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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.
