If you were to ask either the USWNT or USMNT fanbase about who the starting goalkeeper should be for the upcoming World Cups, brace yourself for the variety of answers you’ll receive. Gone are the days when Hope Solo and Tim Howard were unanimous picks. The lack of consensus is partly due to the plethora of encouraging prospects but mostly because of the dearth of convincing performances with the senior teams. And while it may take longer to integrate new faces into the national team - Aubrey Kingsbury didn’t receive her first cap until 30, despite winning two NWSL Goalkeeper of the Year awards prior to - there are a number of fans who are vocal about their willingness to hand the keys to the car over to the prospects immediately.
Diving into the top U24 goalkeepers gives us an idea of what the rising talent pool looks like, as well as surveying where American goalkeepers are being developed. The following rankings are centered on a combination of current form and projected ability to succeed at the next level. Younger goalkeepers receive less of a bump for potential, as they’re largely unproven, while the older goalkeepers are nearing their finished level.
As a quick aside, it’s worth noting that the federation is still short a National Goalkeeper Director. As previously reported on, the USSF had a goalkeeper director through 2005, whose responsibilities were centered on connecting all the efforts into a cohesive program that pointed players and coaches in the same direction. Without a full-time goalkeeper director, the country has defaulted into outsourcing goalkeeper development to whoever is most interested.
USWNT Prospects
1. Heather Hinz, 23 - Houston Dash
2. Emmie Allen, 22 - Bay FC
3. Angelina Anderson, 23 - Angel City FC
4. Elizabeth Beardsley, 21 - Houston Dash
5. Neeku Purcell, 21 - Brooklyn FC (USA.1U)
6. Halle Mackiewicz, 23 - Chicago Red Stars
7. Maddie Prohaska, 23 - Seattle Reign
8. Nadia Cooper, 22 - Washington State %
9. Madison White, 23 - Racing Louisville
10. Leah Freeman, 23 - Duke University %
11. Megan Plaschko, 23 - Athlone Town AFC (Ireland.1)
12. Teagan Wy, 21 - California
13. Stephanie Sparkowski, 22 - Chicago Red Stars
14. Jillian Medvecky, 19 - Pepperdine
15. Mia Justus, 22 - Utah Royals
16. Ryan Campbell, 23 - Gotham FC
17. Olivia Pratapas, 23 - NC State
18. Jordan Brown, 21 - Georgia
19. Shea Vanderbosch, 21 - Syracuse
20. Liv Geller, 18 - TCU
21. Haley Craig, 22 - Portland Thorns Trialist
22. Addie Todd, 20 - Florida State
23. Victoria Safradin, 20 - Virginia
24. Sarah Wommack, 20 - Appalachian State
% - Currently a free agent but listed with the most recent team
Bill says: If you were to survey coaches across the country on the top goalkeeper in the USWNT pipeline, don’t be shocked if you received a multitude of names for the potential “next number one”. This list is largely unproven in a general sense, although all have just about had stellar collegiate careers. Hinz, Allen, Anderson, and Mackiewicz have all received buzz leaving college but none have currently locked down a steady number one job yet. However, look for Angel City FC to give Anderson a fair shot at becoming the starter in 2025 and potentially cracking into the national scene, similar to Neeku Purcell in Brooklyn. Purcell left UCLA early - after just 27 collegiate starts - and was recently rewarded with an invitation to the USWNT Futures Camp at the start of the year, giving good street cred for the USL Super League.
Other names to keep an eye on for the spring are Plaschko, to see how she can adjust to Irish football, and Freeman and Cooper, both of whom are still unattached at the time of this release. With Purcell’s success getting so publicly rewarded, look for more young goalkeepers to try their hand at non-NWSL routes. As for which goalkeepers will find success versus the ones who don’t, those answers largely depend on who will receive a fair opportunity and who can execute when the time comes.
USMNT Prospects
1. Chris Brady, 20 - Chicago Fire
2. Gabriel Slonina, 20 - Chelsea FC (England.1)
3. Gavin Beavers, 19 - Brondby (Denmark.1)
4. Diego Kochen, 18 - Barcelona U19s (Spain.1)
5. Julian Eyestone, 18 - Brentford B (England.1)
6. Antonio Carrera, 20 - FC Dallas
7. Andrew Rick, 19 - Philadelphia Union
8. Nicholas Holliday, 19 - Charlotte FC
9. Vicente Reyes, 21 - Norwich U21 (England.2)
10. Patrick Schulte, 23 - Columbus Crew
11. Eryk Slowikowski, 19 - Luparense FC (Italy.4)
12. Ethan Wady, 23 - Millwall FC (England.2.)
13. Emmanuel Ochoa, 19 - Cruz Azul (Mexico.1)
14. Brian Schwake, 23 - Nashville SC
15. Adam Beaudry, 18 - Colorado Rapids
16. Fernando Delgado, 18 - Birmingham Legion
17. Wyatt Nelson, 19 - UCLA
18. Duran Ferree, 18 - San Diego Loyal #
19. Blake Kelly, 19 - Notre Dame
20. Taishi Nozawa, 22 - FC Tokyo (Japan.1)
21. John Pulskamp, 23 - Sporting Kansas City
22. Leander Hoppenheit, 18 - Preussen Munster U19 (Germany.2)
23. James Sneddon, 19 - Richmond Kickers
24. Paul Walters, 20 - Cincinnati FC
# - on loan with the Nordsjaelland (Denmark.1)
Bill says: The rest of the world continues to do the heavy lifting for the bulk of our top prospects. Excluding Zion Suzuki (who is cap-tied to Japan despite being born in the US), Europe is a priority target for our young goalkeepers, which is highlighted by recent moves like Gavin Beavers (formerly of Real Salt Lake) and Duran Ferree (currently on loan in Denmark as well). We’ve reached the point where fans are assuming that goalkeepers like Chris Brady and Antonio Carrera will inevitably make the jump overseas, while also viewing Brian Schwake’s return to the US as a concerning step in his career.
The US has a unique problem with significant chokepoints when it comes to opportunities for young goalkeepers, so there is a strong argument for utilizing Europe as a resource. However, even if Europe is a part of the “American pipeline”, young goalkeepers still face the difficult task of navigating the logjam of overstocked late 20 and early 30 year olds in the professional scene. For a promising young goalkeeper from Arkansas or New Jersey, like Zion Suzuki, it seems that unless you’re one of the few lucky goalkeepers to receive proper investment from a professional side, your best bet in maxing out your potential is getting out of the US as fast as possible.