Riley Jackson

Riley Francis Jackson (born December 2, 2005) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a midfielder for the North Carolina Courage of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). She was named the Gatorade National Player of the Year in 2022 and signed with the Courage at age 17 in 2023. She has represented the United States at the under-17, under-20, and under-23 levels, helping win bronze at the 2024 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup.

Riley Jackson

Jackson with the North Carolina Courage in 2024
Personal information
Full name	Riley Francis Jackson[1]
Date of birth	(2005-12-02) December 2, 2005 (age 20)[1]
Height	5 ft 7 in (1.70 m)
Position	Midfielder
Team information
Current team	North Carolina Courage
Number	16
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2023–	North Carolina Courage	43	(2)
International career‡
2022	United States U17	12	(2)
2024	United States U20	15	(1)
2025–	United States U23	1	(0)
Medal record Women's soccer FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup Colombia 2024
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of October 17, 2025 ‡ National team caps and goals as of May 30, 2025

Early life

Jackson grew up in Roswell, Georgia.^[2] She began playing soccer with hometown club Roswell Soccer Club, where her father coached her team.^[2] After ten years, she joined ECNL club Concorde Fire, playing up an age group.^[2] She was named the ECNL Southeast Conference Player of the Year in 2021.^[3] In 2022, she was named the ECNL National Player of the Year after leading the Fire to the ECNL under-18/19 national title.^[4][5] She played high school soccer for Blessed Trinity Catholic High School in Roswell, totaling 36 goals and 48 assists.^[6] She was named the Gatorade National Player of the Year as a sophomore in 2022 after scoring 14 goals with 18 assists and leading Roswell to a 19–2–1 record and the GHSA Class 5A state semifinals.^[7] She committed to play college soccer for Duke during her junior year.^[8] TopDrawerSoccer ranked her as the fourth-best prospect of the 2024 class.^[9]

Club career

North Carolina Courage head coach Sean Nahas first invited Jackson to train with the Courage in the summer of 2022.^[10] She was offered professional terms following summer and chose to give up her college eligibility and sign with the club.^[10] On July 28, 2023, the Courage announced that they had signed 17-year-old Jackson to her first professional contract through 2025, with the option for another year, under the relatively new Under-18 Entry Mechanism.^[11][12] She carried a foot injury which kept her out for the rest of the year.^[13]

Jackson made her professional debut on March 16, 2024, coming on as a 90th-minute substitute for Ashley Sanchez in the season-opening 5–1 win over the Houston Dash.^[14] She earned her first start in her 12th appearance on June 23, a 3–1 home win over the Chicago Red Stars.^[15] On July 26, she scored her first professional goal, a stoppage-time equalizer from outside the box, against Racing Louisville in the NWSL x Liga MX Femenil Summer Cup group stage. After a 1–1 draw, she scored the opening penalty kick in the shootout victory.^[16] She played in 18 regular-season games in 2024, starting 3, as the Courage placed fifth in the league.^[17] She was an unused substitute in the playoff quarterfinal loss to the Kansas City Current.^[17]

Narumi Miura's departure to the Washington Spirit opened a starting role for Jackson in the 2025 season.^[18] On March 15, she scored her first regular-season goal in the season-opening 1–1 road draw with Racing Louisville.^[19] She played in 25 league games in 2025, starting 23, and scored 2 goals as the Courage placed ninth and missed the playoffs.^[19] On December 3, the Courage signed Jackson to a three-year contract extension through 2028.^[20]

International career

Jackson got her first call up to a youth national team training camp with the under-15 team in October 2019.^[2] She trained again with the team in March 2020 at a camp run by her future Courage coach Sean Nahas.^[21][22] When youth soccer returned from its COVID-19 pandemic hiatus, Jackson traveled abroad for the first time to play for the national under-17 team at the 2022 CONCACAF Women's U-17 Championship in the Dominican Republic.^[2] She co-captained the team to win the tournament, scoring two goals and making three assists, and was awarded the Golden Ball as the tournament's best player.^[5] She recorded two assists at the 2022 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup, where the United States fell to Nigeria in the quarterfinals on penalties. Jackson was one of two United States players whose penalties were saved in the shootout.^[5][23]

Jackson played friendlies for the under-20 team before being selected to the roster for the 2024 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup.^[24][25] She played all but 45 minutes at the U-20 Women's World Cup, helping the United States finish in third place, its best result since 2012. She converted a penalty kick in a shootout win over Germany in the quarterfinals.^[26][27] She was called up by Emma Hayes into Futures Camp, training concurrently with the senior national team, in January 2025.^[28]