Former Olympus High School soccer standout Emma Neff is playing Division I soccer for BYU while enrolled as a first-year law student at BYU's J. Reuben Clark Law School.

Neff is the first soccer player in BYU history to be admitted to the law school while still competing as a student-athlete, according to BYU women's soccer program notes. BYU Law is ranked No. 24 nationally.

The Deseret News first reported on Neff's dual pursuit on Monday, Oct. 5.

For Holladay residents, Neff's path started at Olympus, where she graduated with a 4.0 GPA and earned Academic All-State honors. As a junior in 2020, she scored the overtime golden goal to give the Titans a 1-0 victory over Bonneville in the 5A state championship at Rio Tinto Stadium in Sandy on Oct. 23, 2020. That header off a corner kick ended a 24-year title drought for Olympus, according to the Salt Lake Tribune's game report. She finished that season with 20 goals and 11 assists and was named the Deseret News 5A MVP.

Neff told the Deseret News her days now consist of morning and early afternoon law classes followed by soccer practice and film study, then long nights studying torts, contracts and criminal law.

"So about three hours of my day are now spent doing soccer things. And frankly, the rest is me being a law student," Neff told the Deseret News.

Keyan Norman, a former BYU offensive lineman who attended BYU Law after his playing career, told the Deseret News that a first-year law student typically spends 50 to 60 hours per week in class or studying. He estimated Neff is likely working 80 to 100 hours per week between soccer and law school. BYU Law holds classes Monday through Thursday, giving Neff a scheduling cushion when the team travels on Fridays for road games.

The defender now plays for a BYU squad that stood at 7-2-2 overall and 3-0-1 in Big 12 play after a 2-1 comeback win over Kansas State on Friday, Oct. 2. The Cougars are tied for first in the Big 12 with No. 9 Baylor and No. 14 Texas Tech.

Neff isn't the only family member on the BYU roster. Her younger sister, Anna Neff, is a freshman midfielder who earned Big 12 Freshman of the Week honors on Sept. 30 after recording her first collegiate assist in a 2-0 win over TCU. Their mother, Mondis Neff, played soccer at the University of Utah.

The 2026 season carries extra weight. Head coach Jennifer Rockwood, the winningest active female head coach in NCAA Division I soccer with a career record of 480-145-70, announced in June she will retire in December after 32 years leading the program.

BYU travels to Morgantown to face West Virginia on Thursday, Oct. 8, at 5 p.m. MDT.