Wright place, Wright time: UK legend Arin Wright returns home to Racing Louisville FC

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) - Arin Wright, née Gilliland, was a soccer star at West Jessamine High School in Nicholasville. She then stayed home to become a legend for the University of Kentucky's women's soccer program.

So naturally, someone who has seen soccer at every level in Kentucky was going to be emotional when in 2019, the National Women's Soccer League announced Louisville was getting the state's first top-tier pro sports franchise since the Kentucky Colonels played in the American Basketball Association in 1976.

"I cried," Wright said. "I was actually about to give birth to my child. And I was very emotional. As you can imagine, my hormones were through the roof. So, maybe that was why I cried. But I remember thinking at that moment, I really wanted to come back."

The emotions pushed her to request a move from the Chicago Red Stars to Racing Louisville FC. But as Wright mentioned, she was about to have her son. She bought a house in Chicago and her husband has a job there. The timing was not right.

Fast forward to January 12, 2024 and Wright found the right place at the right time. Racing traded the No. 15 overall pick in the 2024 NWSL Draft and sent $125,000 in allocation money to the Red Stars to bring the defender home to Kentucky. She said she again asked to make the move, which Chicago supported.

"There was just something that was telling me I need to be here," Wright said. "And it was hard to leave, come here and have to do that ask. But they were so great to me. And they understood that it was family that meant the most to me. It's time for me to get back to the community that kind of built me."

It kept pulling her back. This past offseason, the eight-year veteran found herself flying home often. The amount of weddings she missed and houses her friends were getting in Louisville kept adding up. 

"I knew it was now or never," Wright said. "It's like when you get that feeling inside of you and you just know that's where you need to be."

That fits in more ways than just a happy homecoming. Wright is an accomplished NWSL standout. The 2016 Defender of the Year finalist and two-time Best XI honoree was a Chicago cornerstone who helped build the Red Stars into a franchise that saw seven playoff appearances and two trips to the NWSL Championship, including the 2021 final at Lynn Family Stadium.

As a collegiate player, keeping a prized prospect like Wright in the Commonwealth proved to be a meaningful milestone for the Wildcats. The former Kentucky Miss Soccer honoree and prep All-American led UK to its first Sweet 16 while finishing her career ranked in the program's top five all-time in assists, games played and goals.

Racing Louisville FC has never made the NWSL postseason, despite coming close in 2023. Wright has played against Louisville eight times since Racing entered the league. She sees a chance to change playoff fortunes in the club's fourth season.

"Every time we played them, I'm like, 'Dang, I really like the style of their play,'" Wright said. "This team has a bunch of players that are very good and don't get the recognition that they deserve. The way they work, hustle, grind and dig things out, they might not play pretty sometimes. But they're going to work harder than every single person on the field.

"And that's the type of team I want to be a part of. So for me, to leave a place like Chicago, I needed that and that is what Racing has. I want to be a part of this organization and help them get to the playoffs."

Louisville hopes the veteran's experience, leadership and overall presence can be integral to that push. She has not been shy about showing it early on in preseason camp.

"I'm a very vocal player," Wright said. "I always tell people after practice, 'I know I yelled at you a lot, but it was constructive yelling, and I'm trying to help.' So, I hope I can bring a vocal presence.

"I think over my years, my soccer IQ has really built and developed. So, I think I can bring a lot of wisdom tactically into what needs to happen in the game, when your coach isn't right there telling you what to do. I feel like I can do those quick fixes on the field, to put my player in the position that they need to be to change the opposition."

That is easier when there are familiar faces to help on the back line. Wright, who can play center and outside back, previously played with Racing's Abby Erceg and has played against Carson Pickett for a long time.

"It's almost like you get out there and you don't even have to think or talk to each other," Wright said of the early training sessions with those two. "You know exactly where you're going to be. So, being able to just slide into a back line with people that you already know is amazing. And it's just so seamless."

There hasn't been much of an adjustment anywhere for someone who has already played at Lynn Family Stadium five times. Wright had heard about an improving culture and impressive facilities in Louisville, but is still wowed by the amenities available to her. 

"Having a film room, having a cafeteria where I can come in the morning and have breakfast provided to me that is nutritionally beneficial to my diet that I need as an athlete, and then just having everything right here at my disposal," Wright said. "Everything is in one spot. And you don't know what that does for an athlete. Because the hardest thing that athletes struggle with is being able to mentally shut off at the end of the day and have that balance of being an athlete, but also being a person."

The improved investment as a whole speaks to something greater for the Kentucky native. It goes back to finding out her home state was getting a franchise just years after she once thought as an UK underclasswoman that she might have to go overseas to play professionally. 

"I was just so thrilled for this state because I feel like people always underrate it," Wright said. "Maybe that's why I feel like that as a player. I always feel that underrated. I want to prove myself a little bit more.

"But this state rallies behind whatever it is that they have, whatever sports team it is. These fans show up and they're going to be your biggest supporters. They truly invest in you."

Now, it's time for a Kentuckian to help show that investment can lead to some history. After all, playing professionally in her home state was once not even possible. 

"For you to say that I could actually not even have to drive 40 miles from my home to play professional soccer is a dream come true," Wright said. "And I feel like it's just so amazing that all the young girls growing up in this state have the opportunity right in their backyard to live out their dreams."

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