Time Magazine has named its TIME100 Next list, and soccer players Sam Kerr and Trinity Rodman feature among the rising stars.
The list, which recognizes up-and-comers in industries across the world, also includes tennis player Carlos Alcaraz, NBA player Ja Morant and Olympic sprinter Erriyon Knighton.
“What unites these individuals are their extraordinary efforts to shape our world—and to define our future,” reads the introduction to the list.
Each star on the list receives a blurb, and Rodman’s was written by former U.S. women’s national team goalkeeping legend Brianna Scurry.
In writing about Rodman’s accomplishments, which include becoming the youngest player ever drafted to the NWSL and earning her own spot on the USWNT, Scurry notes that the 20-year-old Washington Spirit forward has the potential to become “unstoppable.”
“Her approach reminds me of Mia Hamm in some ways—especially her intelligence about the runs that she makes and when she makes them,” Scurry writes. “Her work rate defensively is so impressive too.
“She’s also so personable and such a cut-up and a jokester, and she really likes to have fun with her teammates off the pitch. But she’s all business on it…The wealth of potential is off the charts.”
Sam Kerr stars for Chelsea in the Women’s Super League and for the Australian women’s national team. She is Australia’s all-time leading international scorer.
USWNT all-time leading scorer Abby Wambach introduced Kerr for Time, writing that the 29-year-old has the potential to make the world fall in love with her at the 2023 World Cup as the Matildas’ captain.
“Sam allows her play to speak for itself,” Wambach writes. “She leads not through bravado about her own skill, but by directing the spotlight to her teammates, celebrating their unique skills and effort. And they rise to the level that Sam sees in them. That’s a leader. That’s a legend.”
