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All sports leagues are defined by their stars, but that’s especially true with women’s soccer in the U.S. The still-growing NWSL needs the popularity of its biggest names to help draw attendance, buzz and sponsorships, and as the league hits its 10th season, it’s important that it develops a new generation of standouts. Even the U.S. women’s national team is going through it right now, opting for youth over experience as it gets ready for World Cup qualifying.
So who are the NWSL’s future Alex Morgans, Christen Presses, Christine Sinclairs and Becky Sauerbrunns? Not everyone on this list will go on to be a star, of course, but they all have the potential for a long professional career at an impact-level. The rules: 1) The player must be under age 25 when the 2022 regular season kicks off; 2) anyone with more than 25 caps with a national team already (such as Tierna Davidson and Mallory Pugh) does not qualify; 3) all 12 league teams had to be represented, with no more than 30 players overall.
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Angel City FC
Jun Endo, 21
Madison Hammond, 24
Endo is a big young talent, having already earned 21 caps for Japan. The forward started all six of Angel City’s Challenge Cup games, adapting quickly to a new league, and should get plenty of opportunities this season on the wing opposite Christen Press. Meanwhile, Hammond—the first Native American to play in the NWSL—had a solid rookie season contributing on the Reign’s backline and should see increased opportunities after being dealt to Angel City in March to shore up a defense that lost Sarah Gorden for the season.
Chicago Red Stars
Tatumn Milazzo, 23
Bianca St-Georges, 24
The Red Stars’ entire back line is young, particularly after the experienced Davidson tore her ACL in late March and with Casey Krueger out while pregnant. New coach Chris Petrucelli has utilized a 3-4-3 formation in the Challenge Cup, putting either Milazzo or Kayla Sharples in the middle. A local product, Milazzo was called on as a starter in last year’s NWSL playoffs due to injuries and will get a full chance this season. St-Georges is a name to watch after catching everyone’s attention as a rookie in 2020; a knee injury and two red cards limited her to three games last season, and the club’s defensive shift has pushed her into a midfield wing role so far in ’22.
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Gotham FC
Taryn Torres, 22
Gotham put all its chips in the win now basket this past offseason, trading for key veterans and building a roster that, in Challenge Cup games, has had an average age of 30.5. So it’s notable that Torres, a rookie, has appeared in four of its five tournament games, starting two. Drafted in 2021 before finishing out her college career with a strong season at Virginia, Torres could see time in the Gotham midfield as a rookie and develop into a key cog for the future.
Houston Dash
Makamae Gomera-Stevens, 23
Michaela Abam, 24
The Dash boast a fairly older roster but do have a few intriguing young pieces. A former No. 4 draft pick by Gotham, Abam was born in Houston, so it was a homecoming when she signed with the Dash last August. The forward immediately made her mark with a goal in her club debut, and she recently impressed in her first NWSL start in a Challenge Cup match. Gomera-Stevens is a promising midfielder who made four starts last season. Houston notably chose to protect her in December’s expansion draft over multiple veteran options and clearly views her as a key piece for the future.
Kansas City Current
Elyse Bennett, 22
Kansas City’s top draft pick in 2022 (No. 7) is already looking like a shrewd one. Bennett has been a standout in the Challenge Cup to help the Current capture the Central Division, despite the fact that the team is missing top offseason acquisitions Williams and Mewis. Hailing from Washington state, Bennett has started three of Kansas City’s six tournament games and leads all NWSL players with four assists. The season-ending injury to Williams has afforded her an early opportunity up top, and the flashes she’s already shown suggest there could be big things in store, including contending for Rookie of the Year.
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Racing Louisville FC
Ebony Salmon, 21
Jaelin Howell, 22
Emily Fox, 23
Cece Kizer, 24
Addisyn Merrick, 24
Louisville, which debuted as an expansion side last season, is fully on the youth train, with a similar strategy to the one the Spirit implemented a few years ago. Racing has received great early returns, particularly by the above group. Fox, a defender, put in an impressive rookie season last year and has done well at the international level as well. Salmon, an England native, came over from the WSL in 2021, and her six-goal season suggests she could help lead the next line of international NWSL stars. Kizer, another forward, also broke out in ’21, proving to be a savvy expansion draft pick after she was buried on the depth chart in Houston. Merrick had her ’21 cut well short by an ankle injury, but her healthy return has her positioned to be the starter on the outside back flank opposite Fox. Finally, there’s Howell, who joins the fray this season as the No. 2 college draft pick and should be a stalwart in the midfield for years to come.
