Kennedy Fuller Bio
Kennedy Linh Fuller, born on March 9, 2007, is an American professional soccer player who plays as an attacking midfielder in the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL). She first gained national attention as a teenager when she was named the Gatorade National Player of the Year in 2023, and she signed her first professional contract with Angel City FC at just sixteen years old. Fuller is widely viewed as one of the most promising young players in the United States, and she has already represented her country at multiple youth levels, including winning a bronze medal at the 2024 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup.
Standing at 5 feet 5 inches tall, Fuller combines technical skill with strong tactical awareness, allowing her to contribute both as a scorer and a creator in midfield. She is a Nike-sponsored athlete and committed to play college soccer at the University of North Carolina before deciding to turn professional.
Early Life and Background
Fuller was raised in Southlake, Texas, where she grew up alongside her younger sister Kamdyn, who later played for the TCU Horned Frogs, and her younger brother Kolton. Her parents are Kim Fuller and Kris Fuller, and she is of Vietnamese descent through her maternal grandmother. As a young child, she first explored gymnastics, an early discipline that helped her develop coordination, balance, and competitive habits. In fact, she became so accomplished in the sport that she won a state championship before eventually setting it aside.
When she was seven years old, Fuller was introduced to soccer, and by the age of eleven she had committed to the sport full-time. She joined Solar SC, a powerhouse youth club in Texas, where her talent quickly separated her from her peers. With Solar, she was named an ECNL All-American and was recognized as the U16 Conference Player of the Year in 2022, signaling her arrival on the national stage.
Path to Soccer
Fuller’s youth career took a significant step forward when she helped lead Carroll Senior High School to the UIL Class 6A state championship as a freshman in 2022, scoring a hat trick in the title match. She finished that season with 26 goals and 14 assists, earning Dallas Morning News Player of the Year and Texas Gatorade Player of the Year honors. As a sophomore, she scored a school-record 55 goals with 26 assists, leading her team back to the state final and ultimately being named the Gatorade National Player of the Year in 2023.
TopDrawerSoccer ranked her as the third-best recruit in the class of 2025 before she reclassified, after which she was ranked the seventh-best recruit in the class of 2024. She committed to play college soccer for the North Carolina Tar Heels, with a plan to graduate one year early, and went on training stints with clubs including the Washington Spirit, Kansas City Current, San Diego Wave, North Carolina Courage, Chelsea, and Angel City FC. She also signed a Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) deal with Nike during this period.
Kennedy Fuller Career
Early Career (2019–2023)
Fuller began her organized club career with Solar SC in 2019, where she developed into one of the top youth midfielders in the country. During her time with the club, she earned ECNL All-American honors and helped her team compete at the highest youth levels in the country. Her success at the club level ran parallel to her dominance in high school, where she consistently performed in big moments and set scoring records at Carroll Senior High School.
Her standout sophomore season, which included a return trip to the UIL Class 6A state final, established her as the top high school player in the nation and paved the way for her professional transition. By the end of her sophomore year, she was widely considered the best young female soccer player in the United States.
Angel City FC Breakthrough (2024–2026)
Angel City FC announced on March 6, 2024, that the club had signed Fuller to her first professional contract through the NWSL’s Under-18 Entry Mechanism, a three-year deal with an additional option year. She gave up her remaining college eligibility and became the club’s second-youngest signing after Casey Phair. Later that month, on March 17, she made her professional debut in the season opener at BMO Stadium, starting and playing 90 minutes in a 1–0 loss to Bay FC and becoming the youngest player ever to appear for Angel City.
On June 19, 2024, she scored her first professional goal in the 17th minute of a 3–2 home win over Racing Louisville, a milestone that confirmed her growing influence on the senior team. She finished her rookie season with one goal across 19 league appearances, a respectable contribution for a player who was still sixteen years old for most of the campaign.
Her second season in 2025 brought a clear breakthrough. Fuller recorded her first professional assist in the March 16 season opener, delivering a perfectly weighted pass to Alyssa Thompson for the equalizer in a 1–1 draw with the San Diego Wave. The following week, she scored against the Portland Thorns in another 1–1 draw, and the next match she assisted Thompson again in a 2–1 win over the Seattle Reign, earning NWSL Assist of the Week. After new head coach Alexander Straus arrived during the summer break, she was deployed in a more defensive midfield role for several games before returning to her natural attacking position. She appeared in all 26 matches that season and scored four goals.
