Aidan Kelly

Aidan Kelly from Belfast, Northern Ireland, joined the University of Massachussetts Amherst in 2022 after captaining Northern Ireland U18s in the Centenary Shield in 2022. A product of the Cliftonville academy, Aidan rose through the ranks to lead the Cliftonville U20s side, before embarking upon his student athlete career in the USA. Kelly has been a sensation for UMass, logging over 3,000+ minutes in his two years, being named on the Atlantic 10 (A10) All-Rookie team in his freshman year, and being named in the A10 All-Conference Second Team in his sophomore year. The towering centre half chips in with his fair share of goals too, being a danger from set pieces. The former St. Malachy's Sportsman of the Year will be hoping to make the A10 All-Conference First Team this year (2024) and push his side into A10 championship recognition.

2023 (Sophomore): Atlantic 10 All-Conference Second Team selection… Named to the College Sports Communicators Academic All-District Team… Started in all 18 games he appeared in… Logged the second most minutes on the pitch with 1,638… Put eight of his 24 shots on goal… Scored his first collegiate goal in a 3-2 win over Providence (9/9)... Played 90 minutes while holding George Washington to zero shots on goal in a 3-0 win (9/30).

2022 (Freshman): Atlantic 10 All-Rookie Team selection … Started and appeared in 17 games … Logged 1,450 minutes for the UMass defense … Attempted nine shots with four on goal … Assisted on a goal in a 3-1 win at Dartmouth (9/13) … Helped the UMass defense to a .768 goals against average.

‍Before UMass: Attended St. Malachy’s College Belfast and played club soccer for Cliftonville FC … St. Malachy’s Sportsman of the Year … Captain of the Northern Ireland U18 team … Made five caps for the Northern Ireland U18 squad … Cliftonville FC Olympic team captain.

Here's a testimonial from Aidan himself:

Fantastic Experience with SSUSA

"Without the help and support of SSUSA I wouldn’t have known where to even get started when looking to study in America. From the beginning of the process, Alex and everyone at the company were extremely helpful in guiding me to complete a thorough application process. When choosing the correct school for me, the wealth of knowledge the boys had was critical to decide where I would be best suited. Thankfully with their brilliant advice we made the correct decision and I’ve really enjoyed my start to college life in the US."