![]() Lester with the Seattle Reign in 2025 | |||
Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | Julia Nicole Lester | ||
Date of birth | January 16, 1998 | ||
Place of birth | Tampa, Florida, U.S. | ||
Height | 5 ft 4 in (1.63 m) | ||
Position(s) | Defender | ||
Team information | |||
Current team | Sporting JAX (on loan from Seattle Reign FC) | ||
Number | 20 | ||
Youth career | |||
Tampa Bay United | |||
College career | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
2016–2019 | Florida Gators | 86 | (3) |
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
2020–2022 | Apollon Ladies | ||
2022–2023 | Racing Louisville | 33 | (0) |
2024– | Seattle Reign | 5 | (0) |
2025– | → Sporting JAX (loan) | 2 | (0) |
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of August 27, 2025 |
Julia Nicole Lester (born January 16, 1998) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a defender for Sporting Club Jacksonville of the USL Super League, on loan from Seattle Reign FC.
A family youth and community sciences major, Lester played for the Florida Gators from 2016 to 2019. [1]
After graduating from the University of Florida in August 2020, Lester signed for Cypriot club Apollon Ladies and played in the UEFA Women's Champions League. [2] She was named to the league's Best XI in 2021 and captained the team. [3]
In March 2022, Lester followed Apollon Ladies' former manager Kim Björkegren and signed for Racing Louisville of the American NWSL. [4]
In January 2024, Lester was traded to fellow NWSL club Seattle Reign. [5] She subsequently extended her contract with the Reign until 2025. [6]
On July 9, 2025, Lester returned to her home state of Florida on a loan to USL Super League team Sporting Club Jacksonville through the end of 2025. [7]
Season | Games | Scoring | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
GP | GS | G | A | PTS | SH | SOG | |||
Florida Gators | |||||||||
2016 | 22 | 17 | 3 | 3 | 9 | 9 | 5 | ||
2017 | 24 | 14 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 2 | ||
2018 | 19 | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
2019 | 21 | 21 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | ||
Career | |||||||||
Career Total | 86 | 69 | 3 | 5 | 11 | 17 | 7 |
Club | Season | Division | League | Cup | Playoffs | Total | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |||
Apollon Ladies F.C. | 2020–2021 | ![]() | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 2 | 0 | |
2021–2022 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | — | 4 | 0 | |||
Racing Louisville FC | 2022 | ![]() | 20 | 0 | 5 | 0 | — | 25 | 0 | |
2023 | 13 | 0 | 5 | 0 | — | 18 | 0 | |||
Seattle Reign FC | 2024 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 5 | 0 | ||
Sporting JAX | 2025 | ![]() | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 2 | 0 | |
Career total | 39 | 0 | 16 | 0 | — | 55 | 0 |
* Apollon Ladies stats reflect ≥ 6 league/Champions League appearances based on available data. Table will be updated when Sporting JAX plays in 2025.