Hunter Devlin could have given up on soccer a long time ago.
The Cal State LA senior midfielder had to overcome numerous obstacles, including a long list of injuries
during his college years, financial difficulties, and limited playing opportunities in his Hawaiian hometown.
But Devlin stuck with the sport that he loves, and he was a key contributor to a Golden Eagles team that qualified for the California Collegiate Athletic Association Tournament for the 14th consecutive year and earned a spot in the NCAA Tournament for the 13th time in 14 seasons.
“I just love to compete, and soccer gives you so many ways to do that,” said the 22-year-old Lincoln Heights resident. “You see so many different types of players—not everybody’s fast, not everybody’s strong, but there are so many different ways to get things done.”
Devlin, who is listed at 5-foot-6 and 150 pounds, says his main attributes are his quickness and conditioning. Add dogged determination to the list.
“He’ll be the first to say that maybe he’s not the best player,” said Golden Eagles Head Coach Michael Erush, “but he’s going to work hard and make it difficult for opponents. That’s one of the reasons why he started for us and played significant minutes. He leads on the field by how hard he plays.”
Devlin was born and raised in Maui, where every other organized sport is secondary to football. The island’s lone soccer club team folded when Devlin was 14.
“Most of my friends just stopped playing and went surfing instead,” he said.
“You see so many different types of players—not everybody’s fast, not everybody’s strong, but there are so many different ways to get things done.”
But Devlin and a few fellow players continued to train for the sport daily, although they had no team nor any matches to play. He ended up joining the Hawaii Rush traveling team from Oahu, which proved to be costly for his family since home games on the neighboring island involved a plane ride.
Following his graduation in 2021 from King Kekaulike High School in Makawao, Maui, Devlin decided to pursue his dream of playing collegiately. He saved enough money to attend a camp at the University of Dayton in Ohio, which boasts one of the top soccer programs in the country.
After receiving encouragement from the Dayton Flyers coaches during the camp, Devlin planned on trying to walk on with the team the following year. The islander in him, however, discovered he could not tolerate the snow and cold weather of the Midwest.
Devlin then searched for junior colleges in warm-weather states. He chose Mt. San Antonio College (Mt. SAC) in Walnut.
He had a solid freshman season on the field but faced challenges off it. Devlin’s savings were running dry just as Mt. SAC’s 2022 soccer season was about to begin, and he came close to being unhoused.
Luckily, he and a teammate found an affordable apartment in West Covina, but the living situation was far from comfortable. Devlin spent his freshman year sleeping on the apartment floor in a child’s sleeping bag—complete with a dinosaur design—that barely reached his chest.
“It was nice, as crazy as that might sound,” he said. “It put a chip on my shoulder. When times got tough, I knew there was nobody that wanted to succeed more than I did. I knew that no one sharing the field with me had slept in a sleeping bag the night before.”
Devlin finally purchased a mattress for his 20th birthday, thanks to a monetary gift from his grandmother. The bed frame would come a year later.
But as his sleeping accommodation improved, things went awry on the pitch. Devlin suffered a number of injuries, including a torn left hamstring and an ankle sprain, that limited him to seven matches during his sophomore season. He returned for a few games late in the season, one of which was scouted by Golden Eagles Assistant Coach Erick Lemus.
Photo: Hunter Devlin started nine games as a senior and exceeded his playing time from the previous season by more than 250 minutes.
“We saw what he could do when he was healthy,” said Erush. “We believed in his ability to give us more attacking from the position. Obviously, overcoming adversity is critical. He’s been through a lot on and off the field. I truly believe in giving a home to kids who deserve it.”
Devlin’s junior season mirrored his final year at Mt. SAC. He strained his right hamstring in a preseason game and never found a groove with the Golden Eagles.
“I would get five minutes here, 10 minutes there, and then 20 minutes—that was my season right there,” he said. “It’s tough for a player because what you want is consistency.”
In the offseason, Devlin dedicated himself to getting fully healthy. He began a strict training regimen that included working out twice a day, reading self-help passages, and eliminating sugar from his diet.
Photo: Hunter Devlin is “going to work hard and make it difficult for opponents,” says Michael Erush, Golden Eagles soccer head coach. “He leads on the field by how hard he plays.”
He forwent returning to Maui for the summer and instead competed with the LA10 Football Club, which ended up going all the way to the United Premier Soccer League finals.
All the work paid off in his senior year. Devlin exceeded his playing time from the previous season by 333 minutes and started 10 games compared to one as a junior.
Devlin, who is scheduled to receive his Bachelor of Arts in Sociology in spring 2026, is not quite done with soccer.
“I told myself I’d chase soccer until I was 25,” he said. “I’ll go to trials, try to get some sort of pro contract. If nothing happens at 25, I’ll hang up the boots. But I owe it to myself to try.”