🍁 Next Pros

In honour of NWSL college draft season (don’t get us started on how disadvantaged Canadians are) and the opening of the Winter transfer window, we’ve spent some time compiling and highlighting the next 24 Canadian professional women’s footballers. With Project 8 kicking off in Spring 2025, clubs will be shoring up their squads starting in the Fall of 2024 ahead of anticipated Winter 2025 training camps.

Per the latest count, there are roughly 135 women’s footballers playing pro across the globe. Diana Matheson is targeting at least 50% of those players to return to Canada to fill anywhere between 120-140 domestic player spots (20 per team depending on how many more clubs sign, rumoured to be 7 total). Quick maths tells us that any college graduate or ambitious young player who takes their shot at getting a year of pro experience abroad has a very good chance at a roster spot in Project 8.

The insight we’ve gained from tracking the womxn’s player pool closely since at least 2020 is that anywhere between 15 and 25 players turn pro per year, that number trending up significantly since the P8 announcement. Players are also going pro younger, and successfully, see O Smith, Allen, Tse, and Ladhani. This crop of players is just as talented as previous years (say what you will about the development pathway but we produce many ambitious, athletic, and increasingly technically sound players) and they are ready to take this opportunity.

We focused exclusively on senior or graduate NCAA players and took their contributions to their teams, individual stats, awards, minutes played, and youth national team experience into consideration. Without further ado, here are Canada’s next 12 professional women’s footballers.

Amanda West

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22
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FWD
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75GP, 50G, 31A, 5700min
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Pitt
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Pitt’s All-time Leading Scorer, 3x ACC All-Star, WNT Camp December 2021

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Registered for the NWSL Draft? Yes
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Amanda West is one of the most prolific collegiate goal scorers this country has seen in a while. Her performances are even more impressive considering she missed the entire 2022 season due to an ACL injury. Wests’ 50G in 75 appearances have only been outdone by Evelyne Viens, all other active WNT forwards scoring at least 20 fewer goals. Similarly to Viens, the former Burlington Bayhawk was chronically overlooked at the YNT level. West last attended one WNT camp in December of 2021 in Mexico. She was also born in Sweden, so if she’s not picked up in the NWSL draft she has an easier path to playing pro in Europe next year.

2. Zoe Burns

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22
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LB/MID
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USC
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5100min
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2 WNT caps, 10GP for CanW20s, 2x All-Pac 12 Team, FIFA U20 WC, USYNT 2016-18

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Registered for NWSL Draft? Yes
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If Zoe Burns seems familiar it’s because she has been a prominent part of our U20 set-up and competed for the Canadians in the World Cup. Shortly after shining for the youth setup, she made her senior CanWNT debut in Spring 2022. Now two caps under her belt, going pro now could be a very smart move for the Trojan standout. Born in Washington State, she has two Canadian parents but her American citizenship will make her much more desirable in this draft than the average Canadian prospect due to league regulations. Burns can play either as a fullback or midfielder. Her strengths include set pieces thanks to her pinpoint deliveries, and she’s a small but tenacious player with tremendous skill in small spaces. Beyond her on field abilities, she’ll also be a highly marketable, finishing up a business degree and dabbling in a variety of partnerships during her college career.

3. Mya Jones

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23
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MID/FWD
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93GP, 26G, 27A, 7500min
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Memphis
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2023 AAC Offensive Player of the Year, 4x AAC All-Star, 2021 AAC Midfielder of the Year, 2019 AAC ROTY

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Registered for the NWSL Draft? Yes
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The sky's the limit for the Memphis standout. She co-captained the team to a historic College Cup run in 2023 and played the best season of her career, bagging 11G and 11A. The Calgary native is a former YNT player (U15-20) and has been a big part of Calgary Foothills’ success in the UWS over the past few years. Recently she signed with not only one but two agencies and posted a photo at San Diego’s training facility on her story. Considering her positional flexibility, and ability to score and create chances she should be on the list of a few pro clubs both in the US or elsewhere.

4. Melissa Dagenais

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23
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GK
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University of Miami (FL)
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4600min
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WNT Camp October 2023, 4600min for Miami, Team Captain, Quebec’s Golden Glove 2017

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Registered for the NWSL Draft? Yes
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When Dagenais was called into camp in October of 2023 for the games in Montreal and Halifax, many were unfamiliar with the keeper from Saint-Hubert, QC. She hadn’t previously been called into any youth camps despite standing out in the Quebec soccer ranks, even being named 2017 Keeper of the year. Regardless, she signed with a solid NCAA program, played over 4600 minutes and now ranks third in school history in saves and fourth in shutouts. She recently signed with KSirius Football Management, who also represent a number of other Canadians including Cloe Lacasse, indicating her ambition to turn professional. The young keeper has a number of solid physical attributes and would be a good fit for any European pro environment she can get experience in such as France, Portugal, or Italy.

