Kasey Keller

Early career

Keller was born in Olympia, Washington. He attended North Thurston High School in Lacey, where he led his team to the state championship as the starting goalkeeper. He was also a Parade All-American athlete for three years in high school. Keller chose to play college soccer at the University of Portland under head coach Clive Charles due to his experience as a professional in England. As a freshman in 1988, he helped lead the team to the NCAA men's soccer final four. He earned first team All American as a senior and was the 1991 Adidas Goalkeeper of the Year. During the 1989 college off-season, he played for the Portland Timbers of the Western Soccer Alliance. His outstanding play led to his selection as league MVP that year. In 10 games, he allowed only four goals, for a 0.38 goals-against-average and eight clean sheets. In 1989, he split his time between the Portland Timbers and the U.S. U-20 national team, which finished fourth at the 1989 FIFA U-20 World Cup. Keller once again excelled and was awarded the tournament's Silver Ball as the tournament's second-best player.

Millwall

After being a member of the U.S. national team in the 1990 FIFA World Cup, he was signed by the English club Millwall, playing there and becoming a fan favorite between 1992 and 1996. Keller made his Millwall debut on May 2, 1992, and played his last game on May 5, 1996, making 202 overall appearances for The Lions. Keller was voted Player of The Year 1992–93 by the…

Keller got his first senior team cap against Colombia on February 4, 1990, and was on the roster as Tony Meola's back up at the 1990 FIFA World Cup. After being ignored by U.S. coach Bora Milutinović for the 1994 FIFA World Cup, he was selected by Steve Sampson for several tournaments. Keller was part of the team that finished fourth in the 1995 Copa América and went on to play two games during the 1998 World Cup. Keller was an overage selection for the 1996 Olympics team, starting all three matches. Keller was named U.S. Soccer Athlete of the Year an unprecedented three times, in 1997 and 1999, and again in 2005. Perhaps his most famous clean sheet came in the historic 1998 win versus Brazil. Keller played all 90 minutes in goal and made ten saves, many from point-blank range, in preserving the 1–0 shutout victory for the U.S. His performance in goal prompted Brazilian great Romário to remark "That is the best performance by a goalkeeper I have ever seen," the performance was commemorated in the song "Kasey Keller" by synth-pop band Barcelona. For most of their careers, Keller and Brad Friedel were engaged in a head-to-head battle for the U.S. goalkeeper's jersey. Keller got the nod in 1998 but was second choice to Friedel in the 2002 FIFA World Cup. In spite of this stiff competition he has the second most caps and wins of any men's goalkeeper in U.S. soccer history with 102 and 53, respectively, behind Tim Howard. Keller remains the team's all-time leader in keeping clean…

Keller joined the Seattle Sounders FC broadcast team as a color commentator alongside play-by-play announcer Ross Fletcher in 2012. He remained with the club through the 2022 season, when Apple TV's MLS Season Pass took over from local broadcasters. Keller also worked on ESPN broadcasts as a color commentator and studio analyst for various international tournaments and ESPN FC programs.

Keller resides in Seattle with his wife Kristin and their two children, twins born on August 26, 1997. Keller has lived in London, Madrid, and Germany, where he and his family lived in a 1,000-year-old castle. During his time abroad, Keller learned to speak German and Spanish fluently. He told the New York Times that he turned down offers from several European clubs to sign with Seattle for the sake of his children, who have attended a new school with every transfer he has made. In another interview, Keller revealed that he wrote two academic papers on Millwall hooliganism, an experience had during his playing career at the English club to earn a degree in sociology. Keller was diagnosed with non-Hodgkins lymphoma late in his career with the Sounders and underwent treatments from 2018 to 2021, when he entered remission. A street adjacent to Keller's alma mater, North Thurston High School in Olympia, Washington, was renamed "Kasey Keller Drive" in the 2000s. In April 2016, Keller and his former USMNT goalkeeper teammate Marcus Hahnemann became coaches of the boys' soccer team at Newport High School in Bellevue, Washington. He also owns a minority stake in AC Boise, a professional team in USL League One.