It felt like it took months to reach another five rounds of NWSL play (spoiler: it did), but it's that time again: Version 3.0 of ESPN's NWSL 2025 MVP Tracker.
Fifteen games are in the books for every NWSL team, meaning we are past the halfway point of the season. As we have been doing, we are keeping tabs on who could win the MVP award with a rolling tracker every five games.
- NWSL Power Rankings: Can anyone stop the Kansas City Current?
If you are expecting familiar names, well... you're about to find them. There are also some new names on the list who could surge up the rankings with a strong second half of the season.
Here's a look at where things stand, based on a mix of criteria from ESPN's advanced data and our expertise.
12. Manaka Matsukubo, North Carolina Courage midfielder
Not much has gone right in Courage Country this season, but Matsukubo has been a bright spot. She has four goals and four assists in 15 games, tied for fourth in the league in combined goal contributions. Manaka is the key to North Carolina's successful press and newfound transition play as one of the visionary midfielders in the league.
11. Lorena, Kansas City Current goalkeeper
The battle between goalkeepers on this list keeps fluctuating, and the scale has tipped back toward Kansas City's shot-stopper. Lorena leads the league in clean sheet percentage and she's second in goals-against per 90. Oh, and she's done all that while there have been some changes to the defensive line in front of her. Kansas City has conceded only 10 goals in 15 games, a league best.
10. Alyssa Thompson, Angel City FC forward
Thompson co-leads the NWSL in chances created this season, per ESPN TruMedia. She is arguably the most in-form American forward in 2025. Still, she falls in the rankings due to a scoring drought that has reached five games -- and coincides with a seven-game winless streak for Angel City (five of which are losses).
9. Taylor Flint, Racing Louisville midfielder
It's return to the list for Louisville's star, Flint. Racing Louisville continues to scrap for its first playoff appearance in franchise history, and Flint's towering presence in midfield is once again a driving force in that push. Flint ranks first in the NWSL in interceptions, duels and aerials, and second in tackles. She's a force.
8. Gift Monday, Washington Spirit forward
Monday has put in one of the quieter MVP campaigns this season, but she is a big part of the Spirit's success. She has five goals and serves as the focal point of Washington's attack -- one that she has helped carry without Trinity Rodman, Croix Bethune or Ashley Hatch at different points of the season.
7. Barbra Banda, Orlando Pride forward
Banda is still a force and one of the best forwards in the NWSL, as her Ballon d'Or nomination confirms. She only has one goal in five games since dunking a hat trick on the last-place Utah Royals. That's worth monitoring since it was this time last year that she hit a dry spell for scoring.
6. Kenza Dali, San Diego Wave midfielder
Who is first in the league in touches, passes attempted and passes completed, per ESPN TruMedia? That distinction goes to Dali, one part of the French connection driving San Diego's success (more on that soon). Dali is one of the league's older players at 34, but that experience has helped her pick apart opposing midfields in tandem with Savannah McCaskill.
5. Debinha, Kansas City Current forward/midfielder
She's back on the field after a brief injury absence, and she's still well in the mix for MVP. Debinha was a clear early-season favorite for the award, and she remains one of the most productive players in the league, both creating and finishing chances. This is still shaping up to be the Brazilian's best season in years.
4. Sam Coffey, Portland Thorns midfielder
The Thorns are surging, and Coffey is the lynchpin. Her numbers won't necessarily jump out at anyone since she plays as a deep-lying midfielder, but ask any coach and they'll laud Coffey's game awareness. She is a focal point for Portland. She does have one eye-popping datapoint, per ESPN TruMedia: she's fourth in the NWSL in chances created.
3. Esther González, NJ/NY Gotham FC forward
Yet again we ask: Where would Gotham be without Esther? She is the NWSL co-leader with 10 goals -- more than half of Gotham's total scoring haul as the 2023 champs cling to the final playoff spot. Since our last MVP Tracker check-in, Esther has scored three times -- all crucial goals in victories that Gotham desperately needed.
2. Delphine Cascarino, San Diego Wave winger
Cascarino is the new creative standard in the NWSL. She is the league's co-leader with five assists, and she makes fans hold their collective breath each time she gets on the ball. She showed that off again on the world stage at the 2025 UEFA Women's European Championship this summer. Cascarino is the reason San Diego is in the thick of the playoff race, and the Wave need her to continue to thrive if they are going to make a real postseason push.
1. Temwa Chawinga, Kansas City Current forward
Inevitable: That's the recurring word around Chawinga. She proved why again last week with a last game-winning goal. Last year's MVP and Golden Boot winner is now tied for the league lead with 10 goals. She is remarkably consistent; Chawinga has scored one goal in seven of Kansas City's last eight games. That streak coincides with the Current's eight-game winning streak.
Fighting for inclusion on the list: Riley Tiernan (Angel City FC), Rosemonde Kouassi (Washington Spirit), Marta (Orlando Pride), Claudia Dickey (Seattle Reign), Olivia Moultrie (Portland Thorns), Denise O'Sullivan (North Carolina Courage) Emily Sams (Orlando Pride), Emma Sears (Racing Louisville)