The 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand is underway and there are many former NCAA stars represented on the rosters. This summer, there are 137 players with NCAA experience on rosters representing 76 different schools on 21 different national teams.
Florida State tops the list with seven players, while Stanford and North Carolina both have six apiece. The Canadian national team has the most NCAA representation with 22 players, followed by USA with 20, and then Jamaica is third with 17.
Twenty former NCAA athletes are on the United States women’s national soccer team (USWNT). All twenty played D1 soccer at their respective schools. Stanford has five athletes on the USWNT, followed by North Carolina and Santa Clara with two athletes each.
There are seven USWNT athletes that have won a D1 women’s soccer championship. These players include:
- Megan Rapinoe (2005)
- Kelley O’Hara (2011)
- Crystal Dunn (2012)
- Andi Sullivan (2017)
- Alana Cook (2017)
- Sophia Smith (2019)
- Naomi Girma (2019)
Three USWNT athletes have won the MAC Hermann Trophy, the most coveted individual honor in NCAA Division I soccer, which recognizes the top women’s collegiate player of the year.
- Andi Sullivan (2017)
- Crystal Dunn (2012)
- Kelley O’Hara (2011)
The FIFA Women’s World Cup is underway and the USWNT is looking to take home its third title in a row and fifth overall.