Gianna Paul

Last updated

Gianna Paul
UNC vs Alabama (Sep 2025) 19 (cropped).jpg
Paul with Alabama in 2025
Personal information
Date of birth (2004-12-28) December 28, 2004 (age 20)
Place of birth New York [1]
Height 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) [1]
Position(s) Forward
Team information
Current team
Alabama Crimson Tide
Number 14
College career
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
2022– Alabama Crimson Tide 69 (28)
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
2024–2025 Long Island Rough Riders 13 (14)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals

Gianna Paul (born December 28, 2004) is an American college soccer player who plays as a forward for the Alabama Crimson Tide.

Contents

Early life

Paul grew up in Huntington Station, New York, on Long Island. [1] She followed her older sister into soccer when she was five. [2] She played two seasons of soccer at Walt Whitman High School, earning All-American honors as a senior. [3] She also ran track in high school and won two state titles and was named All-American in the sport. [1] She committed to Alabama in her junior year. [4] She played club soccer for SUSA FC, earning ECNL all-conference honors twice. [5]

College career

Paul was an "electric" substitute during her freshman season with the Alabama Crimson Tide in 2022. [6] In the NCAA tournament, she shook off a goal slump in the quarterfinals when she opened the scoring against Duke, leading Alabama to the first NCAA semifinal appearance in program history. [7] She had 8 goals and 5 assists in 27 games and was named the SEC Freshman of the Year and second-team All-SEC. [1] TopDrawerSoccer named her the fifth-best freshman in the country. [8] In her sophomore year in 2023, she began the season with 7 goals in 10 games, but after suffering an ankle injury, she scored only once more in 11 games. [9] She was named first-team All-SEC. [1]

Paul started all 21 games and led the Crimson Tide with 12 goals in her junior season in 2024. [10] She was named first-team All-SEC and fourth-team All-American, joining Reyna Reyes, Riley Parker, and Felicia Knox as the fourth All-American selection in program history. [10]

During college, she also played for the Long Island Rough Riders in the USL W League, helping the team to the national quarterfinals in 2024. [11]

International career

Paul was called into training camp with the United States under-18/under-19 team in 2023. [12]

Honors and awards

Alabama Crimson Tide

Individual

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Gianna Paul". Alabama Crimson Tide . Retrieved July 30, 2025.
  2. Alabama Soccer [@AlabamaSoccer] (February 7, 2024). "Inspired by her older sister, Gianna Paul began playing soccer at the age of five ..." (Tweet). Retrieved July 30, 2025 via Twitter.
  3. "Walt Whitman High's Gianna Paul named All-American". The Long Island Times . February 10, 2022. Retrieved July 30, 2025.
  4. Clark, Travis (March 15, 2021). "SIMA Recruiting Roundup: March 15-21". TopDrawerSoccer . Retrieved July 30, 2025.
  5. "ECNL All Conference New England". Elite Clubs National League. August 31, 2021. Retrieved July 30, 2025 via TopDrawerSoccer .
    "ECNL Girls New England All-Conference Teams". Elite Clubs National League. August 8, 2022. Retrieved July 30, 2025 via TopDrawerSoccer .
  6. Hindle, Tom (December 1, 2022). "Women's College Cup Preview". TopDrawerSoccer . Retrieved July 30, 2025.
  7. Smith, Mason (November 28, 2022). "Gianna Paul Could Be An X-Factor For Alabama Soccer". Sports Illustrated . Retrieved July 30, 2025.
  8. "College Soccer Player Rankings – Freshman". TopDrawerSoccer . Archived from the original on January 6, 2023.
  9. Fernandez, Theodore (November 29, 2023). "Soccer's Gianna Paul knew Alabama was where she 'belonged'". The Crimson White . Retrieved July 30, 2025.
  10. 1 2 "Paul Earns USC All-America Honors". Alabama Crimson Tide. December 6, 2024. Retrieved July 30, 2025.
  11. Lewis, Michael (May 19, 2025). "She even amazed herself: Rough Riders' Paul talks about her midfield golazo". Front Row Soccer. Retrieved July 30, 2025.
  12. "U20, U18/19 Rosters Announced for NC Camps". United States Soccer Federation. April 4, 2023. Retrieved July 30, 2025 via TopDrawerSoccer .