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Trinity Rodman is no ordinary teenage phenom

(Tony Quinn / ISI Photos)

Trinity Rodman can still feel the jolt she received from Brooke Hendrix in the first minute of a bruising NWSL game last month.

Rodman, 18 years old at the time and playing in just her second professional game with the Washington Spirit, received a through ball from Ashley Sanchez in full stride toward Louisville’s backline. Looking to slide past Hendrix with her speed, Rodman took a touch and got a shot off just as the seasoned Louisville defender knocked her off balance.

Instead of a breakaway goal, it was a “welcome to the NWSL” moment for Rodman.

“Being so young and being so new to all of this physicality, I was going against her, trying to run behind and she gave me a big bump,” Rodman says, her voice soft and reflective while recalling the play from the May 21 game. “That’s when I realized there’s a lot of strong players in this league and I obviously need to learn to become a bigger body and be able to maneuver out of it.”

Many of those lessons for Rodman have come in real time. Since the Spirit selected her with the second overall pick in January’s draft, making her the youngest player ever drafted into the NWSL, there’s been no easing into the professional game.

Even before Rodman touched an NWSL field, people knew her name. She’s the daughter of five-time NBA champion Dennis Rodman and a teenage phenom who essentially bypassed college for the pros, where the expectations have only intensified. Rodman scored in her debut for the Spirit during the NWSL Challenge Cup and has started four of five games in the regular season. She’s ranked second in the league in shots (16) and fourth in shots on goal (8).

What Rodman has accomplished in just four months in the NWSL doesn’t surprise Spirit coach Richie Burke. Rodman first came onto his radar in 2019 through Laura Harvey, Rodman’s coach with the United States U-20 team.

“She said to me, ‘Look Richie, she’s legit, absolutely legit,’” Burke says. Following that conversation, Burke had one of his assistants pull some clips so he could watch Rodman in action, including at the 2020 U-20 CONCACAF Women’s Championship, where she scored nine goals and made her case to be nominated for the U.S. Soccer Young Female Player of the Year award.

“You can’t teach that innate instinct, that feel for the game, when the ball is going to get to certain places, or you get there a little bit before the ball arrives,” Burke says. “Her football instincts are just fantastic.”

Rodman made her professional debut for the Spirit on April 10 against the North Carolina Courage in the Challenge Cup. Entering the game in the 55th minute, she needed only five minutes to make her mark on the match with a textbook, two-touch finish. She used her pace to slice through the Courage’s backline and her technique to bring the ball down in the air and place it into the near post.

It’s those types of plays that have Rodman not only on NWSL scouting reports but on U.S. women’s national team coach Vlatko Andonovski’s watch list.

“Vlatko and the national team staff have been coming to games. She’s very much on the radar,” Burke says. “I was telling Vlatko when we were in Louisville talking about her a little bit that when you play with her and you’re around her, you realize how quickly she closes you down. She’s unbelievably fast and unbelievably quick across the ground, so when you’re in there playing with her, she changes your mind. You’re like, ‘Bloody hell!’ She’s on you like a flash.”

Running fast, cutting hard, defending until the ball is won and scoring goals have always been hallmarks of Rodman’s game. Even when she was 4 years old, growing up in Newport Beach, Calif. and just getting started in soccer, she couldn’t wrap her head around the kids who wanted to pick flowers and chat with their parents rather than attack the opposing defense.

“I would get so frustrated and try to gather the whole team while the game was going on,” Rodman says. “That’s when I knew soccer was going to be my thing.”

Rodman played for the fabled SoCal Blues soccer club her entire youth career, leading the team to a five-year undefeated streak and four ECNL national championships.

“Being on such a good club team, I got to experience the real competitive side of it,” she says. “When we started winning, my competitiveness started taking over and I was like, yeah, this is the sport I want to play. I feel the most confident and at home when I’m on the field.”

Rodman, the No. 1-ranked forward coming out of high school, intended to play at Washington State last fall. When the season was pushed back to the spring because of COVID-19, Rodman used the downtime to reconsider her priorities, eventually deciding to declare for the NWSL draft.

“I started getting impatient in a way, and I had pushed myself so hard and done so much extra work that I wanted to be at that level that I had been working hard to be at my whole life,” she says.

In her first practices with the Spirit, she realized just how much more work she had to do, starting with her strength and conditioning.

“I don’t think anyone could really be prepared for it being 18 years old,” Rodman says. “Every time at practice I got beat to the ball. I got pushed off the ball. I missed shots. Every single mistake I made, I learned from it, being around such talented and experienced players.”

