Maycee Bell Bio
Maycee Nicole Bell (born September 18, 2000) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a center back for the North Carolina Courage of the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL). She played college soccer for the North Carolina Tar Heels, earning All-American honors twice. She was drafted by NJ/NY Gotham FC in the first round of the 2024 NWSL Draft, then traded to the Courage during her rookie year. She has represented the United States at the youth international level.
Standing 5 feet 11 inches, Bell developed into one of the top center backs of her draft class through a college career at a perennial NCAA power. She helped the Tar Heels reach the national championship game as a freshman and earned conference and national recognition across multiple seasons.
Early Life and Background
Maycee Nicole Bell was born on September 18, 2000, in Wichita, Kansas, to Brett and Kristy Bell, both former college basketball players. She grew up with five younger siblings in an athletic household that shaped her competitive edge. From an early age she balanced multiple sports before focusing on soccer.
Bell played one year of high school soccer as a freshman at Trinity Academy, scoring 19 goals as a forward in 14 games. She was named Kansas’s Gatorade Player of the Year for 2015–16. After that single high school season, she moved to the Kansas City area to play year-round with Elite Clubs National League club Sporting Blue Valley, which she captained from 2014 to 2017. She attended Blue Valley Southwest, Blue Valley West, and Insight School of Kansas while developing with Sporting Blue Valley.
During her senior year, Bell moved to North Carolina to play for the North Carolina Courage Academy and trained with the Courage first team during her college off-seasons. That early connection with the Courage organization helped lay the groundwork for her eventual professional home.
Path to Soccer
Bell began playing soccer as a forward and was converted to center back at her first youth national team training camp in 2014. She later explained that she “realized I loved stopping people from scoring more than I actually loved scoring,” and she modeled her defensive game after United States national team defender Becky Sauerbrunn.
Her captaincy of Sporting Blue Valley from 2014 to 2017 and her call-ups to United States youth national team camps marked her as one of the top defensive prospects in her age group. The move to the North Carolina Courage Academy in her senior year gave her access to high-level daily training environments and prepared her for the college game.
Maycee Bell Career
Early Career (2019–2023)
Bell enrolled at the University of North Carolina in 2019 and started for the North Carolina Tar Heels from her first week on campus. She was named the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) Defensive Player of the Week early in her freshman season and finished the year with three goals, including tallies in the ACC tournament final and the NCAA tournament, where the Tar Heels finished as runners-up.
Across five college seasons, Bell collected All-ACC first-team honors in the fall 2020 season and second-team selections in 2019, 2021, and 2023. She was a third-team All-American as a freshman, a second-team All-American as a junior, and added another All-American recognition during her redshirt senior year. She missed the 2022 season after tearing her meniscus in the first game but returned to co-captain the Tar Heels in 2023.
United States Youth National Team (2017–2020)
Bell trained with the United States youth national team beginning at the under-16 level in 2014. She went on to play for the United States under-19 team from 2017 to 2018 and for the under-20 team from 2018 to 2020.
She scored for the under-20 team in a friendly in March 2019 and recorded an assist at the 2020 CONCACAF Women’s U-20 Championship, which the United States won. In December 2019, she received her first senior national team call-up but had to miss the camp due to injury.
NJ/NY Gotham FC (2024)
Reigning NWSL champions NJ/NY Gotham FC selected Bell with the 14th overall pick in the first round of the 2024 NWSL Draft, their only selection that night. She was signed to a three-year contract and made her professional debut as a substitute in the NWSL Challenge Cup on March 15, a 1–0 loss to the San Diego Wave.
Bell made her first regular-season appearance on April 20 against the Washington Spirit, earned her first start on May 8 against the Houston Dash, and scored her first professional goal on June 19 against the San Diego Wave, finishing Jenna Nighswonger’s cross in stoppage time to seal a 2–1 victory. She started four matches in the NWSL x Liga MX Femenil Summer Cup, helping Gotham reach the final. In half a season with Gotham, she made 13 appearances with 7 starts and scored 1 goal across all competitions.
