All About Team USA Star Christian Pulisic's Parents, Mark and Kelley Pulisic
All About Team USA Star Christian Pulisic's Parents, Mark and Kelley Pulisic
Emily WeaverWed, July 1, 2026 at 11:00 PM UTC
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Mark, Christian and Kelley Pulisic after the UEFA Champions League Final between Manchester City and Chelsea FC at Estadio do Dragao on May 29, 2021 in Porto, Portugal.Credit: Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC via Getty -
Christian Pulisic's parents, Mark and Kelley, met as student-athletes at George Mason University in the late 1980s
Christian, who was born in 1998, has two siblings: a sister named Devyn and a brother named Chase
Mark's professional soccer career and coaching experience helped shape Christian's passion for the sport
Soccer runs in the Pulisic family veins.
U.S. Men's National Team (USMNT) forward Christian Pulisic is the son of Mark and Kelley Pulisic, who met as student-athletes at George Mason University in the late 1980s. The two welcomed their son, Christian, in 1998. He has two older siblings: Devyn and Chase.
While Kelley hung up her cleats after college, Mark built an impressive career as both an indoor soccer player and coach. Looking back, Kelley has said that Mark's continued involvement in the sport gave Christian a solid foundation.
“I mean we both played collegiately, but he played professionally. But he also did his coaching license here in the U.S. and also in Europe. And I think knowing what to do with the young kids and when to do it, I think absolutely did help,” she told Soccer Parenting in November 2017.
Now, Christian is playing in his second World Cup alongside Team USA, and he credits his father with his can-do mindset. “The biggest thing my dad taught me was to play without fear,” Pulisic said in a June 2017 interview with USA Today. “Only I can control how good I can be, he tells me that all the time.”
Here's everything to know about Christian Pulisic's parents, Mark and Kelley Pulisic.
Mark and Kelley both grew up in the soccer world
Mark, Christian and Kelley Pulisic.Credit: Christian Pulisic/instagram
Both Mark and Kelley come from impressive soccer backgrounds.
In the late 1980s, Mark garnered attention while playing on the men's soccer team at George Mason University. After college, he signed with the Harrisburg Heat, a Pennsylvania-based team in the Major Indoor Soccer League, where he spent eight seasons.
Mark's involvement in the sport extends far beyond his playing career. Over the years, he has been head coach of the men's and women's teams at Lebanon Valley College and coached several minor league clubs, including the Harrisburg City Islanders, Rochester Rhinos and Pittsburgh Riverhounds.
Kelley was a standout player in her own right. During her youth, she competed for the Braddock Road Shooting Stars, a program known for producing top talent (including Mia Hamm). Kelley went on to play collegiate soccer at George Mason University.
After retiring from playing soccer, Kelley remained connected to athletics as a physical education teacher.
Mark is of Croatian descent
Christian and Mark Pulisic.Credit: Christian Pulisic/instagram
Mark's Croatian heritage traces back to his father, Mate Pulisic, who was born on the small Croatian island of Olib. He immigrated to New York City from what was then Yugoslavia.
Christian shared a close bond with his grandfather. In a June 2022 interview with The Athletic, he recalled how the two connected through their shared love of chess, calling it “a memory I hold close to my heart.”
They’re college sweethearts
Mark and Christian Pulisic.Credit: Christian Pulisic/instagram
Mark and Kelley's decades-long love story began at George Mason University, where they first met as student-athletes.
Mark was a star forward on the men's soccer team from 1986 to 1989, while Kelley played as a defender on the women's team from 1989 to 1992, per The Washington Post. According to several of their teammates, Christian's playing style reminds them of his parents.
“Just some of his mannerisms,” Debbie Fine, who played on the women's team from 1986 until 1989, told the outlet, adding that his approach transports her back to “when Kelley would attack out of the back” because of “just the way he moves, his stride.”
Christian has two siblings
Christian, Devyn and Chase.Credit: Christian Pulisic/instagram
Christian was born on Sept. 18, 1998 in Hershey, Pa. He also has two older siblings — a sister named Devyn and a brother named Chase.