5. Anna Karpenko

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21
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GK
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Harvard University
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3000min
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23GP CanW15-20, Golden Glove CONCACAFW20, All-Ivy Team 2023, Harvard Captain

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Registered for NWSL Draft? No
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Anna Karpenko is a familiar face for those of us who have been tuning into the youth national team program in the past 5-7 years. Karpenko has been a key fixture between the pipes for the Baby Reds and one in a long line of extremely promising Canadian goalkeeper prospects. She has another year of eligibility at Harvard where she is team captain alongside Jade Rose but we’re quite sure she’ll be playing professionally by the latest in 2025 when Project8 starts up. In the meantime, expect her to continue to shine for Harvard and make a push for the WNT 3rd GK position sooner rather than later.

6. Grace Stordy

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21
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FB
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Memphis
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6370min
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3x All-AAC Team, AAC Rookie of the Year, Last U20 camp in 2022, UWS-West Defender of the Year

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Registered for NWSL Draft? Yes
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Grace Stordy has been an NCAA powerhouse since her freshmen season in Memphis. Named Rookie of the Year in 2020/21, the Calgary native followed that up with three consecutive All-AAC Team honours. She has been part of the CanW15-20 program and led the Calgary Foothills to two Canadian National Championships at club level. Most recently she’s been a key part of the Foothills’ UWS campaigns and is likely on track to be one of their first signing for their Project8 squad in 2025. She signed with an agency as well, KSirius Management, and registered for the NWSL draft. Lots to come from the young Albertan fullback.

7. Vivianne Bessette

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21
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CB
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University of South Florida
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5700min
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4x All-AAC First Team, USF Captain, 10GP for CanW20s,

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Registere for the NWSL Draft? Yes
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Viv Bessette is one of those players that was overlooked in the Canadian youth system for too long, despite a standout youth career in Quebec. She initially played for the Lithuanian Youth teams before making the switch in 2022, just in time to help the CanW20s qualify for and compete in the World Cup. The Montreal-born Bessette is a stellar CB coming out of a quality NCAA program in USF, one that has produced other Canadian pros like Viens and Listro. The four All-Star nominations speak for themself and her European passport could facilitate a move to a pro league in Europe. She recently posted her goodbyes to Florida on Instagram and has previously trialed with clubs like Orlando Pride.

8. Saorla Miller

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22
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FWD
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Memphis
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6600min
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Memphis Captain, 2023 All-AAC Team, 2021 AAC Offensive Player of the Tournament

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Registered for the NWSL Draft? Yes
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She’s one of the best womens footballers to come out of Halifax, NS in the last half decade or so. Despite being relatively isolated out East in a sporting sense Saorla Miller has gone from strength to strength in Memphis. Overall she has made 98 appearances, scored 24 goals (12 Game Winners) and bagged 14 assists for the Tigers, as well as captaining the team to their best ever College Cup performance in 2023. She co-captained the team in the past couple of years and made the All-AAC Team for the first time in 2023. Recently, Miller signed with KSirius Management setting the path to becoming the next Canadian Memphis alumni to go pro in the past few years (following players like Larisey, Levasseur, Boychuk, Pechersky, and Oduro).

9. Maya Antoine

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22
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CB
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Vanderbilt
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6200min
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22GP for CanW15-20s, 4th Place at U17WC in 2018, 3x All-SEC Team, Vanderbilt Captain

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Registered for the NWSL Draft? No
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Just like goalkeepers, Canada has produced one excellent CB after the next (think Buchanan, Gilles, Zadorsky, Rose, etc). Maya Antoine is one of the most promising defenders in the pipeline. The young Canuck started 21 of 22 games at the YNT level spanning across the U15s to U20s, most of them under Bev Priestman. The Vanderbilt Captain has stood out at the conference level and was named to the All-SEC team in three consecutive seasons. Although she has not yet declared for the NWSL draft it would be a real loss if the Vaughan SC alumni didn’t go pro in 2024. Her pedigree, NCAA career, and strengths on and off the ball would be valuable for a variety of clubs across the planet.

10. Leah Pais

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22
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FWD
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FSU
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4500min
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2023 National Champion, America East Rookie of the Year 2019, 44G+A in 87GP (NCAA)

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Registered for the NWSL Draft? No
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Leah Pais has been one of the best offensive players in Ontario since 2018 with over 35 League 1 goals scored for Vaughan. She also continued to grow throughout her NCAA career, first earning ROTY honours with Albany in 2019, then transferring and becoming a regular contributor at Pitt (27 G+A in 56 appearances), and finishing her career as a National Champion with FSU. Despite never being capped at YNT level she was part of the provincial program and has the unique ability to influence games both as a starter and gamechanger. She is equally good at setting up goals as she is at finishing them. Despite only 2 starts with FSU, she racked up 8 assists and scored en route to the College Cup title. Regardless of what she does next she is one to keep an eye on moving forward.

