By now you probably know that Alyssa Thompson made history during the 2023 NWSL Draft as the first high schooler to go No. 1 and as the youngest player drafted at the age of 18. But did you know that Thomson, a California native out Harvard-Westlake School who’s beginning her pro career with her hometown club Angel City FC, was also the first player with Peruvian and Filipino heritage to be selected at No. 1?
Her journey to the pros began much earlier, way before she and her sister Gisele became the first high school athletes to receive an NIL — name, image and likeness — deal with Nike back in May. You can trace as far back as her days as a 13-year-old with the Santa Clarita Blue Heat where she played with college players. Just a few years later, she moved to Total Futbol Academy, where she played among the boys in Major League Soccer’s youth academy system, MLS Next. She and Gisele were full members of the team and participated in competitive games with the club where they had to learn how to adapt and grow their game from a technical perspective.
Making history and breaking barriers is not uncommon for Thompson, who closed out the 2022 calendar year by being named to the U.S. roster for the 2022 U-20 FIFA Women’s World Cup and scored a goal. She also earned two caps with the senior women’s national team to end 2022 with a bang as the first senior USWNT player to earn a cap at the iconic Wembley Stadium in London against England in October.
Thompson recently sat down with the Attacking Third podcast to discuss her experience with the youth and senior national teams, her draft day experience and the factors that led to going pro. Thompson revealed that on morning of the draft, she “woke up and then got ready for school.”
Want more coverage of women’s soccer? Listen below to the full Alyssa Thompson interview and make sure to follow Attacking Third, A CBS Soccer Podcast…
