[2] She was the fourth player in women's college soccer to win the Hermann Trophy twice, joining Mia Hamm, Cindy Parlow, and Christine Sinclair in sharing that honor.

Hanks' first year playing for the Irish was in 2005; she held off enrolling at Notre Dame in order to participate in the 2004 FIFA U-19 Women's World Championship in Thailand.

Hanks became the youngest recipient, male or female, of the prestigious Hermann Trophy in 2006, selected ahead of the other two finalists, North Carolina's Heather O'Reilly and Yael Averbuch.

Hanks decided to take one last chance at an NCAA championship title in 2008, scoring 20 goals and receiving the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award.

Halfway through the 2009 season, on June 26, 2009, Hanks was traded to Sky Blue FC and helped lead the team to the 2009 WPS Championship.

[citation needed] Hanks competed for the United States U-23 women's national soccer team in 2008, playing in the 2008 Nordic Cup and appearing in all four matches of the tournament.

[citation needed] Notable former teammates consist of the USWNT’s Ashlyn Harris, Ali Krieger, Megan Rapinoe, Becky Sauerbrunn, and Hope Solo.