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When Christian was 7, the family relocated to England for a year while Kelley completed a teaching sabbatical. They lived on the outskirts of north Oxford, where Christian joined the youth soccer team. Mark later credited that experience for sparking his son's love for the game.
“It was only one year, but if you look back it was what propelled him into playing the game,” Mark Pulisic told The Guardian in May 2016. “Christian went to play in tournaments and really fell in love, became obsessed with the sport. He played every day at school and after school, going out into the playground and kicking the ball around with kids of any age.”
In 2006, Mark was offered the head coaching job for Detroit's indoor soccer league team and the family returned to the U.S. After a short stint there, they moved back to Hershey.
Speaking with Soccer Parenting, Kelley said her mission as a mother was “to raise good, kind people” and that “it didn't matter about soccer.”
“In our family, hardworking and kind is really the two most important things that we really have taught our children,” she said, adding of Christian, “He is humble. He's kind. He is a good person on top of being a decent soccer player. It makes me the most proud because in the end, that's where it's going to lead him further.”
They fostered Christian’s love for a soccer at a young age
Christian and Kelley Pulisic.Credit: Christian Pulisic/instagram
Between family background and his dad's professional career, soccer quickly became Christian's whole world. In her Soccer Parenting interview, Kelley said her son “was always with a ball at his feet.”
“I mean, 2 years old, it's almost how he learned to walk,” she recalled.
Getting Christian interested in the sport didn't take any coaxing either. “Christian was in love with soccer from day one. And obviously we had a part in that because he was around it, but I think he truly loved it himself,” she said.
That passion only grew as Mark took on more coaching roles. “He was around the guys. He loved being there. And he was there with them, learning their tricks and things like that. Very young age and he just ate it up,” she added.
Mark moved to Germany for Christian’s career
Christian Pulisic of Borussia Dortmund in action during the Bundesliga match between Borussia Dortmund and Hannover 96 at Signal Iduna Park on February 13, 2016 in Dortmund, Germany.Credit: Alexandre Simoes/Borussia Dortmund via Getty
By age 13, Christian was recruited to the U-15 Boys' National Team and even captained Team USA at the 2015 FIFA U-17 World Cup, according to U.S. Soccer. It wasn't long before clubs across Europe were vying to sign him.
Mark accompanied his son on visits to various European clubs, carefully evaluating the opportunities. In February 2015, Christian signed with German club Borussia Dortmund just before he turned 16. The move became possible after he obtained a European Union passport through his Croatian dual citizenship.
“Once, as parents, we felt he was ready and it was something he wanted, we went to visit Dortmund. All of us decided we felt it was the right move and the club was great with us, so we took the plunge. You have to go with your gut feeling,” Mark told The Guardian in May 2016.
While there, Mark and Christian shared an apartment, per Yahoo! Sports. Living abroad at such a young age was "the hardest thing I've ever had to do in my life," Christian said in his 2022 book Pulisic: My Journey So Far, according to the outlet.
After three years in Germany, Christian joined Chelsea F.C. in 2019. He spent four years with them before signing with AC Milan in 2023.
They are Christian’s biggest supporters
Christian Pulisic of the United States reaches out to his father, Mark Pulisic, and mother, Kelley Pulisic, while holding the best player award after the team's 2-0 victory over Canada in the 2023 CONCACAF Nations League Final at Allegiant Stadium on June 18, 2023 in Las Vegas, Nevada.Credit: Ethan Miller/USSF/Getty
The couple has supported their son every step of the way. Speaking with The Guardian, Mark said he knew there was “something special” about Christian from a young age.
“He never shied away from anything or made excuses. He was never afraid of taking on new challenges ... he wanted to be out of his comfort zone at a young age and that's when I knew there could be something special,” he reminisced.
Kelley also took note of her son's strong work ethic. “He wanted to be the best, he wanted to learn everything. And that's not something I think you can actually teach,” she told Soccer Parenting.
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