SACRAMENTO — Two soccer standouts – Andrea Kitahata, a December 2025 graduate of Stanford University who currently plays for Gotham FC of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL), and Dorian Darghali. a freshman at California Lutheran University, have been selected as recipients of the 2026 CalHOPE Courage Award.
Presented monthly since February 2022, the CalHOPE Courage Award honors student-athletes at California colleges and universities who have overcome stress, anxiety, and mental trauma associated with personal hardships and adversity. Kitahata, who was recognized in September 2025, and Darghali, a January 2026 honoree, were selected from the 14 monthly recipients for their journeys that best represent the spirit of the award.
A $2,000 donation will be made to support mental health services for students at California Lutheran University in Dorian’s name, while Andrea requested that her donation to support mental health services go to two organizations close to her heart, Katie’s Save and Female Footballers.
Here’s a closer look at Andrea and Dorian’s inspiring personal stories.
Andrea Kitahata
Upon arriving at Stanford in 2021, Andrea made an immediate impact, scoring four goals in her first 20 collegiate appearances. However, in fall 2022, the tragic loss of her close friend and teammate, Katie Meyer, sent her into a period of profound grief. Six games into her sophomore season, Andrea made the courageous decision to step away from soccer to focus on her well-being and begin the hard work of healing.
Her return in 2023 marked a remarkable comeback. Andrea played in all 25 matches, earned All-Pac-12 second-team honors, and demonstrated that mental resilience and athletic excellence can elevate one another. She continued to excel over the next two seasons and ultimately chose to return to Stanford for a fifth year, prioritizing her mental health and education over early professional opportunities.
This past season, she helped lead the Cardinal to a 22-2-2 record and a berth in the NCAA Championship Game, falling 1-0 to Florida State. Her career-best totals – 17 goals, 10 assists and 44 points – brought her overall collegiate marks to 39 goals, 32 assists, and 110 points across 99 games.
Andrea made her NWSL regular season debut for Gotham FC on March 12 in the home opener against the North Carolina Courage.
“Working through the grief of losing someone who was part of my daily routine – and suddenly disappeared – took everything out of me,” said Andrea. “Feeling the pressure of playing time, starting spots, and my career, I wanted nothing more than to push my emotions down and be on the field. As an athlete, you’re taught to muscle through pain. It took me six months to realize that this pain meant I was not on the right track.”
Off the pitch, Andrea has emerged as a powerful voice for mental health awareness. She co-created the documentary, It’s Time We Talk About It, has championed awareness on national television, supports the Katie’s Save Foundation, and mentors young female athletes through Female Footballers.
Dorian Darghali
Dorian, who recently completed his freshman season at Cal Lutheran, is being honored for his leadership and growing influence as a student-athlete mental health advocate.
During high school, the Northridge native began experiencing severe anxiety, leading to isolation and recurring panic attacks. His first anxiety attack struck moments after stepping onto the pitch for Chatsworth High School, a place that once offered calm and confidence quickly became a source of fear and physical distress. Like many athletes, Dorian felt pressure to hide what he was going through, worried that acknowledging it would be seen as a weakness and jeopardize his opportunities and playing time.
Over time, he realized he wasn’t alone. Teammates quietly shared their own struggles with anxiety, depression, burnout, and the pressures of balancing academics and athletics. Recognizing that these challenges were widespread motivated Dorian to act.
Drawing from his experience with advocacy, he became a vocal leader in the movement to strengthen mental health support for student-athletes. He authored an opinion piece in the Los Angeles Times, urging California to adopt mandatory mental health training for coaches, similar to Ohio’s model, and he has supported legislation, such as AB 2411, which empowers youth mental health boards and challenges harmful norms that discourage male athletes from seeking help.
In his freshman season at Cal Lutheran, Dorian appeared in four matches as a forward and scored his first collegiate goal on October 25, 2025, against Caltech, tying the game 3-3 with less than five minutes remaining.
“Opening up showed me that I wasn’t alone, and that talking about mental health doesn’t make you weak. It gives you the strength to keep going and to help others do the same,” said Dorian.
About the CalHOPE Courage Award
The monthly CalHOPE Courage Award is presented by the College Sports Communicators (formerly CoSIDA), in association with The Associated Press; CalHOPE, a Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) crisis counseling and support resource; and the Governor’s Advisory Council on Physical Fitness and Mental Well-Being.
“CalHOPE is honored to continue recognizing student-athletes statewide who have overcome challenges to perform their best as both scholars and athletes,” said Autumn Boylan, Deputy Director of the Office of Strategic Partnerships at DHCS, which oversees CalHOPE. “CalHOPE’s purpose is to build community resilience and help people recover from disasters and public health emergencies through free outreach, crisis counseling, and support services. We hope that by sharing these stories of courage, all will be inspired.”
The stories of CalHOPE Courage Award recipients reflect the spirit of Governor Newsom's Path and Purposes Executive Order, which calls for a statewide response to improve mental health outcomes, reduce stigma, and reconnect young people, especially men and boys, with education, work, and mentorship opportunities.
The other 12 CalHOPE Courage Award winners honored this year include: Rhys Cooper (football, Butte College); Destiny Adams (water polo/swimming/diving/basketball, San Joaquin Delta College); Gali De La Cruz (basketball, Santa Barbara City College); Micheal Padilla (basketball, California State University (CSU) East Bay); Levi Jung Ruivivar (gymnastics, Stanford); Xander Sielken (baseball, CSU Monterey Bay); Josie Wolitzky (soccer, Cal Poly Humboldt); Carly Hendrickson (volleyball, UCLA); Kirk Lord (track, Pomona-Pitzer College); Sophie Scott (volleyball, University of California, Berkeley); Gianna Bomarito (cross country, Stanislaus State); and Jackson Giacone (baseball, Mt. San Antonio College).
The previous year-end winners were: 2025 - Mya Wang (lacrosse, University of California, Berkeley) and Will Bermudez (baseball, University of California, Irvine); 2024 – Cameron Nelsen (volleyball, Antelope Valley College) and Myron “MJ” Amey (basketball, San Jose State); 2023 - Anysa and Amaya Gray (soccer, University of California, Berkeley) and Nigel Wilson (basketball, Pasadena City College); and 2022 - Julia Schwayder (lacrosse, Occidental College) and Breyon Jackson (basketball, San Francisco State).
Stories about all CalHOPE Courage Award honorees are available at CalHOPECourageAward.org and @CalHOPE_Courage on social media.
Sports information directors at all colleges and universities in California are encouraged to nominate deserving student-athletes at CalHOPECourageAward.org. Honorees are selected by a panel of writers and editors from The Associated Press and College Sports Communicators.
ABOUT CalHOPE
CalHOPE is a multi-level campaign run by DHCS to connect Californians with mental health and wellness resources during times of crisis. CalHOPE offers behavioral health crisis counseling and uses a public health approach centered on strength-based strategies that build resilience. CalHOPE partners with the California Governor’s Advisory Council on Physical Fitness and Mental Well-Being to promote the CalHOPE Courage Award. Resources are available at https://www.calhope.org/ or via the warm line at (833) 317 HOPE (4673).
College Sports Communicators (CSC): CSC is the premier association for strategic, creative, and digital professionals working in intercollegiate athletics across the United States and Canada. CSC provides year-round leadership, community, professional development/education, recognition and advocacy for its 4,700 members. To learn more, visit CollegeSportsCommunicators.com.
The Associated Press (AP): The AP is an essential global news network, delivering fast, unbiased news worldwide since 1846. For more information, visit www.ap.org.