The defender is getting call-ups.
Emma Hayes made a commitment to restocking the United States Women’s National Team player pool and delivered on that promise in 2025, bringing several new talents into the fold. These efforts should yield dividends both in the short term with two major tournaments in the offing and during successive cycles. Kate Wiesner recently made the jump to the senior international level and featured in both friendlies against Italy, starting in the latter fixture. The 24-year-old Washington Spirit defender was a highly regarded youth prospect and overcame several injuries during her youth, college, and nascent professional career.
Raised in Monrovia, California, Wiesner competed at the youth level with Slammers FC and won three Elite Clubs National League championships as an attacking midfielder. Her lengthy collection of individual honors included 2018 Western Conference Development Academy Player of the Year and 2018 TopDrawerSoccer Player of the Year. Despite suffering an anterior cruciate ligament injury, she was listed as the top recruit in the 2019 class by TopDrawerSoccer.
Wiesner then matriculated to Pennsylvania State University, found the back of the net in the opener against Stanford, and started the first eight matches of her freshman year before suffering another ACL injury and a meniscus injury. After missing the 2021 COVID spring season, she made 19 appearances during the following fall, contributing one goal and two assists. Her senior season included two goals and 11 assists in 23 fixtures, leading the Nittany Lions to the Big Ten title and the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament. Her fifth and final campaign in State College ended in the national quarterfinal, putting up two goals and five assists while being named Third Team All-Big Ten, Big Ten All-Tournament Team, and First Team All-North Region.
The succession of devastating setbacks could have derailed her career, but she emerged with a greater resilience. “Unfortunately, in the women’s game, knee injuries, in particular, are far too common,” Wiesner shared with the Big Ten Network. “That’s something I’ve had to battle as well as a lot of my teammates. I never want to say that I took soccer for granted before, but I think that coming back from those injuries, I absolutely have a newfound sense of gratitude for every single moment that I get to spend on the soccer field. [I am] really just leaning on my joy of just playing the game to drive me moving forward.”
Wiesner entered the professional realm and was selected by the Washington Spirit with the seventh overall pick in the 2024 NWSL Draft and signed a three-year contract. She quickly entered into the rotation and scored her first goal in a 1-0 win over Utah Royals, making 18 total appearances as the club reached the playoff final, losing to Orlando Pride. Being “in an environment where there’s such a drive to get better every day” helped her develop and experience “tremendous growth.”
This past season, Wiesner was forced to miss several months with a hip injury before returning to the field in June. She made 16 appearances across all competitions and found the back of the net in a 3-2 victory over Bay FC, playing a key role in the playoffs as Washington once again reached the final before falling, this time to Gotham FC. The versatile defender flourished under a new manager who enabled her to perform in a more fluid tactical set-up that provided more “freedom and joy.”
“I want to be as versatile as I can and be able to come in and play in a couple of different roles,” said Wiesner. “I do feel like my profile as a player is pretty well-suited to play wing-back, and I definitely enjoy playing in that system… Our ability to play in either a four- or a five-[player back line] and come out in a system that best suits the opponent that we’re playing is going to be a really helpful tool for us… So, it’s my job as a player to do the best that I can to be able to fill in the different slots based on what’s needed for that weekend… [The manager] gives us the freedom and the ability to read different situations in the game and respond to those with the kind of freedom to solve as we see fit.”
At the international level, Wiesner has been a long-term member of the United States program and competed at the 2016 and 2018 CONCACAF U-17 Championships and the 2016 U-17 World Cup, missing the 2018 tournament with an injury. After featuring with the Under-19 and Under-23 age groups, she received her first senior call-up in May of 2024 as a training player. Her debut came during the November/December camp that had two matches against Italy, making a six-minute appearance in the opening 3-0 victory, followed by a start in the latter 2-0 win; her performances received double 6/10s from Goal, having “held her own” as a “natural” and “helped keep [the opponent] off the scoreboard.” Her name was called again for the friendlies with Paraguay and Chile, going 63 minutes in the second fixture.
Standing at five feet, seven inches tall, Wiesner is an impressive two-way fullback and sometimes winger who makes an impact in the defensive third and is a regular one-on-one threat and shot creator. She overlaps on the outside and has “a strong range of passing with her left foot,” occupying a hybrid position for Washington. Capable of forcing turnovers in advanced areas and dictating the game through the center, her best work is done on the wings, using the isolation to create for teammates.
Wiesner is an interesting player who raises the floor of her teams and manages to work her way to the top in any environment. Having made her senior debut, the next steps are continuing to receive call-ups, avoiding injury, and achieving consistency at the professional level. The USWNT fullback depth chart is loaded, but every new addition could be the next important contributor, with every possible stone being turned by Hayes.
Category: General Sports
