Drama and uncertainty are defining characteristics of the NWSL, and that is the case for this year's compelling MVP and Golden Boot races.
Who is the best player in the NWSL right now, two-thirds of the way through the regular season? There might be a dozen acceptable answers for MVP, including several whose NWSL seasons have been cut short.
ESPN's NWSL Top 25, our ranking of the best players, is back to sort through the noise as the homestretch of 2026 approaches.
How we rank NWSL players, and what to expect
This is not a list of the most skilled players in the league. Yes, there are world-class players throughout the rosters of these 16 NWSL teams, but all that matters for this ranking is what they have done since the first ball was kicked in March.
So, for example, while Mallory Swanson and Lindsey Heaps are certainly among the most talented players in the league, their 2026 samples are too small to make this list: Swanson for injury and Heaps due to arriving in Denver only last month after her move from Lyonnes in France.
Several players who made our first ranking in early May have fallen off because their seasons ended prematurely. Portland Thorns midfielder Olivia Moultrie, our top MVP candidate in May, tore an ACL last week. She is still one of the best players of the year to date, but she's no longer playing and can't be considered among the best players right now.
Fellow MVP candidate Manaka Matsukubo left the North Carolina Courage via transfer to Chelsea in early July. Gotham FC forward Esther González departed Gotham earlier this month in a shocking mutual contract termination because of personal reasons. Gotham defender Emily Sonnett, consistently a top defender in the NWSL, is out for the rest of the season after rupturing a patellar tendon in July. San Diego Wave forward Dudinha tore an ACL in June.
With that, below is our ranking of the top 25 players of the NWSL season thus far. The rankings are based on a combination of tireless game viewing by yours truly and analysis of advanced data. This is neither purely numbers driven nor merely opinion. (Note: All data is provided by ESPN Global Research unless otherwise noted.)
Who is the best player of the NWSL season so far? Vamos!
25. Janine Sonis, fullback, Denver Summit
Our rankings kick off with a nod to good ol' fashion production. Sonis is a veteran fullback with eight goals and four assists this season while wearing the captain's armband for Denver's first games in franchise history.
Yes, five of those goals are from the penalty spot. And? She is five-for-five from the spot. Sonis gets the job done. She recently scored a stoppage-time winner on a brilliant free kick to beat the Utah Royals.
24. Aïssata Traoré, forward, Boston Legacy
Traoré is one of the breakout players of the season and a bright spot in a Boston attack. If the Legacy can sort out issues farther back in the field, Traoré could be a star in this league. She has five goals in 19 games.
23. Kat Rader, attacking midfielder, Houston Dash
Rader has nine goals, and several have come in clutch moments to salvage points for Houston. Her brace Wednesday puts her within two goals of Diana Ordóñez's rookie record (11 goals in 2022). She's a scrappy rookie who is frequently in the right place at the right time, and she has done it from several positions.
22. Taylor Flint, defensive midfielder, Racing Louisville
Death, taxes, Flint leading the league in defensive interventions -- a stat that combines six different metrics to gauge overall defensive performance. She is often underappreciated, and that is especially the case in 2026 because of Louisville's poor first half of the season.
21. Jordynn Dudley, winger, Gotham FC
Dudley has started all but one match for the reigning champions as a rookie. Her two goals and three assists tell only part of the story: She is sixth in the NWSL in goals added, per American Soccer Analysis. Dudley is also the most fouled player in the league (and has committed the most fouls), which speaks to her ability to get into dangerous positions.
20. Riley Jackson, midfielder, North Carolina Courage
Jackson is second in the NWSL in chances created and an emerging midfield star for the Courage and the U.S. women's national team at 20 years old. North Carolina's recent addition of Erica Meg Parkinson gives Jackson even more freedom to be a playmaker.
19. Yazmeen Ryan, winger, Denver Summit
Ryan's potential as an elite goalscorer remains clear. That potential without a final product can be frustrating at times, but she is tied for third in the league in chances created, and she consistently gets into dangerous goal-scoring positions.
When everything clicks, Ryan is one of the best forwards in the league. Consistent finishing will put her up there with the elite.
18. Tara Rudd, centerback, Washington Spirit
Rudd ranks second in the NWSL in defensive interventions. She is a bold defender who can shut down players one-on-one.
Rudd still wears the No. 9 shirt from her days as a forward, and she still frequently steps into the midfield to earn an assist in transition.
17. Mina Tanaka, attacking midfielder, Utah Royals
Tanaka is a budding star with six goals and four assists. She is a creator who can also score, and a player with exceptional vision. The Royals are contenders this year in part because Tanaka has been exceptional.