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Rodman has shined for the U.S. U-20 team and caught the attention of Vlatko Andonovski. (Brad Smith / ISI Photos)

Burke recalls one practice early in training camp when Rodman was having a hard time finding her rhythm in a passing square drill. As coaches examined every first touch and players whipped passes around, Rodman heard Burke’s commentary and assumed he was mad at her.

After practice, Spirit forward Ashley Sanchez spoke with Rodman and told her not to take Burke’s words so personally, that they were just his unique way of welcoming her to the team. That became official after a preseason game when Burke made up a song for Rodman, an annual tradition for his first-year players.

Rodman’s humility and constant drive to get better have endeared her to her older teammates. She mentions Andi Sullivan, Kelley O’Hara and Emily Sonnett as her biggest mentors on the team.

“I think that she could have come into preseason so big-headed — didn’t play in college, drafted high. But she’s been so professional in her approach to training and learning more,” Sullivan says. “For someone like her, she’s not just a star — she’s studying, she’s working hard and she’s showing up.”

Watching film has been integral to Rodman’s progress as a rookie. She’s noticed, for example, that her runs in the final third have been too slow and straight, making them predictable and easier for the defense to pick up, and she’s adjusted accordingly.

In the first minute of the Spirit’s game against the Orlando Pride on June 6, Rodman received the ball with her back to goal. She took a touch with the outside of her right foot and chopped it behind her back, spinning out of pressure and finding space down the right wing. She then whipped the ball across the box to Hatch, giving the Spirit their first scoring chance of the game.

“I think the greatest thing for Trinity is that she’s holding her own right now,” Harvey says. “For someone at her age to just be able to hold her own is a huge compliment right now.”

Although she’s improving and growing more comfortable with every training session and game, Rodman still calls her mom, Michelle, many times a day. When she has a practice that’s not up to her standards, she knows her mom will always say the right thing.

“You’re doing the best that you can do,” her mom will tell her. “If in your head you’re working your hardest, that’s all you can do and you just have to take it day by day because there’s nothing you can do about the practice you had an hour ago. Think about the next practice and how you can get better.”

The advice has stuck with Rodman, who turned 19 last month. Only five months have passed since she made history at the NWSL draft, and she feels like a different player now when she takes the field.

“I have already learned so much, and I think being able to see how much progress has happened in a short amount of time gets me excited for what’s in the future,” she says. “Before I was like, ‘Wow, I’m good.’ Now I’m like, ‘Wow I wasn’t that good.’”

Even Rodman can see she is just cracking the surface of her potential. And as her work continues to translate to the field, she’s making a name for herself.

“I’ll play the hardest I can ever play for my team,” she says. “I’ll do anything and put my body on the line so my team can succeed.”

Indiana Fever Shoots for Redemption Against Seattle Storm

Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark waits for an inbound pass during a 2025 WNBA game.
The Fever are looking to end a two-game losing streak. (Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

The WNBA is back in action on Tuesday night, as the Indiana Fever and Seattle Storm headline a series of games that could make or break the current trajectories of several 2025 title contenders.

Seeking an especially strong Tuesday performance is the Fever, as Indiana tries to snap a two-game losing streak against the increasingly confident Storm.

"There are going to be stretches that are really good and there's going to be stretches that aren't as good," Fever guard Caitlin Clark said on Sunday, addressing her recent shooting slump.

While the Indiana and Seattle clash will lead the Tuesday charge, the night will also see young squads sizing up WNBA juggernauts as bottom-table teams look for a leg up:

  • No. 8 Indiana Fever vs. No. 5 Seattle Storm, 10 PM ET (NBA TV): The Fever need a win against a Storm side that can't seem to lose, as both teams eye the postseason.
  • No. 1 Minnesota Lynx vs. No. 9 Washington Mystics, 8 PM ET (WNBA League Pass): The up-and-coming Mystics will attempt to hand the Lynx a second season loss, as Minnesota star Napheesa Collier remains day-to-day with lower back stiffness.
  • No. 4 Atlanta Dream vs. No. 12 Dallas Wings, 8 PM ET (WNBA League Pass): The Dream are on a tear, surging up the standings as the struggling Wings attempt to take flight.
  • No. 10 LA Sparks vs. No. 11 Chicago Sky, 8 PM ET (NBA TV): The Sparks have cooled after a hot start while the Sky has yet to rev up, with both teams aiming to end a three-game losing streak on Tuesday night.

Teams across the league are hoping to make the most of every minute while also managing injury concerns and absences as the WNBA All-Star break looms.

WNBA Rookie of the Year Odds Shift as 2025 Draft Picks Heat Up

Washington Mystics rookie Sonia Citron guards Dallas Wings rookie Paige Bueckers during a 2025 WNBA game.
Washington rookie Sonia Citron and first-year Dallas star Paige Bueckers are both off to hot starts in their WNBA careers. (Stephen Goslings/NBAE via Getty Images)

The WNBA Class of 2025 is already making its mark on the league, with first-year players stepping up and showing out while the Rookie of the Year race — and betting odds — heat up.

