Top 10 NWSL Players to Watch in 2026

The National Women’s Soccer League has never been more exciting. Packed with Olympic champions, generational talents, and breakthrough rookies, the 2026 NWSL season is shaping up to be the best one yet. Whether you’re a soccer parent looking for players to inspire your daughter, a youth player trying to find your next role model, or just a fan who wants to know who’s worth watching this season — this list is for you.

Here are the 10 NWSL players who will define women’s soccer in 2026.

1. Trinity Rodman — Washington Spirit

The most electric player in the NWSL right now, Trinity Rodman is flat-out fun to watch. The daughter of NBA legend Dennis Rodman, Trinity has carved out her own legacy entirely on her own terms — and she’s doing it with speed, flair, and a maturity that belies her age.

Rodman was the second overall pick in the 2021 NWSL Draft straight out of high school, and she immediately looked like she belonged. She won the 2021 NWSL Rookie of the Year, was a 2024 Olympic gold medalist, and has grown into one of the most dynamic attacking wingers in the world game.

What makes her so special for youth players to study? She never stops running. She tracks back, she presses, she sprints behind defenders, and she delivers in big moments. Her combination of raw athleticism and improving technical quality makes her one of the most complete wide players in the league.

• Position: Winger
• Club: Washington Spirit
• Why watch her: Pure athleticism, pressing intensity, and a nose for big moments

2. Mallory Swanson — Chicago Red Stars

If the 2024 Paris Olympics had a defining American moment, it was Mallory Swanson. The Chicago Red Stars forward scored the opening goal against Brazil in the gold medal match, capping a tournament where she was unstoppable. She finished as the tournament’s top scorer and cemented herself as the face of the USWNT’s new era.

Swanson’s game is built on intelligent movement, clinical finishing, and the kind of quiet leadership that doesn’t always show up in the box score but shifts the entire team dynamic. She missed the 2023 World Cup with a torn ACL — came back, worked harder, and became an Olympic champion. That’s the kind of story worth telling your players.

• Position: Forward
• Club: Chicago Red Stars
• Why watch her: Elite movement off the ball, mental toughness, clinical in front of goal

3. Sophia Smith — Portland Thorns

The Portland Thorns striker has been one of the NWSL’s best players for three consecutive seasons and shows no signs of slowing down. Smith won the 2023 NWSL Golden Boot, has been named US Soccer Female Player of the Year twice, and was a key part of the 2024 Olympic gold medal run.

What sets Smith apart is her ability to score in multiple ways — driving runs in behind, cutting inside off the left, placing shots with her stronger right foot, or converting headers. At 23, she’s already a complete striker. Youth players looking for a modern forward to emulate will find no better blueprint in the NWSL right now.

• Position: Forward
• Club: Portland Thorns
• Why watch her: Complete forward game, versatile scoring, elite composure

4. Alyssa Thompson — Angel City FC

Alyssa Thompson made her USWNT debut at 17 years old, making her the youngest outfield player ever to suit up for the senior national team. That alone tells you everything you need to know about the level of talent we’re dealing with here.

The Los Angeles native plays for hometown club Angel City FC and has been on a trajectory that most players spend entire careers trying to reach. She’s fast, direct, composed, and already showing the kind of technical quality that has scouts from European clubs watching closely. For youth players in Southern California especially, Thompson is as local as it gets — and as inspiring.

• Position: Winger / Forward
• Club: Angel City FC
• Why watch her: Prodigy trajectory, dribbling ability, pace, big game confidence

5. Jaedyn Shaw — San Diego Wave

Jaedyn Shaw burst onto the scene as the 2023 NWSL Rookie of the Year and has not stopped developing since. The San Diego Wave midfielder combines dynamism with technical precision in a way that is genuinely rare at her age.

Shaw made the US Olympic team and contributed meaningful minutes during the gold medal run in Paris. She’s a box-to-box presence who can win the ball, drive forward, and finish. Youth midfielders who want to understand what modern central midfield looks like at the highest level should watch Jaedyn Shaw closely every time she plays.

• Position: Midfielder
• Club: San Diego Wave
• Why watch her: Dynamic box-to-box play, elite athleticism, rapid development curve

6. Rose Lavelle — OL Reign

Rose Lavelle is a once-in-a-generation technical midfielder. She won the Bronze Ball at the 2019 World Cup (behind only Megan Rapinoe and Alex Morgan), scored in the World Cup final, and has spent the years since proving that her 2019 wasn’t a peak — it was a preview.

