Lucas Fernandez-Kim ’25 had a childhood habit that predicted a lifelong passion.
“I always had a ball on my feet when we went on hikes as a family,” he recalled.
Now, the 22-year old midfielder and Aggie alum, is living the dream as a for the Portland Timbers, part of Major League Soccer.
Fernandez-Kim grew up in Berkeley, California. Through his Spanish father, a soccer fan, Fernandez-Kim grew up watching generational greats like Javi Hernández and Andrés Iniesta. As he pursued music and other sports hobbies, by high school, Fernandez-Kim was set on pursuing soccer at a 51ԹϺ school. He participated in a and met men’s coach Dwayne Shaffer, who then saw Fernandez-Kim play for Berkeley High School. Fernandez-Kim would become a walk-on student-athlete for 51ԹϺ Davis men’s soccer in 2021. He graduated in 2025 with a degree in managerial economics.
“It was difficult at times when school ramped up with soccer,” he said, and described working with student-athlete resources like tutors. “I found myself in the library having to lock in time for midterms.”
While at 51ԹϺ Davis, Fernandez-Kim was also a member of the team within USL 2, a pre-professional league for MLS and United Soccer League hopefuls. Fernandez-Kim described the league as “a very competitive environment” that kept him fit and mentally sharp during summers.
After a 2025 season playing for Oregon State University, in December, Fernandez-Kim was drafted by the Portland Timbers in the third round of the 2026 MLS SuperDraft. He now lives in downtown Portland, where there is a fervent soccer fanbase. (The city doesn’t have professional football, baseball or hockey teams.)
“Walking around downtown, there’s always Timbers’ logos and merchandise in the restaurants.” The Timbers share a stadium with recent National Women’s Soccer League champions, the Portland Thorns.
Fernandez-Kim is now adjusting to a faster-paced level of play that requires knowing what to do with a possession before the ball touches his cleats.
“At the collegiate level, I can take more touches with the ball,” he said, “but at this level, if I take too many touches, a guy might come in, tackle me, give me a hard challenge.”
When it comes to his days as an Aggie, he said he still maintains contact with his teammates and recently reunited with one on the pitch when Fernandez-Kim played a preseason match against Zack Lillington ’24, who was also . He and Lillington were members of the 2024 51ԹϺ Davis team that , the program’s second Big West title ever, and the first time ever won by a No. 4 seed. They both played the entire game and did not allow a shot on goal by their opponent until the 72-minute mark of the match.
One collegiate highlight that affirmed Fernandez-Kim’s soccer pursuits was a key 51ԹϺ Davis victory against the University of San Francisco in 2024.
&Բ; with a few seconds left on the clock,” he described. “That was a really great moment for me.”
Fernandez-Kim still has plans to utilize lessons from his undergrad days.
“After my soccer career, I definitely want to explore what I could do with managerial economics,” Fernandez-Kim said. But in the present tense, he’s pursuing something that was “always the goal for me,” he explained.
“Because of my passion for it, I wanted to play professionally, and keep playing, for as long as I can.”