In conjunction with the USMNT depth chart, the top 50 is back with this summer’s best goalkeepers. Each goalkeeper is slotted by a number of factors: historical individual results, current individual level of play, and projected on-field performance. The top 50 attempts to remove exterior noise and team statistics to isolate the goalkeeper’s true ability. Each block of ten names features a player to watch, giving a small bio about the goalkeeper and what to look out for in the coming months.
To see how the top 100 rankings have evolved since March 2015, click here.
1. Bella Bixby, 27 - Portland Thorns FC
2. Aubrey Kingsbury, 31 - Washington Spirit
3. Alyssa Naeher, 35 - Chicago Red Stars
4. Phallon Tullis-Joyce, 26 - OL Reign
5. Jane Campbell, 28 - Houston Dash
6. Casey Murphy, 27 - North Carolina Courage
7. Katelyn Rowland, 29 - North Carolina Courage
8. Michelle Betos, 35 - Gotham FC
9. Emily Boyd, 26 - Chicago Red Stars
10. Katie Lund, 26 - Racing Louisville
One to Watch: Naeher’s replacement. As the 2023 World Cup looms, the chance of someone not named Alyssa Naeher starting for the US seems close to zero. The USWNT is slow to change (see the still relevant article on USWNT goalkeeping eras). However, following the World Cup/Olympics run, the US will most certainly look to fill Naeher’s placement immediately. For some reference, Canada’s Kailen Sheridan waited patiently until Stephanie Labbe retired and is now not only their starting goalkeeper but arguably the best in the world. The US has favored Casey Murphy, which puts her as the frontrunner to take Naeher’s place, but Bixby and Kingsbury have waited too long to not go down without a fight.
11. Cassie Miller, 28 - Kansas City Current
12. Lainey Burdett, 26 - Vittsjö (Sweden.1)
13. Adrianna Franch, 32 - Kansas City Current
14. Mandy Haught, 24 - Gotham FC
15. Jalen Tompkins, 26 - Valerenga (Norway.1)
16. Emily Dolan, 28 - Espanyol (Spain.2)
17. Carly Nelson, 25 - Orlando Pride
18. Samantha Murphy, 26 - Piteå (Sweden.1)
19. Katelin Talbert, 24 - Benfica (Portugal.1)
20. Shelby Hogan, 24 - Portland Thorns FC
One to Watch: Jalen Tompkins. The high flyer made a good name for herself in Norway with four trophies to her name. Now sitting convincingly in first place, as well as with Champions League matches coming up this summer, Tompkins will look to bolster her reputation even further. Although Valerenga was respectably rated as the 20th best team in Europe at the end of last year, it wouldn’t be hard to see Tompkins move to a top team in Europe. Although still over a year off, Tompkins could also venture a return to the States with the start of the USL’s Super League kicking off in August 2024.
21. Abby Smith, 29 - Gotham FC
22. Lindsey Harris, 29 - Free Agent
23. Ella Dederick, 26 - Houston Dash
24. Shae Yanez, 26 - San Diego Wave
25. Hillary Beall, 24 - Racing Louisville
26. Bridgette Skiba, 23 - Køge (Denmark.1)
27. Kaylan Marckese, 25 - Arsenal (England.1)
28. Brittany Isenhour, 25 - Angel City FC
29. Jordyn Bloomer, 25 - Racing Louisville
30. Kelsey Daugherty, 26 - Avaldsnes (Norway.1)
One to Watch: Lindsey Harris. For anyone that caught more than five minutes of TST’s highly publicized 7v7 tournament, they likely saw highlights of Harris repelling shot after shot. The quick reactions and “bet on yourself” ethos was the perfect setup to highlight her strengths at the tournament, despite instilling some chaos at times. Currently out of contract, Harris would be an ideal candidate for the USL Super League but she needs to keep traction until then. She’s spent time in Norway and Iceland before signing with the Houston Dash so don’t be surprised if she returns to Europe.
31. Kelly Rowswell, 25 - Valur (Iceland.1)
32. Devon Kerr, 26 - Houston Dash
32. Adelaide Gay, 33 - Fortuna Hjørring (Denmark.1)
33. Laurel Ivory, 23 - OL Reign
34. Aubrei Corder, 25 - Kalmar (Sweden.1)
35. Sophie Whitehouse, 26 - Lewes (England.2)
36. Kaylie Collins, 25 - Orlando Pride
37. Claudia Dickey, 23 - OL Reign
38. Alex Godinez, 29 - Monterrey (Mexico.1)
39. Macy Enneking, 22 - Iowa
40. Hannah Seabert, 28 - Sporting CP (Portugal.1)
One to Watch: OL Reign backups. With Tullis-Joyce holding onto the starting spot, sparse minutes for Dickey and Ivory won’t be enough to satisfy either competitor. Racing Louisville has done well to find matches for their backups with loans to Australia and the Nordic countries have historically been positive locations for many American goalkeepers, so there are opportunities out there. Hopefully, the Reign can help create avenues for their young prospects to continue their development, although having two same-aged goalkeepers is something that’s likely coming to an end, sooner or later.
41. Ruthie Jones, 22 - Duke
42. McKinley Crone, 24 - Orlando Pride Trailist
43. Jennifer Wandt, 24 - Trelleborgs FF (Sweden.2)
44. Jordan Silkowitz, 23 - Kansas City Current
45. Marisa Bova, 22 - North Carolina Courage
46. Angelina Anderson, 22 - Angel City FC
47. Kayla Thompson, 24 - Toluca (Mexico.1)
48. Savanna Mason, 24 - BYU
49. Cosette Morche, 26 - Valencia (Spain.1)
50. Monica Wilhelm, 23 - UMF Tindasoll (Iceland.1)
One to Watch: Monica Wilhelm. Although six goalkeepers heard their name called in the NWSL draft, Wilhelm took her talents to Iceland with newly promoted UMF Tindasoll. Tindasoll are currently sitting sixth out of ten clubs but can’t afford to drop even one spot if they wish to play in the championship round (Iceland’s form of playoffs). Wilhelm’s steady play has earned her a start every match, leading her team to a 2-2-2 record thus far. The Iowa grad will need to stay atop her game until Tindasoll’s offense starts clicking more consistently (only 5 goals in 6 matches) if they want to dream of a shot at the UCL.