Gianna Paul

Gianna Paul
Paul with Alabama in 2025
Personal information
Full name Gianna Rose Paul[1]
Date of birth (2004-12-28) December 28, 2004
Place of birth New York[2]
Height 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)[2]
Position Forward
Team information
Current team
 Kansas City Current
Number 12
College career
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2022–2025 Alabama Crimson Tide 90 (40)
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2024–2025 Long Island Rough Riders 13 (14)
2026– Kansas City Current 0 (0)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals

Gianna Rose Paul (born December 28, 2004) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a forward for the Kansas City Current of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). She played college soccer for the Alabama Crimson Tide, earning All-American honors twice and setting a program record with 40 career goals.

Early life

Paul grew up in Huntington Station, New York, on Long Island.[2] She took after her older sister and began playing soccer when she was five.[3] She played two seasons of soccer at Walt Whitman High School, earning All-American honors as a senior.[4] She also ran track in high school and won two state titles and was named All-American in the sport.[2] She committed to Alabama in her junior year.[5] She played club soccer for SUSA FC, earning multiple ECNL all-conference honors.[6]

College career

Paul was an "electric" substitute during her freshman season with the Alabama Crimson Tide in 2022.[7] In the NCAA tournament, she shook off a goal slump in the quarterfinals when she opened the scoring against Duke, leading Alabama to the first NCAA semifinal appearance in program history.[8] She had 8 goals and 5 assists in 27 games and was named the SEC Freshman of the Year and second-team All-SEC.[2] TopDrawerSoccer named her the fifth-best freshman in the country.[9] In her sophomore year in 2023, she began the season with 7 goals in 10 games, but after suffering an ankle injury, she scored only once more in 11 games.[10] She was named first-team All-SEC.[2]

Paul started all 21 games and led the Crimson Tide with 12 goals in her junior season in 2024.[11] She was named first-team All-SEC and fourth-team All-American, joining Reyna Reyes, Riley Parker, and Felicia Knox as the fourth All-American selection in program history.[11] During her senior season, she became the top scorer in Alabama program history, surpassing Libby Probst's mark of 33 career goals.[12] She again scored 12 goals and added a career-high 7 assists in 21 games as a senior in 2025, repeating her first-team All-SEC and fourth-team All-American selections.[2] She finished her college career with 40 goals and 14 assists in 90 games played.[2]

During college, she also played for the Long Island Rough Riders in the USL W League, helping the team to the national quarterfinals in 2024.[13]

Club career

The Kansas City Current announced on December 26, 2025, that they had signed Paul to her first professional contract on a three-year deal with a team option for another year.[14]

International career

Paul was called into training camp with the United States under-18/under-19 team in 2023.[15]

Honors and awards

Individual

References

  1. ^ "2025 Commencement Program Winter" (PDF). University of Alabama. p. 36. Retrieved December 26, 2025.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h "Gianna Paul". Alabama Crimson Tide. Retrieved July 30, 2025.
  3. ^ Alabama Soccer [@AlabamaSoccer] (February 7, 2024). "Inspired by her older sister, Gianna Paul began playing soccer at the age of five ..." (Tweet). Retrieved July 30, 2025 – via Twitter.
  4. ^ "Walt Whitman High's Gianna Paul named All-American". The Long Island Times. February 10, 2022. Retrieved July 30, 2025.
  5. ^ Clark, Travis (March 15, 2021). "SIMA Recruiting Roundup: March 15-21". TopDrawerSoccer. Retrieved July 30, 2025.
  6. ^ "ECNL All Conference New England". Elite Clubs National League. August 31, 2021. Retrieved July 30, 2025 – via TopDrawerSoccer.
    "ECNL Girls New England All-Conference Teams". Elite Clubs National League. August 8, 2022. Retrieved July 30, 2025 – via TopDrawerSoccer.
  7. ^ Hindle, Tom (December 1, 2022). "Women's College Cup Preview". TopDrawerSoccer. Retrieved July 30, 2025.
  8. ^ Smith, Mason (November 28, 2022). "Gianna Paul Could Be An X-Factor For Alabama Soccer". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved July 30, 2025.
  9. ^ "College Soccer Player Rankings – Freshman". TopDrawerSoccer. Archived from the original on January 6, 2023.
  10. ^ Fernandez, Theodore (November 29, 2023). "Soccer's Gianna Paul knew Alabama was where she 'belonged'". The Crimson White. Retrieved July 30, 2025.
  11. ^ a b "Paul Earns USC All-America Honors". Alabama Crimson Tide. December 6, 2024. Retrieved July 30, 2025.
  12. ^ "Paul Breaks Alabama's Career Goals Record, Paces Crimson Tide in 3-0 Victory over Lipscomb". Alabama Crimson Tide. September 14, 2025. Retrieved October 31, 2025.
  13. ^ Lewis, Michael (May 19, 2025). "She even amazed herself: Rough Riders' Paul talks about her midfield golazo". Front Row Soccer. Retrieved July 30, 2025.
  14. ^ "Forward Gianna Paul, Two-Time All-American, Joins Kansas City Current Through 2028 on Three-Year Deal". Kansas City Current. December 26, 2025. Retrieved December 26, 2025.
  15. ^ "U20, U18/19 Rosters Announced for NC Camps". United States Soccer Federation. April 4, 2023. Retrieved July 30, 2025 – via TopDrawerSoccer.
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