NWSL Rookie of the Month

The National Women's Soccer League Rookie of the Month is a monthly women's soccer award given to individual players in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) participating in their first season as a professional.

Selection

In 2022, the winner was selected by the NWSL Media Association, an organization of journalists who regularly cover the league. ^[1] Since 2023, the winner is selected by the NWSL Media Association and the league's broadcast talent. ^[2]

Winners

2022

Month	Pos.	Nat.	Player	Club	Statline	Ref.
May	DF	USA	Naomi Girma	San Diego Wave FC	85% passing, 27 clearances, 4 blocks, 9 interceptions	[1] [3]
June	MF	USA	Sam Coffey	Portland Thorns FC	85% passing led league in June; 6 shots, 1 assist	[4] [5]
July	MF	USA	Savannah DeMelo	Racing Louisville FC	2 goals; leads all rookies in minutes played through July 31	[6]
August	FW	MEX	Diana Ordóñez	North Carolina Courage	5 goals, including 2 braces	[7]
September/ October	DF	USA	Naomi Girma (2)	San Diego Wave FC	Two shutouts, captained team vs. NC	[8]

2023

Month	Pos.	Nat.	Player	Club	Statline	Ref.
March/ April	FW	USA	Alyssa Thompson	Angel City FC	Scored 11' into debut; 2G in 6 matches	[2]
May	MF/DF	USA	Jenna Nighswonger	NJ/NY Gotham FC	2 goals, 1 assist, 16 duels won	[9]
June	MF	USA	Paige Metayer	Washington Spirit	1 goal, 1 assist; tied for league scoring lead among rookies (3)	[10]
July	MF/DF	USA	Jenna Nighswonger (2)	NJ/NY Gotham FC	2 regular season goals; 2 Challenge Cup goals and assists	[11]
August	FW	USA	Messiah Bright	Orlando Pride	Brace vs. NCC; 3 goals in 4 matches	[12]
September/ October	FW	USA	Alexa Spaanstra	Kansas City Current	2 goals vs. NJY	[13]

2024

Month	Pos.	Nat.	Player	Club	Statline	Ref.
March/ April	MF	USA	Croix Bethune	Washington Spirit	3 goals, 1 assist	[14]
May	MF	USA	Croix Bethune (2)	Washington Spirit	1 goal, 7 assists	[15]
June	MF	USA	Croix Bethune (3)	Washington Spirit	1 goal, 1 assists	[16]
July	MF	USA	Ally Sentnor	Utah Royals	3 goals, 1 assist	[17]
August	MF	USA	Croix Bethune (4)	Washington Spirit	Tied single-season assists record	[18]
September	DF	USA	Kennedy Wesley	San Diego Wave FC	1 goal, 85.66% passing, 20 clearances	[19]
October/ November	FW	USA	Makenna Morris	Washington Spirit	3 goals, 1 assist; only multi-goal match by a rookie this season	[20]

2025

Month	Pos.	Nat.	Player	Club	Statline	Ref.
March	MF	USA	Maggie Graham	Houston Dash	2 goals	[21]
April	FW	USA	Riley Tiernan	Angel City FC	2 goals	[22]
May	FW	USA	Riley Tiernan (2)	Angel City FC	Brace vs. WAS; 3 goals	[23]
June	FW	USA	Pietra Tordin	Portland Thorns	2 goals in 3 games	[24]
August	FW	USA	Pietra Tordin (2)	Portland Thorns	1 goal, 1 assist	[25]
September	MF	NGA	Deborah Abiodun	Washington Spirit	Led club in tackles, duels won	[26]

Multiple winners

As of June 5, 2025

The below table lists players who have won on more than one occasion.

Bold	Indicates current NWSL player

Rank	N.	Player	Year	Team(s)	Wins
1		Croix Bethune	2024	Washington Spirit	4
2		Naomi Girma	2022	San Diego Wave FC	2
		Jenna Nighswonger	2023	NJ/NY Gotham FC
		Riley Tiernan	2025	Angel City FC
		Pietra Tordin	2025	Portland Thorns FC

See also

• Women's association football portal
• Association football portal
• Sports portal

• List of sports awards honoring women
• NWSL Player of the Week
• NWSL Player of the Month
• NWSL Team of the Month
• NWSL awards
• NWSL records and statistics
• Women's soccer in the United States