North Carolina Courage
Brianna Pinto, 21
Kiki Pickett, 22
Malia Berkely, 24
North Carolina largely hit the reset button this past offseason, further blowing up its past dominant core with trades of stars Lynn Williams, Jessica McDonald and Sam Mewis. It landed Pickett, a former top-five draft pick, in the Mewis deal, picked up Pinto (a former top-three pick) via trade with Gotham FC and signed former Florida State standout Berkely in December after trading for her discovery rights. All three players are expected to anchor North Carolina’s next core, and they’ve jumped right in with 11 combined starts in the Challenge Cup. The Courage had to give up a lot to get Pinto, Pickett and Berkely, which shows how highly the organization rates them and their potential.
Orlando Pride
Mikayla Cluff, 23
Viviana Villacorta, 23
Courtney Petersen, 24
Of the 24 players who have appeared in the Pride’s Challenge Cup games, 10 are under age 25. That doesn’t include midfielder Villacorta, the team’s top 2021 draft pick who is returning from an ACL injury sustained last season but could thrive under new Pride coach Amanda Cromwell (both come to Orlando via UCLA). Cluff, meanwhile, is an intriguing attacker out of BYU who could be given the chance to start as a rookie, and Petersen started all but three games in ’21. The defender needs to find more consistency, but she’s gained valuable experience already on a young roster.
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Portland Thorns
Olivia Moultrie, 16
Sophia Smith, 21
Morgan Weaver, 24
Smith is the biggest name here, as the 2020 No. 1 pick has lived up to her billing as she emerges as one of the top forwards in the league. Smith broke out with seven goals last season and has three in this year’s Challenge Cup. Only 21, she has a massive ceiling for a future with not just club, but country. Weaver has shown a flair for the dramatic in her young career and is another integral part of Portland’s future. And Moultrie’s winding and unique journey to the NWSL has been well documented. As a 15/16-year-old last season—making her the youngest player in league history—she appeared in nine games and made three starts. The Thorns are understandably bringing Moultrie along slowly, and right now the midfielder’s promise is built on potential.
OL Reign
Angelina, 22
Tziarra King, 23
Sam Hiatt, 24
The Reign might be most known for their star veterans, but they have a bright younger core as well. King burst onto the scene in the 2020 Challenge Cup, and while minutes were sometimes hard for the forward to come by last season on a loaded roster, her potential remains. Hiatt, a former Stanford standout, looks like she’s playing her way into a starting center back job alongside Alana Cook, and Brazilian midfielder Angelina has had a strong Challenge Cup heading into her sophomore season in the league.
San Diego Wave FC
Naomi Girma, 21
Taylor Kornieck, 23
Kelsey Turnbow, 23
The Wave took Girma with the No. 1 pick in the 2022 college draft, and the talented defender out of Stanford is already pairing with veteran Abby Dahlkemper as the club’s CB duo of the present and future. San Diego picked up Kornieck in a trade with Orlando, and the 6’1” midfielder/forward could step in as a more permanent starter after showing flashes with the Pride. Finally, Turnbow was quietly the jewel of the package the Wave got from Chicago in exchange for expansion draft protection, and the forward could contend for Rookie of the Year given her talent and opportunity.
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Washington Spirit
Trinity Rodman, 19
Ashley Sanchez, 23
If you’re looking for the next face of the NWSL, it’s Rodman. She leads a deep crop of young talent in the nation’s capital and was signed to a record four-year, $1.1 million deal this past offseason. Rodman became the youngest player drafted in NWSL history when she was taken No. 1 by the Spirit at age 18. The striker promptly electrified the league with her poise and finishing touch, winning Rookie of the Year honors after a six-goal, five-assist season.
Rodman might have put the Spirit over the top to capture their first NWSL championship in 2021, but they’ve been building their core over the last few years. A big chunk of that group has progressed past the under-25 requirement for this list, but another budding star is the 23-year-old Sanchez. She plays with skill and versatility in the attack, and her performances have put her firmly on the USWNT radar as it turns to the future.
