Rising Ballers: It’s Alyssa Thompson’s world and we’re all just living in it


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The NWSL has its LeBron James. Her name is Alyssa Thompson.

It’s hard to overstate the level of Thompson’s prestige. As a do-it-all attacker, she is a paradigm-shifting, potentially league-conquering talent who has wasted no time in showing her ability at the pro level, scoring a banger in her first Angel City FC game. 

But let’s take a step back.

Thompson is from Los Angeles and played high school soccer for Harvard-Westlake, but outgrew high school-level competition after just two seasons, during which she scored a ludicrous 48 goals in 18 games. Thompson clearly needed more challenging opposition, so she joined Total Futbol Academy’s MLS Next U-19 team, where she was the league’s only woman player. 

The United States women’s national team has a proud history of giving caps to prodigious teenagers, but, even by that standard, Thompson broke into the squad early. When she made her senior international debut at 17 years and 334 days old, Thompson was the youngest national team player since Mallory Swanson (formerly Pugh) made her debut in 2016. 

Her resume was so impressive that, in the 2023 NWSL Draft, Angel City made the unprecedented decision to draft her straight out of high school. Beyond her clinical goal scoring ability, Thompson has obvious commercial appeal to Angel City — that’s why they traded up to the first pick to take her. As a hometown player, the club can emphasize her L.A. roots and if they win a title with Thompson leading the charge, it will have a special place in the league’s history books. Another West Coast team, the Portland Thorns, has long dominated the NWSL’s attendance figures, but if Thompson reaches even just 80 percent of her potential, BMO Stadium will be filled on a regular basis.

Because of an untimely injury, Thompson may end up taking Swanson’s place in the USWNT’s World Cup roster this summer. When Swanson tore her patella tendon in a recent friendly match against Ireland, USWNT Head Coach Vlatko Andonovski drafted Thompson into the squad on short notice as their ringer. Thompson started at right wing in the U.S.’ second match against Ireland and played the entire 90 minutes, showing how highly regarded she is by Andonovski and his staff. Her versatility might be what wins her the job as Thompson can play anywhere across the forward line. 

It doesn’t matter which position she plays; Thompson was born to find the back of the net. With blistering pace and top-notch ball control, she enjoys playing a direct style and trying to advance up the field as quickly as possible. Once in the attacking third, Thompson takes advantage of any one-versus-one opportunities she sees to bear down on goal. In a preseason friendly against Club América, Thompson ran through three defenders with ease and rounded the goalkeeper to score her first goal in a black and pink jersey (she was in school earlier that morning).

She isn’t afraid to shoot, even when her chance of scoring is speculative, as she showed in her first NWSL game. It took Thompson all of 11 minutes to show her cannon of a boot, when she picked up the ball on the edge of the box, took one touch to the right and lashed the ball to the top right corner. 

She hasn’t scored in the NWSL since her debut, but Thompson continues to be a positive option in the team. Against San Diego Wave FC this past Sunday, she took five shots and created two chances, according to FotMob’s stat-keeping. Her next goal will come soon. 

Thompson still has a lot to prove. Anointing young athletes too soon and expecting them to deliver titles immediately usually does not work out well. She deserves patience and support from fans if she is to reach her potential. 

But, if I may, allow me to hypothesize. 

This month, the U.S. and Mexico announced a joint bid to host the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup. That year, Sophia Smith will be 26, an NWSL MVP in her prime. Trinity Rodman will be 25 and scoring goals for fun. Mallory Swanson will have long recovered from her injury and become a leader in the U.S. locker room. 

But at 22, Thompson could be the best of them all, leading the U.S. to World Cup victory on home soil. 

Jack Hallinan is a sophomore writing about the top wonderkids in men’s and women’s soccer in his column “Rising Ballers,” which runs every other Wednesday.