No. 1 draft pick Paige Bueckers has been just as good as advertised, with the Dallas Wings guard leading her class in both minutes played and points per game while also charting league-wide in assists per game, steals per game, and mid-range shots made.

DraftKings currently has Bueckers as the clear WNBA Rookie of the Year race frontrunner at -1,000, though the dynamic DC duo of guard Sonia Citron (+1,500) and forward Kiki Iriafen (+1,000) are quickly gaining traction.

Iriafen won May's WNBA Rookie of the Month award after a series of career-opening double-doubles, while her Washington Mystics teammate Citron has continued to execute in the clutch — most recently posting a career-high double-double performance of 27 points and 11 rebounds in last Sunday's 91-88 overtime win over Dallas.

"Not only is [Iriafen] holding her own, she's excelling," Citron told JWS earlier this month. "And seeing that is just incredible."

"Soni just does all the little things," Iriafen added. "She doesn't shortcut anything, she's doing the fundamentals, she doesn't cheat the game at all."

International Signings Ramp Up as Soccer Teams Break for Women’s Euro 2025

San Diego Wave forward María Sánchez dribbles the ball during a 2025 NWSL match.
San Diego forward María Sánchez is transferring to Liga MX side UANL Tigres. (John Matthew Harrison/ISI Photos/Getty Images)

Though the NWSL hit the pause button this week, players worldwide are still on the move, as both European and US soccer teams use the midseason break to sharpen their lineups with international signings.

The NWSL has already seen one major departure, with the San Diego Wave announcing Monday that forward María Sánchez will return to her former Liga MX club UANL Tigres after nearly five years in the NWSL, with the Wave set to receive an undisclosed transfer fee in return.

"When the opportunity came to return to Tigres, I had to do a lot of inner searching, and I ultimately decided that returning to Liga MX Femenil and Tigres specifically was the best course of action for my career," the 29-year-old dual citizen and Mexico international player said in the Wave's release.

NWSL clubs are also setting their sights on European free agents, with the Washington Spirit bringing in Juventus forward Sofia Cantore last week — the first Italian signing in league history.

Also hopping aboard the player transaction carousel is new WSL side London City, with the top-flight debutantes inking OL Lyonnes midfielder and Dutch international Daniëlle van de Donk on Friday.

Meanwhile, van de Donk's wife and club teammate Ellie Carpenter is also potentially WSL-bound, with the defender reportedly nearing a deal that would see the Australian join Chelsea FC in return for the Blues sending Canadian international Ashley Lawrence to OL Lyonnes.

For their part, OL Lyonnes picked up defender Ingrid Engen from Barcelona as a free agent last week, adding the Norwegian international after snagging French forward and PSG's all-time leading scorer Marie-Antoinette Katoto earlier this month.

With the most recent NWSL CBA abolishing traditional trade windows, expect even more international signings and roster reshufflings before the league resumes play on August 1st.

San Diego Wave Honors Alex Morgan with Jersey Retirement

San Diego Wave players applaud Alex Morgan as she exits the pitch during her final NWSL game in 2024.
Morgan won the NWSL Shield with San Diego in 2023. (Meg Oliphant/Getty Images)

San Diego is paying tribute to one of their own, with the Wave announcing plans to retire the No. 13 jersey of NWSL and USWNT legend Alex Morgan on September 7th.

Still topping the team's all-time scoring leaderboard with 23 goals in just over two seasons with San Diego, the retired club captain will be the first-ever Wave player to receive the prestigious honor.

Morgan also led San Diego to the 2023 NWSL Shield as well as postseason appearances in the 2022 expansion club's first two seasons.

"Alex's legacy goes far beyond goals and accolades. She helped lay the foundation for this club and elevated the standard for what women's soccer is today," said Wave FC governor Lauren Leichtman in the team's Tuesday announcement.

"She made this city her home, inspired our fans and community, and helped define who we are," Leichtman continued. "Her impact will be felt for generations, and it's only fitting that her number becomes a permanent part of Wave FC history." 

Morgan joined the Southern California squad's ownership group just last month, saying "San Diego is where I've built my home, where I am raising my children, and found a purpose beyond my playing career."

How to attend the San Diego jersey retirement of Alex Morgan

San Diego will officially retire Morgan's No. 13 jersey during their home match against the Houston Dash at 8 PM ET on September 7th.

Tickets to the game will go on sale to the general public online at 6 PM ET on Tuesday.

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