References

1. "San Diego Wave FC Defender Naomi Girma Named May Rookie of the Month, Presented by Ally" (Press release). National Women's Soccer League. June 9, 2022. Retrieved July 12, 2022.
2. "Angel City FC Forward Alyssa Thompson Named March/April Rookie of the Month, Presented by Ally" (Press release). National Women's Soccer League. May 4, 2023. Retrieved May 4, 2023.
3. Alicia Rodriguez (June 9, 2022). "San Diego Wave FC's Naomi Girma voted NWSL Rookie of the Month". LAG Confidential. Retrieved July 12, 2022.
4. "Portland Thorns FC Midfielder Sam Coffey Named June Rookie of the Month, Presented by Ally" (Press release). National Women's Soccer League. June 23, 2022. Retrieved July 12, 2022.
5. Lamm, Keeley (June 28, 2022). "Penn State Women's Soccer Alum Sam Coffey Named NWSL Rookie Of The Month". Onward State. Retrieved July 12, 2022.
6. "Racing Louisville FC Midfielder Savannah DeMelo Named July Rookie of the Month, Presented by Ally" (Press release). National Women's Soccer League. August 4, 2022. Retrieved August 4, 2022.
7. "North Carolina Courage Forward Diana Ordóñez Named August Rookie of the Month, Presented by Ally" (Press release). National Women's Soccer League. September 7, 2022. Retrieved September 7, 2022.
8. "Wave FC's Girma NWSL Rookie of the Month, on NWSL Team of the Month". LAG Confidential. October 14, 2022. Retrieved May 4, 2023.
9. "NJ/NY Gotham FC Defender/Midfielder Jenna Nighswonger Named May Rookie of the Month, Presented by Ally" (Press release). National Women's Soccer League. June 6, 2023. Retrieved June 6, 2023.
10. "Washington Spirit Midfielder Paige Metayer Named June Rookie of the Month, Presented by Ally" (Press release). National Women's Soccer League. July 6, 2023. Retrieved July 6, 2023.
11. "NJ/NY Gotham FC's Jenna Nighswonger Named July Rookie of the Month, Presented by Ally" (Press release). National Women's Soccer League. August 3, 2023. Retrieved November 7, 2024.
12. "Orlando Pride Forward Messiah Bright Named August Player of the Month, Presented by EA Sports and August Rookie of the Month, Presented by Ally Financial" (Press release). National Women's Soccer League. September 1, 2023. Retrieved November 7, 2024.
13. "Kansas City Current Forward Alexa Spaanstra Named September/October Rookie of the Month, Presented by Ally" (Press release). National Women's Soccer League. October 19, 2023. Retrieved November 7, 2024.
14. "Washington Spirit Midfielder Croix Bethune Named March/April Rookie of the Month, Presented by Ally". National Women's Soccer League. May 7, 2024.
15. "Washington Spirit Midfielder Croix Bethune Named May Rookie of the Month, Presented by Ally" (Press release). National Women's Soccer League. June 6, 2024. Retrieved June 6, 2024.
16. "Washington Spirit Midfielder Croix Bethune Named June's NWSL Rookie of the Month, Presented by Ally" (Press release). Washington Spirit. July 11, 2024.
17. "Utah Royals Forward Ally Sentnor Named July Player of the Month, Presented by EA SPORTS and July Rookie of the Month, Presented by Ally". National Women's Soccer League (Press release). August 9, 2024.
18. "Washington Spirit Midfielder Croix Bethune Named August Rookie of the Month, Presented by Ally" (Press release). National Women's Soccer League. September 5, 2024. Retrieved September 5, 2024.
19. "Washington Spirit Midfielder Croix Bethune Named August Rookie of the Month, Presented by Ally" (Press release). National Women's Soccer League. October 3, 2024. Retrieved October 3, 2024.
20. "Washington Spirit Forward Makenna Morris Named October and November Rookie of the Month, presented by Ally" (Press release). National Women's Soccer League. November 7, 2024. Retrieved November 7, 2024.
21. "Houston Dash Midfielder Maggie Graham Named March Rookie of the Month, Presented by Ally". National Women's Soccer League. April 2, 2025.
22. "Angel City FC Forward Riley Tiernan Named April Rookie Of The Month, Presented By Ally" (Press release). National Women's Soccer League. May 1, 2025. Retrieved May 6, 2025.
23. NWSL (June 5, 2025). "Angel City FC Forward Riley Tiernan Named May Rookie of the Month, Presented by Ally | National Women's Soccer League Official Site". NWSL. Retrieved June 5, 2025.
24. "Portland Thorns FC Forward Pietra Tordin Named June Rookie Of The Month". National Women's Soccer League. July 3, 2025. Retrieved July 10, 2025.
25. "Portland Thorns FC Forward Pietra Tordin Named August Rookie Of The Month". National Women's Soccer League. September 4, 2025. Retrieved September 4, 2025.
26. "Washington Spirit midfielder Deborah Abiodun named September Rookie Of The Month, presented by Ally". National Women's Soccer League. October 2, 2025. Retrieved October 2, 2025.