA KEARNS:
That was pretty awesome. I honestly wasn’t expecting it. It just showed that the work that I’m putting in up until this point has been noticed. I try to do everything that I do with purpose and intention. Even though I might not be the face of anything, nothing that I’m doing is going under the radar. Every little thing is kind of being picked up. Everyone’s very aware of each other. Getting that recognition kind of was a good bump in the back to be like, keep doing what you’re doing, because it is getting recognized — and even if it’s not some big flashy event or game-tying goal, all the work is still getting acknowledged. And I think that was just really special and a good pick-me-up to ensure that I can keep doing what I’m doing and I am doing the right things.
Some quotes have been edited for length and clarity.
