Kale Hinkle: The Engine Behind Branson's Attack
Watch a Branson Pirates soccer match for ten minutes and your eyes will find No. 9. Not because Kale Hinkle demands the spotlight, but because the game keeps running through him.
Hinkle is not the biggest player on the field, and it does not matter. The junior forward is one of the most tactical players on the Branson roster, and he plays with a strength that catches opponents off guard. When the ball comes into him with a defender on his back, it sticks. When the ball is loose, he is the first one to it. Defenders learn quickly that challenging Kale on the ball is a losing proposition.
What separates Hinkle is what happens next. Plenty of forwards can hold the ball. Hinkle disperses it. He draws defenders in, then springs teammates with the pass they didn't know was on, flicking play wide, slipping runners through, and resetting the attack when the moment isn't right. He makes the players around him better, and Branson's attack moves at its best when it moves through him.
The start to the 2026 season has backed it up. Through the opening stretch, from the battle with Nixa to the shootout win over Joplin and Saturday's clash with Farmington, Hinkle has been a constant for the Pirates: available, physical, and always probing for the pass that breaks a defense open.
He is a junior, which is the scary part for the rest of the Central Ozark Conference. The touch is already there. The strength is already there. And the season is just getting started.
Keep an eye on No. 9. The Pirates certainly do. He is usually the one who finds them.
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