11. Ashley Cathro

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23
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DEF
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Illinois
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6300min
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Last CanWNT Camp in Fall 2021, 11GP for CanW17-20s, BC Youth Player of the Year in 2016

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Registered for the NWSL Draft? No
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Ashley Cathro may sound familiar to CanWNT fans due to the senior camp call she received in December 2021 in Mexico. She played five solid campaigns for the University of Illinois. The former Whitecaps youth player from Victoria, BC is well known to Bev Priestman who called her in to U17 and 20 camps numerous times. She has experience playing for Racing Louisville 2 in their USL W-League squad which could be an option for her again in 2024 and could be a smart pathway to the first team.

12. Kayza Massey (they/them)

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22
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GK
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WVU
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6700min
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CanW17-20s, 4th Place at U17WC in 2018, 2022 Big12 GKOTY, 2x All-Big12 Team, 2022 Big12 Champion

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Registered for the NWSL Draft? No
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Kayza Massey is another talented GK rising through the College ranks. They competed with Karpenko at the youth level throughout their CanW17-20 career, both keepers pushing each other. Massey played four years at Western Virginia University, a school long known for nurturing Canadian talents like Buchanan, Lawrence, Foster and St Georges. The Ottawa native finished their career with a Big12 Championship and a matching GK of the Year award, as well as two All-Big12 Team nominations. While it’s unclear whether their goal is to continue playing professionally, they certainly have what it takes to take the next step.

And because it was genuinely impossible to name only twelve, here are 12 honourable mentions to bring us to 24 pros in 2024 (fingers crossed):

13. Julianne Vallerand

FB/FWD
WVU
6000min
15GP for CanW15-17s, 16G, 6A in 80GP for WVU, 2022 Big12 Champion, Registered for NWSL Draft
Registered for the NWSL Draft

13. Wayny Balata

22
From Montreal, QC
Southern Methodist University
MID
3800min
11GP for CanW17-20s, SMU Captain, 56GP, 16G, 5A, All-AAC Team in 2021
Registered for NWSL Draft

14. Sheridan Michel

20
From Ottawa, ON
Tennessee (Previously Oklahoma)
DEF
5000min
All-Big12 Team, 58GP, 3G, 1A in the NCAA, CanW17-20 camps

15. Andersen Williams

21
From Calgary, AB
Texas A&M
1350min
13 GP for CanW17-20s, Overcame 2 serious injuries in 2020/21, Has remaining eligibility, UWS w Foothills

16. Sonia Walk

21
From Toronto, ON
Boston College
MID
4300min
31GP for CanW15-20s, U17&20 WC Appearances, 61GP for Boston College

17. Jazmine Wilkinson

21
From Nanaimo, BC
Texas A&M (previously Arizona State)
FWD
4500min
6GP for CanW17-20s, 10G, 3A for Texas A&M in 2023, Pac12 All-Freshman Team in 2020

18. Teni Akindoju

From Halifax, NS (born in Nigeria)
Cincinnati (previously Texas)
FWD
1600min
25GP for CanW15-20s (11G), Big12 Champion, 71 NCAA Appearances

19. Joanna Verzosa-Dolezal

21
From Delta, BC
Illinois
DEF
4600min
2GP for CanW20s in 2020, Big10 All-Freshman Team in 2020, BC Soccer POTY 2019/20

20. Camellia Xu

21
From Port Moody, BC
Minnesota (Previously Montana)
GK
3600min
2021 Big Sky GKOTY, 2021 All-Big Sky Team, CanW20 camp in 2022, 0.78 Goals-against-average

21. Laurence Gladu

21
From Longueuil, QC
Penn
4200min
47GP, 12SO, 0.96 GAA for Penn, 2x All-Ivy Honourable Mention, Part of Quebec’s REX Program

22. Molly Quarry

21
From Bowen Island, BC
Montana
DEF
3900min
63GP, 5A for Montana, CanW20 in 2020

23. Anna Bout

22
From Cambridge, ON
Pitt
MID
6200min
97GP, 8G, 18A for Pitt, Member of Ontario Provincial Team

24. Penelope Mulenga

22
From Saskatoon, SK
Texas Tech
MID
3300min
60GP, 2G for Texas Tech, Member of SK REX program, CanW20 Camp