16. Leicy Santos, attacking midfielder, Washington Spirit
Santos serves as the catalyst for the Spirit's attack. She can lift her head and ping a long ball to her dynamic front line. She can hit a free kick into the top corner. Santos has five goals and four assists this season.
15. Ann-Katrin Berger, goalkeeper, Gotham FC
Yes, Berger's stats are partly a reflection of the defense in front of her, but the 35-year-old German goalkeeper remains the best in the NWSL (despite the occasional rogue miscue), and the stats back that up.
She leads the league with 13 goals against in 17 games, including nine clean sheets (a league best). Berger also ranks second in save percentage (but first among goalkeepers who have played at least five games).
14. Ryan Williams, fullback, North Carolina Courage
If North Carolina is getting forward and threatening its opponent, it is most likely happening down the right side through Williams. She is the best fullback in the league and ranks second in the NWSL in expected assists -- and from an unlikely position.
Williams also ranks ninth in defensive interventions, showing that she a true two-way fullback.
13. Jaedyn Shaw, attacking midfielder, Gotham FC
Shaw does it all for Gotham. Her five goals and four assists are solid numbers, yet they don't account for the presence that she brings to the midfield and the attack. When Shaw is on the ball in the open field or standing over a set piece, Gotham is cooking.
12. Kenza Dali, defensive midfielder, San Diego Wave
Dali is tied for third in chances created and the NWSL leader in expected assists. She just turned 35, and she is still one of the best midfielders in the NWSL.
At the risk of sounding like a broken record, Dali is a smooth, old-school player who makes ball progression look easy. She is the engine of a San Diego Wave team with legitimate title hopes.
11. Kate Del Fava, centerback, Utah Royals
Utah is the cool success story of 2026, and Del Fava is a microcosm of that. The 28-year-old is an underdog success story who started her career in Utah with the first rendition of the Royals, flew under the radar in Kansas City, then returned to Utah and matured into a consistent central defender this year.
Del Fava has limited her risk taking and mistakes this year, and she has been the rock to Utah's largely solid defense. She is tied for sixth in the NWSL in defensive interventions. Her success is one of the NWSL's coolest stories in 2026.
10. Evelyn Ijeh, forward, North Carolina Courage
Expectations were modest for Ijeh as a new arrival from AC Milan, but the Swedish forward has delivered consistently since May, including a recent hat trick in a 5-0 win over Orlando and a brace in a 4-3 victory over the Spirit.
Ijeh's most recent goal brought her to 10 this season, giving the Courage two 10-goal scorers (we'll get to the other player shortly). It marks the third time that a team has a pair of double-digit scorers -- and they've all been with this franchise (previously the Western New York Flash).
9. Rose Lavelle, attacking midfielder, Gotham FC
The question has not changed: Is there a better, more reliable American playmaker than Rose Lavelle? She is among the league leaders in chances created and expected assists, but the stats tell only part of the story.
Lavelle is spellbinding with the ball at her feet, and her movement off the ball is subtly a big part of Gotham's success at the top of the table. This Gotham midfield continues to thrive (shoutout to Jaelin Howell, too), and Lavelle is its leader.
She tries things that others won't. Her chip to lift Gotham to victory at Citi Field in July was another bold moment of magic that will go down as one of the best goals of the year.
8. Sophia Wilson, forward, Portland Thorns
Wilson hardly missed a beat in her return from maternity leave. She looks even more dangerous and agile than before as she slips past defenders with precise turns and, somehow, the appearance of being faster with the ball at her feet than without.
Wilson has this uncanny ability to drift into exactly the right space between defenders before reaching another gear to torch them. She did that in recent goals against Utah and Boston, pulling away from those back lines like an Olympic-level sprinter racing some local runners.
Nine goals and two assists tell only some of the story. Her movement, and the attention she commands from defenders, also helps teammates thrive (more on that soon).
7. Temwa Chawinga, winger, Kansas City Current
On one hand, Chawinga's sample has been small: 11 games played is just over half that of many of her peers. That alone could cost her a chance at three straight MVP and Golden Boot awards.
However, Chawinga has nine goals in those 11 games, an incredible production that speaks to her unique talent. There is only one Temwa Chawinga (and sister, Tabitha, of course), and she is one of the best players in the world.
Kansas City is a different team without her, and they severely missed her early in the season because of injury and recently the Women's Africa Cup of Nations, where Chawinga won the Golden Boot and led Malawi to a Cinderella run to the final and qualification for the World Cup for the first time.
6. Barbra Banda, forward, Orlando Pride
Banda is still the NWSL's leading goalscorer (12) despite missing several weeks for WAFCON (shorter than expected because of Zambia's shocking group-stage exit).
