“She’s always our biggest cheerleader. You could probably ask any of the girls, and they’ll recognize her voice because she goes to every away game and every home game.”
Jess said of her momKK isn’t your average soccer mom; she is someone who has been in Jess’ same shoes before. She played for the Knights from 1991-92 under head coach Bill Barker as a midfielder.
Together, the two serve as women’s soccer’s first ever legacy duo – an accomplished one at that.
During KK’s time with UCF, she aided the Knights to a 1991 NCAA Tournament appearance, back when only 12 teams made the dance, and was named to the United Soccer Coaches/NSCAA All-Southeast Region team in each of her two seasons with the squad.
Jess has continued that run of success in her tenure. In her time with the Knights, she’s appeared in 38 matches and has been a starter in 18 of them, across five seasons. She’s also been a part of two NCAA Tournament runs herself (2022, 2025) and was named to the All-Big 12 Freshman Team in 2023.
Jess’ journey to get here started long before her UCF tenure. Growing up nearby in Longwood, she started playing the beautiful game at the age of three, with KK there every step of the way, even serving as Jess’ first coach in youth soccer. Fellow women’s soccer alumni Jean Varas (1984-87) was also her first club coach.
Simultaneously while she started playing, Jess and the rest of the McCullen clan went to plenty of women’s soccer games and summer camps growing up, spending time with other alumni and their kids.
As she got older and started focusing on soccer primarily, the recruiting process ramped up. When it came time to commit towards the end of her high school career, the decision was easy for Jess.
“I kind of just always assumed I was going to play here. The first day we were actually allowed to talk to coaches, they (head coach Tiffany Roberts Sahaydak and associate head coach Tim Sahaydak) offered me and I accepted. Never looked back again.”
Jess said“I love it, I have so many pictures! It was just super cool, just such a proud moment for me. It was just so neat to be at our campus, to be pulling up to UCF, and just absolutely made me proud and happy to see that.”
KK recalled, on seeing Jess suit up in the Black and Gold for the first timeKK’s favorite collective memory of Jess at UCF came in her redshirt freshman year, a year in which she started in 11 games and appeared in 15, playing all four defensive positions along the way. Her performance did not go unrecognized, as she was named to the aforementioned All-Big 12 Freshman Team and was appointed the Big 12 Freshman of the Week in September of that year, which was also UCF’s first year in the conference.
As for Jess, she highlights the 2022 and 2025 NCAA Tournament runs as some of her favorite memories. She also treasures her only career goal, which came at FAU in the 2024 season opener.
“Last year, making NCAA’s (Tournament), going all the way up to Duke. That was really fun and against a really competitive team. This year, I hope we can do the same and go just as far, or even farther.”
Jess recalled“Road trips are lots of fun, but sometimes they get hard on the girls. I think having a home-cooked meal in a place that’s not a restaurant, where they can just relax and chill for a couple hours was probably what it started on. I think it made the team more like a family, especially from a parent perspective."
KK said, on what spurred the idea to host the team
Off the field, Jess followed her mom’s lead in the classroom, as well. Both she and KK studied engineering here at UCF, with the younger McCullen set to graduate in December with a civil engineering degree.
KK graduated with both a bachelor's and master’s degree in environmental engineering in 1994 and 1997, respectively. She currently serves as the utilities manager for the City of Maitland.
After graduation, Jess is set to move to Jacksonville with her fiancé, Matthew. The two are set to get married in February 2027. She hopes to work in the corporate engineering business there, with plans to get her professional engineering license after four years of work.
While the post-playing career transition can be tough for some athletes, KK’s advice to Jess can apply on and off the field.
“Try your best… live to fight another day. I think those two apply most on the field and in life, because sports don’t last forever, and we all have to do something else. But I love the strength that comes from sports that allows you to focus on your life… because life is tough too and you have to be able to balance it all.”
KK stated