Bay FC Era (2026–Present)
On June 17, 2026, Bay FC signed Fuller from Angel City FC for US$500,000 in intraleague transfer funds and US$20,000 in allocation funds, marking a major move within the NWSL. The transfer reflected her rapid rise as one of the most valuable young midfielders in the league.
Driving Style and Strengths
Fuller is best known for her ability to read the game from central areas of the field, where she links play between the lines and creates chances with precise passing. Her comfort on the ball, vision, and willingness to arrive in the box have made her a natural fit for an attacking midfield role, while her work rate and tactical discipline have also allowed coaches to use her in deeper positions when needed.
Notable Events and Milestones
One of the signature moments of Fuller’s early career came on March 15, 2026, when she became the seventh NWSL player to reach ten career goal contributions as a teenager, scoring and assisting Evelyn Shores in a 4–0 season-opening win over the Chicago Stars. The following week, she assisted Sveindís Jane Jónsdóttir in a 3–1 victory over Bay FC as her team started the youngest winning eleven in NWSL history, an average age of 23 years and 142 days.
Kennedy Fuller Career Wins
While Fuller is still in the early stages of her professional career, she has already collected meaningful results at both the club and international levels. Her rookie and sophomore seasons at Angel City produced 5 league goals across 45 appearances, along with multiple assists and league-wide weekly honors. At the international level, she has led the United States to titles at the 2022 CONCACAF Girls’ U-15 Championship and the Montaigu Tournament in 2023, as well as a bronze medal at the 2024 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup.
NWSL Highlights
Fuller’s first NWSL goal came on June 19, 2024, in a 3–2 home win over Racing Louisville, a landmark moment in her rookie season. Her most recent NWSL goal at the time of her move came in her standout 2025 campaign, which included a brace of key goals and assists, an NWSL Player of the Week award following her October 12 goal in a 2–0 win over the Houston Dash, and a season-opening goal and assist in March 2026.
Other Wins and Performances
Beyond NWSL play, Fuller scored eight goals at the 2024 CONCACAF Women’s U-17 Championship, winning the Golden Boot as the tournament’s top scorer, and added four goals with three assists at the 2024 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup, where she earned the Silver Boot.
Kennedy Fuller Family
Family Background and Soccer Lineage
Fuller is the daughter of Kim Fuller and Kris Fuller, and she grew up in Southlake, Texas, in a family that supported her athletic development from an early age. Her younger sister Kamdyn Fuller went on to play college soccer for the TCU Horned Frogs, continuing the family’s connection to the sport, while her younger brother Kolton also grew up around the game. Fuller is of Vietnamese descent through her maternal grandmother, a part of her heritage she has spoken about publicly.
Personal Life
Fuller signed with Nike as a teenager through a Name, Image, and Likeness deal, becoming one of the most marketable young players in American soccer. She is active on social media, where she shares insights into her training and matches, and she remains closely tied to her family in Texas despite her professional commitments on the West Coast.
2025 Season Performance
The 2025 NWSL season was the campaign in which Fuller truly announced herself as a core contributor for Angel City FC. She began the year by recording her first professional assist against the San Diego Wave, then scored her first goal of the season against the Portland Thorns the following week. Her consistent production through the spring and summer, including a Player of the Week-winning performance against the Houston Dash, helped keep Angel City in the playoff hunt deep into the fall.
Her role also evolved under new head coach Alexander Straus, who deployed her in a deeper midfield position before moving her back into a more familiar attacking role. By season’s end, she had appeared in all 26 league matches, nearly doubling her rookie-year minutes, and she finished with four goals and a growing list of assists that established her as a two-way midfield force.
Heading into 2025, the outlook for Fuller pointed to continued growth, with Angel City hoping to lean on her creativity in the final third as they pushed for a return to the NWSL playoffs. Her combination of international experience, professional maturity, and youth made her one of the most closely watched young players in the league.