What is the Orlando Pride without Banda right now? Orlando lost 5-0 to the North Carolina Courage in one of the games that Banda missed recently. She still accounts for half of Orlando's 24 goals. The Pride have missed Banda because of international duty and a brief injury scare earlier this year.
Like previous seasons, Banda is still one of the last players that a defender wants to see running at them in the open field. Her movement and ability to get behind back lines is exceptional, and she gives Orlando a needed outlet.
5. Pietra Tordin, forward, Portland Thorns
Say hello to the surprising NWSL leader in goal contributions (16). Tordin has seven goals and nine assists in a breakout season in which she frequently threads the needle to serve up assists for Wilson and scores goals for fun.
Tordin has been clinical in front of goal in open play and a menace on set pieces, whether as the target (as she was on corner-kick goal against Seattle earlier this year) or as the kick taker, such as her recent goal against Boston.
Tordin is already on USWNT head coach Emma Hayes' radar by way of the 2025 "Futures Camp" and the U-23 team. Cracking the 2027 World Cup team is a tall order considering current forward depth, but if Tordin keeps playing like this, senior team call-ups are just around the corner.
4. Cloé Lacasse, winger, Utah Royals
Utah's shocking status as an NWSL Shield contender this season has mostly been built on the collective, but Lacasse stands out as the unlikely star with six goals and eight assists, tied for third in the NWSL in total goal contributions.
Lacasse is a winger who provides service from the left side and cuts inside to score with precision. She also leads in the league in chances created. Her hat trick of assists in a 5-1 win over the Portland Thorns earlier this month punctuated her place near the top of this list.
Lacasse is also one part of a multifaceted press that has helped Utah consistently win the ball high up the field.
3. Ashley Sanchez, winger, North Carolina Courage
Sanchez is having a career renaissance after new Courage head coach Mak Lind decided to move her to the left wing. Sanchez had largely played as a central playmaker in the past but didn't always meet her brimming potential. The move wide has paid dividends and then some.
Sanchez has now scored 11 goals this season, one off Banda's league-leading pace. Sanchez also has three assists, including a glorious tackle-turned-pass in a 4-3 win over the Washington Spirit, her old team, earlier this month.
Confidence has never been an issue for Sanchez. This year, she has put all the pieces together. She runs at defenders from wide positions to beat them one-on-one. She drifts centrally to drag defenders out of position before finding open space for a tidy finish. She dribbles out of tight spaces. She is still creative, but now the end product is there.
Sanchez last earned a cap for the United States nearly two years ago, but her form can't be ignored by Hayes.
2. Croix Bethune, attacking midfielder, Kansas City Current
The Assist Queen has settled into life in Kansas City. The Current's form has been erratic depending on whether they play at home, but Bethune has been consistent and a crucial part of a midfield that is still figuring out life after Claire Hutton.
Bethune is tied for the league lead in assists (nine) and looks set to break her personal record of 10 assists, which she tallied in a stellar 2024 rookie season cut short by a bizarre injury at a baseball game. (That 10-assist season tied Tobin Heath's single-season record, which looks destined to be broken this season -- possibly by multiple players.)
Right now, nobody plays a better final ball than Bethune. Her assist in the opening minutes against Gotham FC last week was exquisite -- and it wasn't her first highlight-reel through ball.
Per American Soccer Analysis, Bethune leads the league in goals added (a metric measuring players' contributions across the field) by a wide margin.
1. Trinity Rodman, winger, Washington Spirit
The Washington Spirit were the best team over the first half of the NWSL season, and Rodman was the engine. She has 10 goals and five assists in 20 matches this year. Rodman continues to deliver, and it shouldn't go unnoticed that she has played in every league game after struggling with injuries for the past two years. She is more consistent than ever. Rodman still has a penchant for audacious moves, although we are seeing less of the famous "Trin Spin" and more of a mature nuance to how she beats defenders. Give her too much space, and she will push the ball past the defender and be free into open space (or draw a foul).
If defenders continue to backpedal to contain her, they end up deep in their 18 and susceptible to Rodman's hip-swivel dekes. She will wrong foot a defender with that move and slam a shot into the net, as she did earlier this month against North Carolina.
Rodman has been spectacular in a vacuum even without outside circumstances. That she has delivered like this after such a chaotic offseason in which she ostensibly nearly left the NWSL because of salary cap restrictions -- then had a league rule implemented in time to keep her with the Spirit and make her a $2 million-plus player annually over the life of her contract -- is next-level delivery in the face of pressure.
Few players live up to major hype. Rodman has seemingly handled it with ease.