North Carolina Courage Era (2024–Present)
On August 21, 2024, Gotham FC traded Bell to the North Carolina Courage for $80,000 in allocation money and $10,000 in intra-league transfer funds. She debuted for her former youth club on September 8, substituting late in a 4–1 win against the San Diego Wave. Bell made her first Courage start on March 22, 2025, in a 2–1 home-opening loss to the Seattle Reign, and on April 13 she made her first Courage start at center back after Malia Berkely was a late scratch against Gotham FC.
North Carolina head coach Sean Nahas, who had previously coached her with the Courage Academy, quickly trusted her as a regular starter. On May 3, 2025, she won all eight duels and three tackles in a 2–0 win over the Utah Royals, becoming the first NWSL player in five years to post 100 percent in those statistics on that many attempts. She finished her first full Courage season with 24 appearances and 21 starts as the club placed ninth and missed the playoffs. On December 5, the Courage announced a contract extension for Bell through 2028.
Driving Style and Strengths
Bell reads the game with poise beyond her years, timing tackles and interceptions with a composure that allowed her to go perfect in eight duels and three tackles against the Utah Royals. Her combination of height, aerial ability, and one-on-one defending has made her a trusted center back for head coach Sean Nahas, and her comfort on the ball traces back to her early years as a forward.
Notable Events and Milestones
Her first professional goal against the San Diego Wave in stoppage time on June 19, 2024, announced her arrival as a threat from the back, and her perfect statistical outing against the Utah Royals on May 3, 2025, set a benchmark no NWSL player had matched in five years. Her 2020 CONCACAF Women’s U-20 Championship title with the United States and her 2024 NWSL Draft selection in the first round stand as key milestones of her rise.
Maycee Bell Career Wins
Maycee Nicole Bell has built her early resume around consistent selection to All-ACC and All-American teams, a CONCACAF Women’s U-20 Championship with the United States, and a run to the NWSL x Liga MX Femenil Summer Cup final with Gotham FC in 2024.
NCAA and College Highlights
Bell helped North Carolina reach the NCAA championship game as a freshman in 2019 and earned ACC Freshman of the Year, second-team All-ACC, and third-team All-American honors that season. She added All-ACC first-team recognition in fall 2020 and second-team All-ACC and second-team All-American honors in 2021.
Other Wins and Performances
At the international youth level, Bell won the 2020 CONCACAF Women’s U-20 Championship with the United States and contributed a goal in a March 2019 under-20 friendly. In her rookie professional season, she reached the NWSL x Liga MX Femenil Summer Cup final with Gotham FC and scored her first NWSL regular-season goal in a 2–1 win over the San Diego Wave.
Maycee Bell Family
Family Background and Racing Lineage
Bell comes from an athletic family in Wichita, Kansas. Both of her parents, Brett Bell and Kristy Bell, played college basketball, and she grew up with five younger siblings in a competitive household that helped shape her drive.
Personal Life
Maycee Nicole Bell maintains an active presence on social media and continues to be identified with her hometown of Wichita, Kansas. She signed a contract extension with the North Carolina Courage in December 2025 that runs through 2028, anchoring her professional future in the NWSL.
2025 Season Performance
Maycee Nicole Bell opened the 2025 NWSL season with the North Carolina Courage as a regular starter at center back under head coach Sean Nahas. She made her first start of the year on March 22 in a 2–1 home loss to the Seattle Reign and quickly locked down the starting role alongside veterans in the Courage back line.
Her standout performance came on May 3, 2025, against the Utah Royals, when she won all eight duels and three tackles in a 2–0 victory and became the first NWSL player in five years to go perfect in those categories on that many attempts. The performance crystallized her reputation as one of the league’s most reliable young defenders.
The Courage finished the 2025 season in ninth place and out of the playoffs, but Bell’s individual growth gave the club a clear building block. On December 5, the Courage announced a contract extension for Bell through 2028, signaling long-term confidence in her development and a central role in the team’s future.