What Lavelle does with the ball in tight spaces is something that youth players should watch frame by frame. Her ability to receive under pressure, turn, and immediately create something — whether that’s a dribble, a pass into space, or a shot — is textbook midfield play. She’s a master of finding pockets between the lines and making something happen from nothing.

• Position: Attacking Midfielder
• Club: OL Reign
• Why watch her: Technical excellence, creativity in tight spaces, composure under pressure

7. Lynn Williams — NJ/NY Gotham FC

A veteran presence in a league full of young stars, Lynn Williams remains one of the most dangerous forwards in the NWSL. She was the 2016 NWSL Golden Boot winner, has been an All-Star multiple times, and continues to find ways to impact games through intelligent movement and an underrated physicality.

Williams is the kind of player that coaches love because she works for the team even when the ball isn’t coming to her. She holds the ball up, creates space for teammates, and then pounces when the chance comes. For youth forwards who want to understand the complete forward role — not just scoring but team play — Williams is a great study.

• Position: Forward
• Club: NJ/NY Gotham FC
• Why watch her: Intelligent forward play, hold-up ability, experience and winning mentality

8. Catarina Macario — Portland Thorns

The most technically gifted American-born midfielder of her generation, Catarina Macario has spent two years battling back from a torn ACL that cost her the 2023 World Cup. Her return to full health and form is one of the most anticipated storylines in women’s soccer heading into 2026.

Macario’s technical profile is genuinely special — two-footed, comfortable receiving in any direction, able to play through pressure and immediately switch the play or find the killer pass. She grew up in Brazil, came to the US, earned citizenship, and became a key part of the USWNT rebuild. Her story of persistence is one worth sharing with young players who face setbacks.

• Position: Midfielder
• Club: Portland Thorns
• Why watch her: Two-footed technical ability, vision, comeback story

9. Croix Bethune — OL Reign

The most exciting young prospect in the Pacific Northwest, Croix Bethune is the kind of player who makes you stop what you’re doing and watch. The OL Reign forward has been rapidly developing into one of the league’s most dangerous attackers, combining pace with creativity in a way that causes nightmares for defenders.

She’s not yet a household name the way Rodman or Swanson are — but that won’t be true for long. If you want to tell your youth player about someone who is on the rise and still climbing, Bethune is your pick for 2026.

• Position: Forward / Winger
• Club: OL Reign
• Why watch her: Rising star energy, pace, unpredictability in the final third

10. Mia Fishel — Portland Thorns

Mia Fishel scored the goal that won the 2024 Olympic gold medal for the United States. In the 62nd minute of the final against Brazil, Fishel came off the bench and put the Americans ahead for good. That moment alone earns her a spot on this list.

Beyond the gold medal winner, Fishel is a striker with great movement, sharp finishing instincts, and the ability to change a game in a single moment. She is still developing her full game but has the kind of big-stage quality that suggests she will be a major NWSL and USWNT figure for the next decade.

• Position: Forward
• Club: Portland Thorns
• Why watch her: Clutch finishing, impact sub ability, World Cup 2026 ceiling

How to Use These Players to Improve Your Own Game

One of the best things any youth player can do is study how elite players move, not just when they have the ball, but when they don’t. Watch how Trinity Rodman presses when possession is lost. Watch Rose Lavelle’s head movement before she receives a pass. Watch how Mallory Swanson times her runs off the back line.

Then go replicate it in training. If you have a rebounder, use it to work on the one- and two-touch passing combinations that players like Lavelle and Macario master in tight spaces. Quick-fire repetitions against a board build the kind of muscle memory that shows up in games.

The NWSL is more watchable than ever in 2026, with expanded media coverage and a growing fanbase. Make it part of your soccer education. Pick one player from this list, watch them closely for a month, and try to steal one thing from their game. That’s how you grow.

Final Thoughts

The women’s game has never been in better shape. The NWSL is producing world-class players, drawing top talent from around the globe, and giving young American girls (and plenty of boys) players to look up to and learn from. With the 2026 World Cup on US soil bringing an enormous spotlight to women’s soccer, this is the perfect time to tune in.

Pick your favorite from this list. Buy the jersey. Watch the games. And get to work.