The Wave are among several NWSL clubs pushing a youth movement forward
The NWSL’s youth movement is well and truly underway.
The San Diego Wave announced on Tuesday that they’ve used the NWSL’s new Under-18 Entry Mechanism to sign Melanie Barcenas, a U.S. under-17 national team forward, to a three-year contract.
Barcenas, aged 15 years and 138 days, is the youngest player in NWSL history. She breaks the record set by the Washington Spirit’s Chloe Ricketts, who signed her deal less than three weeks ago.
“We are very happy that Melanie and her family have decided to entrust her hometown club as the place for her to begin her professional career,” said Wave head coach Casey Stoney in a press release. “The coaches at San Diego Surf have been instrumental in helping her develop as a person and as a player for her entire youth career. We’re excited to maximize her potential through the coming years, while being patient and deliberate in advancing her development while ensuring she retains some routine and normalcy of being a teenager.”
“I’m very excited to sign my first professional contract with my hometown team, San Diego Wave,” added Barcenas. “It’s been a dream of mine to not just play in the NWSL but to have the opportunity to represent this city since the announcement of the Wave last year. I know I am young, but the team and coaching staff have been amazing, and I look forward to learning from them every day as I continue to develop.”
Wave among teams pushing the envelope
Signing Barcenas is a move that seems to have been in the works for some time for San Diego. Back in 2021 at a team launch event, the then-13-year-old forward was one of numerous speakers, expressing a hope to play for the team sometime down the road.
It’s still early days for the Wave as a club, but there’s clearly an emphasis on bringing in youth talent as early as is feasible. Last year, the team found itself atop the discovery order for attacker Jaedyn Shaw, and turned down some substantial trade offers from the Spirit to sign the Texas native. Shaw would go on to score in her debut, and established herself as a first-choice player for Stoney immediately.
Developing less-experienced players has also been something of a Wave hallmark, with Stoney installing Naomi Girma as a day-one starter at center back in her rookie season. Taylor Kornieck — who has been open about a lack of position-specific coaching in college and her first pro season in Orlando — has also grown into a U.S. women’s national team player in central midfield, while winger Amirah Ali became a game-changing weapon off the bench in her rookie season.
There is something of a trend in this direction going on league-wide, with the first two NWSL draft picks this year being 18-year-old Alyssa Thompson and 20-year-old Michelle Cooper. Barcenas is the third 15-year-old to sign a deal with an NWSL club, with the first (Portland Thorns midfielder Olivia Moultrie) seeing her playing time steadily increase last season on a team that ended up winning the championship.
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