Notables:
• Big Ten Sportsmanship Award (2019)
2019: Appeared and started in 21 games for the Badgers. Played her season high against Maryland (9/20), where she logged her solo goal, a game-winner, and solo assist of the season. Got off a career high of 12 shots and six shots on goal throughout the season with a 0.083 shot percentage and a 0.5 SOG percentage. Earned the Big Ten Sportsmanship Award at the end of the regular season.
2018: Started all 22 games for the Badgers as a key component to Wisconsin's defense. Logged one goal, a game-winner, against Michigan State (9/23)...one assist against Ohio State (10/21) and against Memphis in the first round of the NCAA Tournament (11/9). Got off seven shots throughout the season...had a .143 shot percentage and a .286 SOG percentage.
2017: Started all 22 games for Wisconsin. Tallied one assist versus Kentucky (8/18) and one against Michigan State (9/21). Ended the season with three shots, all on goal.
2016: Appeared in 20 games, starting in four ... recorded assist on game-tying goal against Michigan (10/30) in the first round of the Big Ten tournament ... notched assist against Rutgers (10/26) ... recorded first career goal and assist at Purdue (9/23), was also the first game-winning goal of her career ... averaged 0.40 shots per game and 0.25 points per game ... ranked third on the team with three assists on the season
High School: Wesley joins the Badgers from Hartland, Wisconsin, where she attended Arrowhead High School and was a member of FC Wisconsin Eclipse. Wesley attended the 2015 NIKE National Training Camp and was a member of the ECNL Player Development Program in 2014 and 2015. In addition to soccer, Wesley has competed in track and cross country. As a junior at Arrowhead, she earned all-conference track honors in the 800 meters and 1600 meters and was an all-state selection in the 4x800 relay. Wesley was an all-conference selection in the 800 meters and 1600 meters as a sophomore and all-state in the 1600 meters and 4x800 relay. As a freshman, Wesley was an individual honoree on the all-state cross country team and helped Arrowhead win the Division I cross country team state championship. She also earned all-state track accolades in the 1600 meters and 4x800 relay as a freshman.
Personal: Wesley was a high honor roll student all four years at Arrowhead High School. Payton's parents are Matt and Trina Wesley. She has one sister, Julia, and one brother, Charlie.
Head Coach Paula Wilkins: "Payton will play center back or outside wide. She has been a leader and captain on the FC Wisconsin Eclipse team for several years. Along with her leadership out of the back, Payton has an excellent physical fitness base and has the ability to cover a lot of ground. She has continuously put herself in a position to be successful and is one of the top defenders in the state. Wisconsin has been in Payton's blood, she has a Badger background and has a strong tie to our program. I am confident Payton is going to complement our back line and impact the culture of our team in a positive manner."
Wesley's Career Statistics as of December 2, 2018
| Career Game Highs |
|
| Shots |
2 (1x) | MR vs. Maryland (Sept. 30, 2018) |
| Shots on Goal |
1 (8x) | MR vs. Rutgers (Sept. 28, 2018) |
| Goals |
1 | (2x) MR at Michigan State (Sept. 23, 2018) |
| Assists |
1 (5x) | MR at Memphis (Nov. 9, 2018) |
| Points |
3 | (1 G, 1A) at Purdue (Sept. 23, 2016) |
| Point streak |
-- |
| Multi-point games |
2 | 3 pts (1 G, 1 A) at Purdue (Sept. 23, 2016) |
