Rodman was born in Newport Beach, California, to Michelle Moyer and former professional basketball player Dennis Rodman.[5] She and her brother, DJ Rodman, were raised primarily by their mother in southern California.[6][7][8][9] Rodman has said she went through long stretches without speaking to her father, and she briefly lived with her mother in their car.[10] She also has a half-sister.[11]
Rodman began playing soccer at age four and said it "felt like home" to her as young as seven or eight.[12] She was encouraged by her mother and sister to pursue her dream of becoming a professional soccer player.[13]
Rodman initially committed to play collegiate soccer for the UCLA Bruins before deciding to follow her older brother to the Washington State Cougars beginning in the 2020 season.[17] However, she never played a match in college as her freshman season was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic and she decided to turn professional.[8]
Club career
Washington Spirit
2021
At age 18, Rodman became the youngest player to be drafted in NWSL history when the Washington Spirit selected her as their first draft pick (second overall) at the 2021 NWSL College Draft.[18][7][8] Before being drafted by the Spirit, she had never been to Washington, D.C.[19] Rodman made her professional debut on April 10, 2021, scoring a goal within five minutes of being subbed on against the North Carolina Courage in the 2021 NWSL Challenge Cup group stage.[20] On April 15, she assisted Ashley Sanchez's stoppage-time winner in a 1–0 victory over Racing Louisville. She appeared all four of the Spirit's matches during the Challenge Cup, where they finished in fourth place in the East Division with a 1–2–1 record.[21]
Rodman was the Spirit's second-leading scorer with 6 goals (behind Ashley Hatch) and added 5 assists in 22 games in her rookie regular season.[22] The team finished in third place during the regular season with a 11–7–6 record and advanced to the playoffs.[23] After the Spirit defeated North Carolina Courage 1–0,[24] Rodman scored in the Spirit's 2–1 win against OL Reign to advance to the final, where they faced the Chicago Red Stars.[25] Rodman helped lift the Spirit to their first league championship with an assist Kelley O'Hara's winning goal. At age 19, Rodman became the youngest player in league history to record an assist in the playoffs.[26]
On November 17, 2021, Rodman was named NWSL Rookie of the Year and to the NWSL Best XI.[27][28] She earned U.S. Soccer Young Female Player of the Year honors the following month.[29] On February 2, 2022, Rodman signed a contract extension with the Washington Spirit running until after the 2024 season, with an option for 2025.[30] It was reported that the new contract was worth $1.1 million, making Rodman the highest paid player in NWSL history.[31][32]
2022
On April 3, 2022, Rodman scored once and assisted twice in a 4–1 win against the Orlando Pride in the 2022 NWSL Challenge Cup group stage.[33] In the following game, she scored a brace as the Spirit came back to defeat NJ/NY Gotham FC 3–1 on April 17.[34] She recorded four goals and three assists in eight games in the Challenge Cup as Washington reached the final, a 2–1 losing effort against the North Carolina despite Rodman's game-tying assist to Ashley Hatch.[35]
On August 13, 2022, Rodman was nominated for the Ballon d'Or Féminin.[36] She was a nominee for the Best Breakthrough Athlete ESPY Award.[37] She finished the 2022 regular season with 4 goals and 2 assists in 18 games as the defending champions crashed to 11th out of 12 teams in the league.[38][39]
2023
Rodman with the Spirit in 2023
Rodman opened the 2023 season with two goals and an assist in the first three games and helped the Spirit earn points from their first seven games.[40] On May 6, 2023, she scored and assisted Ashley Sanchez in a 3–1 win against the San Diego Wave.[41] She scored a third-minute goal against Racing Louisville on June 3.[42] She finished the 2023 season with 5 goals and 2 assists in 19 games, with Washington finishing in eighth place and missing the playoffs.[43] Rodman was named in the NWSL Best XI Second Team.[40]
2024
Rodman was the Spirit's joint-leading scorer in the 2024 regular season with 8 goals (tied with Ouleymata Sarr) and 6 assists in 23 games.[44] Two of her goals won NWSL Goal of the Week.[45][46] On September 20, 2024, she left the game against the Kansas City Current in a wheelchair due to back spasms.[47] She returned to action three games later and helped the team finish second in the regular-season standings. Despite still dealing with the back injury, she played all 330 minutes of the playoffs as Washington beat Bay FC in overtime, overcame NJ/NY Gotham FC on penalties, and fell one goal short to the Orlando Pride in the championship game.[48][49] Rodman was named in the NWSL Best XI and was one of five nominees for NWSL Most Valuable Player, losing to Temwa Chawinga.[50][51]
In January 2022, Rodman was named to the senior national team's camp for the first time ahead of the 2022 SheBelieves Cup.[56] She made her national team debut on February 17, 2022, in a 0–0 draw with Czech Republic at the tournament,[57] and scored her first goal on April 12, 2022, in a friendly against Uzbekistan, in her third national team appearance.[58] In June 2022, Rodman was named to the U.S. roster for the 2022 CONCACAF W Championship team.[59]
In June 2023, Rodman was named to the U.S. squad for the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.[60] During a World Cup send-off international friendly against Wales on July 9, she scored a brace leading the U.S. to a 2–0 win after subbing in for Alex Morgan during the 46th minute.[61] Named Woman of the Match, Rodman is the youngest player to score a brace in team history.[61][62] Head coach Vlatko Andonovski described her second goal as "world class".[63]
Rodman made her World Cup debut during the team's first group stage match against Vietnam: a 3–0 win.[64]
On June 26, 2024, Rodman was one of the 18 players named by Emma Hayes to represent the United States at the 2024 Summer Olympics.[65] After scoring two goals in the group stage, she scored in extra time in the first knockout game against Japan on August 3 to advance to the semifinals.[66] She started in the gold medal game against Brazil, which the United States won 1–0 on a goal from Mallory Swanson.[67]
In December 2024 she was voted by The Guardian at the 5th place among the top 100 women footballers in the world.[68]
Personal life
In July 2023, Rodman was in a relationship with Chris Kuzemka.[69]
In December 2024, Rodman appeared on the Call Her Daddy podcast and spoke about her relationship with her father, Dennis, saying, "He’s not a dad. Maybe by blood, but nothing else." She described him as a controlling parent and said as a child, she gave up on living with him because of his party lifestyle. As an adult, Rodman said she "lost hope in ever getting him back" after he attended one of her Washington Spirit matches unannounced in 2021 and then did not speak to her again until 2023.[10]
In March 2025, Rodman began dating tennis player Ben Shelton.[71]
Other work
Rodman has endorsement deals with Red Bull,[72]Oakley,[73] and Adidas.[74] She is the author of a children's book, entitled Wake Up and Kick It.[75] In June 2022, Rodman was featured in ESPN SportsCenter's "Trinity Rodman" as part of ESPN's Fifty/50 month-long programming in honor of the 50th anniversary of Title IX in the United States.[76][77] She has starred in television commercials for Verizon,[78]Rexona,[79] and Fox Soccer.[80]
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