She’s baaaack.
The Portland Thorns teased big news on Tuesday and they delivered today. Forward Sophia Wilson has exercised her 2026 player option, keeping her in Portland for another year and making history in the process.
“I’m excited to get back with all of these people and obviously to play in Providence Park, to play in front of the Riveters. There’s no place like it. I don’t care what anyone says,” Wilson said in a statement. “That is the place to play, and I’m excited to be back in it.”
Wilson spent the entirety of the 2025 season on maternity leave and welcomed her daughter, Gigi, in September. While Thorns fans missed her presence on the pitch last year, the wait is officially over. Wilson is locked in for another run in Portland.
And what a résumé she has.
The former No. 1 overall pick in the 2020 NWSL Draft has been synonymous with success since day one. She played a key role in Portland’s 2021 NWSL Shield win, then in the 2022 NWSL Championship, Wilson scored the game-winning goal, punctuating it with a celebration that instantly became iconic.
That year, she swept the league’s top honors, earning both Championship MVP and NWSL MVP after finishing the season with 14 goals and three assists. She followed it up with another elite campaign in 2023, claiming the Golden Boot with 11 goals. In 2024, Wilson reached yet another milestone, becoming the youngest player in league history to hit 50 goal contributions.
Her impact extends well beyond club play. A regular for the USWNT, Wilson was instrumental in the team’s 2024 SheBelieves Cup triumph, where she earned tournament MVP honors. That summer, she shined again on the Olympic stage, scoring three goals during Team USA’s gold-medal run as part of the famed “Triple Espresso” alongside Mallory Swanson and Trinity Rodman, including the game-winning goal in the semifinals against Germany.
Wilson’s accolades with the national team date back even further. She was named U.S. Soccer’s Young Female Player of the Year in 2017 and, in 2022, earned the senior Female Player of the Year award — becoming the first Black woman to receive the honor and just the fifth player to win both. Since making her USWNT debut in 2020, she’s totaled 24 goals and 11 assists across 58 caps.
So, truly, what can’t she do?