NWSL Radar: Five emerging talents after five matches
From all-action defenders to speedy wingers and an elite xG threat. Keep an eye on these young players.
Welcome to the ‘NWSL Radar’, a tentative recurring column at The Cutback, where we will try and illuminate something you might be missing and put it on your radar.
Right now, just under 20% of the 2025 NWSL season has been played (five matchweeks1 out of 26).
Whilst it is still very early, it is starting to become a little bit clearer who the main characters of the season will be. And, with that in mind, I thought it would be a good time to spotlight some of the young, emerging talents.
So, what makes an emerging talent an emerging talent?
For this exercise, I chose three criteria. The players had to be: Under 23 years old, must have fewer than 40 career NWSL appearances, and cannot have made a senior international cap for their country.
Let’s get to the five emerging talents after five matches of the NWSL season.
NOTE: All stats via FBRef
Maddie Dahlien, Seattle Reign
Age: 20
Position: Winger
Experience: Rookie
2025 on paper: 5 apps (428 mins) | 1G (1.0 xG) | 0A (0.5 xA) | 10 SCA2
Stat to know: 14 carries into the penalty area (2nd in the NWSL)
I’m unabashedly a huge fan of Dahlien, after her incredible three seasons with the University of North Carolina. The former track athlete is known for her pace and was exactly the sort of new signing that the creaking Reign needed. A real stretch player who keeps the defence honest.
Dahlien has wasted no time in becoming a key contributor for Seattle. She’s started every match and has played the full 90 minutes on all but one occasion. It took her five matches to score her first goal, but the runs she has been making have been highly influential. With 14 shots taken, but just 1.0 xG, the trick for her will be getting into better positions. She also broke an NWSL record this season by completing nine tackles in a single match.
Kennedy Fuller, Angel City FC
Age: 18
Position: Centre midfielder
Experience: 2nd year
2025 on paper: 5 apps (434 mins) | 1G (0.9 xG) | 2A (0.4 xA) | 11 SCA
Stat to know: 12 blocks (3rd in the NWSL)
Fuller’s rookie season was deemed a success as she made 19 appearances (10 starts) and showed all the tools to become an NWSL starter. But as a teenager entering any professional league, there’s always going to be peaks and troughs. A year on, Fuller is already looking more complete and consistent. She has equaled her goal tally from 2024 as well as notched her first two NWSL assists (2nd in the NWSL).
While her pass accuracy has only crept up a little (65% 2024 vs. 69% 2025) there’s a more impressive jump in medium range pass accuracy (59% 2024 vs. 74% 2025). Fuller has already surpassed her passes into the final third total from last season too (12 2024 vs. 15 2025). Her 12 blocks (3 shots, 9 passes) have been important to ACFC’s off-ball style.
Jameese Joseph, Chicago Stars
Age: 22
Position: Forward / Winger
Experience: 2nd year
2025 on paper: 5 apps (387 mins) | 1G (1.6 xG) | 2A (1.3 xA) | 13 SCA
Stat to know: 10 key passes (5th in the NWSL)
It hasn’t been easy for Chicago this season without Mal Swanson. The team heavily relies on Ludmila and Joseph to generate all the attack. A huge amount of credit has to go to Joseph, who is taking another leap in her second season as the team’s main creator even with the fewest minutes of any player on this radar list.
In 23 matches (9 starts) Joseph had two goals and two assists, so she’s almost there already. But the vision and weight she’s shown on her passing range has been really impressive. She’s locked onto dangerous spaces with her passes, and her high xA showcases that. There’s a growing responsibility on her shoulders, but she looks ready.
Lilly Reale, NJ/NY Gotham FC
Age: 21
Position: Centre-back / left-back
Experience: Rookie
2025 on paper: 6 apps (443 mins) | 1G (0.5 xG) | 63% Tackle Success | 5 SCA
Stat to know: 10/16 dribblers tackled (2nd in the NWSL)
Reale’s had some high highs and some low lows to start her professional career, but that’s entirely understandable for the former UCLA star. On the first start of her career she scored an own goal, and then on a midweek night in Portland she conceded a penalty and got caught biting early on a run and giving up space for a goal. She feels all-action.
But don’t let some of the errors take away one of the brightest new defenders in the league. Physical and switched on, Reale has slotted into Gotham’s heavily rotated backline as a hybrid centre-back/left-back. With Gotham looking to play as much as possible in the opposition half, she’s also putting up some impressive on-ball numbers: 30 progressive passes (6th most), 9 passes into penalty area (4th most), and 22 crosses (7th most).
Reilyn Turner, Portland Thorns
Age: 22
Position: Forward / Winger
Experience: 2nd year
2025 on paper: 6 apps (422 mins) | 2G (3.5 xG) | 0A (0.2 xA) | 16 SCA
Stat to know: 3.5 xG (2nd in the NWSL)
In 2024, Turner played half a season in Louisville before the Thorns made a big move to bring her 2,314 miles northwest. After struggling for minutes in her rookie season, the former UCLA striker is starting to bed into being a starter. Maternity leave for Sophia Wilson and a knee injury for Morgan Weaver is playing a factor there.
The Californian is a high volume shooter who finds it incredibly easy to get into good positions. With the third most shots (16) in the NWSL right now, in some ways it is no surprise she ranks second for xG with 3.5. Turner isn’t creating many chances for other players right now but that’s okay. The Thorns need a focal point, and Turner is trending like one of the most productive under-23 players in the league. Special mention to her 76% aerial duel win rate. Half the goals she scored last year were in the air, so get the ball on Turner’s head.
Caveat here that Gotham and the Thorns have both played six matches due to their involvement in the W Concacaf Champions Cup, the region’s elite continental competition.
SCA stands for Shot-Creating Action