Kipp

Keller

Keller was born and raised in St. Louis, where his father, Kipp Keller Sr., coached soccer at Principia School. He followed his siblings through the Principia program and was part of the 2015 Class 1 state championship team — the school's first soccer title — won in double overtime. He captained the Saint Louis FC U-19 Academy side before enrolling at Saint Louis University in 2019.

At SLU he developed into one of the top defenders in college soccer, winning the Atlantic-10 Defensive Player of the Year award in 2021 and earning second-team All-American honors. He left on a Generation Adidas contract and was selected 5th overall by Austin FC in the 2022 MLS SuperDraft, becoming one of the higher-drafted players in recent St. Louis soccer history.

When he was traded to FC Cincinnati in 2024, Keller pointed to the St. Louis connection as part of the appeal — his new head coach was Pat Noonan, a De Smet Jesuit graduate and St. Louis soccer figure. Keller described Noonan as "kind of a legend in St. Louis" and called receiving the call from him "like a dream come true."