How Trinity Rodman Fell in Love With Soccer:
Trinity Rodman (born May 20, 2002, in Newport Beach, California, U.S.) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a forward for the Washington Spirit in the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) and is also a member of the United States Women’s National Team (USWNT). At the 2024 Paris Olympics, Rodman played a key role in helping the USWNT win the gold medal.
Trinity Rodman is the daughter of Michelle Moyer and Dennis Rodman, the former National Basketball Association (NBA) star. Her parents divorced in 2012, though they had separated several years earlier when she was still very young.
Trinity Rodman and her older brother, DJ Rodman, were raised by their mother, whom Trinity considers her role model and shares a very close bond with. While she credits her father for her athletic abilities, she has also spoken openly about the fact that he was largely absent from her life. From her parents’ previous marriages, she has two older half-sisters, Alexis Rodman and Teyana Lima.
Soccer became a part of Trinity Rodman’s life at a very young age, as she began playing the sport when she was just four years old. At age 10, she started playing club soccer with the Southern California (SoCal) Blues, where she continued until she turned 18.
She attended Corona del Mar High School for her first year, where she played high school soccer, before transferring to JSerra Catholic High School in San Juan Capistrano, where she did not play. For higher education, she committed to Washington State University, where she had planned to play for the women’s soccer team. However, the fall 2020 season—meant to be her freshman year—was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
After reassessing her options, Trinity Rodman decided to declare for the 2021 NWSL Draft and turn professional. She was selected by the Washington Spirit, based in Washington, D.C., and at just 18 years old, she became the youngest player ever drafted in league history. During her rookie season with the Spirit in 2021, she finished as the team’s second-highest goal scorer and helped lead the club to its first-ever NWSL Championship.
At age 19, she made history during the championship run by becoming the youngest player ever to record an assist in a playoff game. Her outstanding performances earned her the NWSL Rookie of the Year award as well as the U.S. Her performances were rewarded with the U.S. Soccer Young Women’s Player of the Year distinction. When Washington extended her contract on February 2, 2022, with a deal worth $1.1 million, Rodman became the highest-paid player in NWSL history at that time.
Rodman has also made a strong impact on the international stage. In 2020, she helped the United States team win the CONCACAF Women’s Under-20 Championship and finished as one of the tournament’s top scorers. She earned her first appearance with the senior U.S. women’s national team in 2022.
Thanks to her impressive performances, she was selected for the U.S. squad at the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup, held in Australia and New Zealand in July and August 2023. The following year, Rodman was part of the USWNT team that captured the gold medal at the Paris Olympics.