Here’s a look at the top rookies for the 2025 NWSL season
Here’s a look at the top rookies for the 2025 NWSL season
With no more drafts in the NWSL, college players entering the league have a number of challenges coming their way. First, there’s getting a contract with a club, and later, earning minutes on a team with seasoned veterans. Ahead of the NWSL 2025 regular season, nearly every club has invited or signed an incoming former collegiate player, but how they’ll impact the team is yet to be seen. Some clubs have already signed players with high ceilings and loaned them to other leagues or will work with them off injury.
Washington Spirit signed Nigerian international and former Pitt midfielder Deborah Abiodun, and she will start her pro club journey on loan with USL’s Dallas Trinity FC. Trinity Byars of the San Diego Wave is a top forward prospect, the first to sign with an NWSL side post-draft elimination, and is currently working her way back from an ACL injury.
There’s a bit of a learning curve in this next era of NWSL post-drafts, with club executives and players expressing the different learnings and approaches that will shift as teams figure out new ways to build their rosters and recruit young talent.
With the NWSL regular season just around the corner, here are a few players to keep an eye on:
Lilly Reale (Defender, NJ/NY Gotham FC)
School: UCLA
A standout defender for UCLA, she has emerged as a promising talent and is coming off a “futures camp”‘ call-up for the U.S. women’s national team. With 83 appearances over four years as a Bruin, she recorded three goals and four assists in 7,100 minutes of play. In 2024, she earned First-Team All-American, All-North Region, and All-Big Ten honors.
Rated for her composure, intelligence, and leadership, Reale anchored the UCLA backline with precision. She has a strong technical ability as a center back, with clean passing, sharp ball control, and the vision to initiate attacks from deep. A tenacious tackler, she combines physicality with tactical awareness and is a threat with her aerial prowess.
She might be on the depth chart for Gotham FC behind starters and USWNT defenders Emily Sonnett and Tierna Davidson, but her versatility, soccer IQ, and poise under pressure, could make her a sometimes starter by the coaching staff if needed over a long season.
Hannah Bebar (Midfielder, Bay FC)
School: Duke
A dynamic midfielder out of Duke with advanced technical skills and decision-making that sets her apart on the pitch. Bebar excels in ball control, precise passing, and creating scoring opportunities. Her vision and ability to read the game allow her to dictate play, while her agility and quick footwork make her a threat in one-on-one situations.
Her work rate and stability under pressure are a sign of maturity as a young player, and her efforts were acknowledged with a call-up to the senior-level January camp after Lynn Biyendolo was ruled out with hamstring tightness. She can transition fairly seamlessly between defense and attack, but how the coaching staff plans to utilize her during her first pro season might determine how she continues to develop.
Brooklyn Courtnall (Defender, NC Courage)
School: Southern California
Courtnall already has made headlines as a member of Canada’s youth national team programs. She was a member of Canada’s U-20 team that earned a bronze medal during the 2022 Concacaf W Championship and the 2022 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup. A four-year starter during her time with USC, she was part of a backline that maintained 11 clean sheets in 23 games in 2024 and was captain of the team during their quarterfinal run of the NCAA tournament and Big Ten Conference title.
She has experience shifting between the left and right center back roles and can keep up with an attacker’s pace if necessary, which could mean a coach’s opportunity to develop in other areas on the pitch. Courtnall is confident in one-on-one scenarios, and her quick thinking, adaptability, and defensive hustle could be an immediate asset to North Carolina’s defense if the coaching staff is looking to develop the backline with an eye on the future.
Trinity Armstrong (Defender, San Diego Wave)
School: North Carolina
Armstrong already has plenty of attention on her after leaving the University of North Carolina after her freshman season. The 17-year-old also signed with the Wave FC during an offseason that saw the departure of USWNT defender Naomi Girma on a historic record-setting transfer fee to Chelsea FC. That’s a lot of pressure to perform for a teenager stepping into her first professional season, but Armstrong is highly rated and is no stranger to big moments at a young age.
A technically sound player with more to come as she develops, she already excels in ball distribution and can initiate play from the back with precise long balls and short passes. She anchored UNC’s backline during their 2024 NCAA title run where she started in all 21 matches, clocking 1,734 minutes, and contributed to 13 shutouts with a 0.81 goals against per game average. Her standout college play earned her an invitation to the January USWNT camp with the younger prospects.
Taylor Huff (Midfielder, Bay FC)
School: FSU
A standout midfielder, Huff recorded 15 goals and 12 assists in 41 appearances for the Tennesee Volunteers and helped them reach NCAA tournaments before transferring to Florida State University. She scored five goals and tallied six assists in 17 games during FSU’s run to the 2023 NCAA national championship. In 2024, she doubled her contributions with 12 goals and 10 assists.
Sharp technical skills, vision, and with composure on the ball, Huff can help control the tempo of a game while contributing defensively and in attack. She can shift across midfield roles when needed and can be as creative and consistent in possession. How the coaching staff develops and utilizes her skills will be a key factor in whether or not she excels in year one.