“That’s not what I’m here for,” Bell said of her selection as one of the best players in college soccer. “It’s awesome, but I’m here to win with my team. I want to win a Big Ten Championship; I want to make it to the NCAA…That’s so much more important to me.”

Bell currently leads the Big Ten in both goals and points, a culmination of goal contributions and gameplay statistics. With nine goals in 13 games, with an additional four assists, Bell has acclimated very well not only to a new school, but a new position.

“It’s been great being here for the first three months so far,” Bell said. “I think that’s just a culmination of what we do as a team. Half of the goals I have, I wouldn’t have if we didn’t operate as a team in the way we do.”

Bell does all of this while playing in what is officially college soccer’s toughest D1 schedule, helping the Spartans earn a .669 winning percentage through this tough run of games. Five of MSU’s seven non-conference opponents currently stand in either first or second in their league.

Hailing from Charlotte, North Carolina, Bell’s path to becoming a Spartan was anything but straightforward. She grew up immersed in sports, with her father, Myron Bell, enjoying an eight-year NFL career with the Pittsburgh Steelers and Cincinnati Bengals after wearing No. 24 for Michigan State football. He graduated in 1994 before being drafted. Her brother, Corey, played football at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

“It was definitely something that I thought was super cool because he only retired about five years before I was born,” Bell said. “He was still in the sports world a lot.”

Starting her college career as a defender at Maryland, Bell played and started in every single match in her freshman and sophomore year but found far less success in front of the net than she does now. She was influential in other ways, making history as she became Maryland's first Big Ten All-Freshman selection since the program moved to the Big Ten in 2014. Being identified as a top prospect eventually led to her transfer.

While her father’s career as an MSU football player may have influenced her decision to join the Spartans, Bell attributes her ultimate choice to head coach Jeff Hosler.

“Once I realized that this is a place I could see myself, the thought of me going here after my dad was really cool,” Bell said. “And once I found out that the number 24 was available, I was like, ‘I gotta have it!’”

Clearly, Bell has fit right in. As the focal point of the Michigan State attack, she frequently creates breakaway opportunities — and has shown she can both finish them and set up her teammates with precision. Bell also excels in strength on the ball and hold-up play, allowing her teammates to push forward while she retains possession. A strength carried over from her time as a defender is her ability to press from the front, pinning opponents deep in their own half. All of these qualities have made her a key part of coach Jeff Hosler’s squad, which remains undefeated in Big Ten play.

“She’s been beating herself up all week because she didn’t score against Ohio State, and I had to keep reminding her of all the great things she’s been doing to put us in positions to win games,” Hosler said. “She hasn’t played up top since her youth career, so to have the output she already has this quickly in an offensive system as complex as ours shows her IQ and ability to adjust.”

Since Bell’s ascension to the limelight, she has drawn more attention from opposing defenders. While she manages to still create chances for herself despite the immense pressure, the focus on her inadvertently gives Emerson Sargeant more space which she has clearly utilized, scoring three goals last week. This in turn gives Kayla Briggs and Bella Najera more space to maneuver and score. Even if the marking makes it harder for Bell herself to score, it brings great benefit to the whole team. 

“We want to be an attack that you can’t just try to eliminate one player and stop us,” Hosler said. “That versatility has been big when Kennedy’s performing at the high level she is. It gives more time and opportunities for everyone else. It makes us the best team possible.

With Bell’s contributions to the attack, the coaching of Hosler, and every player and piece that propels the Spartans to the top, Bell is confident that they will make something of this team.

“I just want to win. I know we have the pieces to do it,” Bell said. “I know that in my two years that I’ll be here that we can do that. There’s no question in my mind.”

Bell and the Spartans head to Ann Arbor on Thursday, Oct. 9 to fight for the top of the Big Ten standings as well as bragging rights against the University of Michigan.