Published August 24, 2026
Trinity Byars was involved in all four San Diego Wave goals in a 4-2 win over Utah Royals FC this weekend, scoring twice and assisting twice in the kind of performance that’s put her squarely in the conversation for her first senior USWNT call-up. It’s a milestone weekend for a player whose path to this point wasn’t simple: Byars became the first college player to sign directly with an NWSL club in November 2024, only to have a torn ACL delay her official debut by nearly a year.
Key Takeaways
- Trinity Byars scored twice and assisted twice as San Diego Wave FC beat Utah Royals FC 4-2 this weekend, a performance that’s building real momentum for her first senior USWNT call-up.
- Byars became the first college player to sign directly with an NWSL club when she joined San Diego in November 2024, part of the first offseason after the league eliminated its draft.
- A torn ACL delayed her NWSL debut by nearly a year; she didn’t make her first appearance until San Diego’s 2025 regular-season finale.
- The 23-year-old has now scored six goals for San Diego Wave in 2026, with this weekend’s performance coming in a result that also ended Utah Royals’ lengthy unbeaten run.
- Byars was a standout youth international before turning pro, helping the U.S. win gold at the 2022 Concacaf U-20 Women’s Championship and starting all three group matches at the 2022 U-20 World Cup.
Trinity Byars Forces Her Way Into the USWNT Conversation
Trinity Byars scored twice and set up two more in San Diego Wave FC’s 4-2 win over Utah Royals FC this weekend, directly involved in every goal her team scored. Utah had taken an early lead before Byars’ outburst turned the match — ending one of the longest active unbeaten runs in the NWSL this season in the process.
It’s the signature performance yet in an unusual career. Byars became the first college player to sign directly with an NWSL club in November 2024, after the league eliminated its collegiate draft as part of a new collective bargaining agreement — a landmark moment for a system that had, until then, funneled every incoming American college player through a draft process. San Diego’s sporting director, Camille Ashton, called her one of the most dynamic forwards at the collegiate level at the time of the signing, pointing specifically to her ability to play between the lines and threaten in behind opposing defenses.
That debut didn’t come quickly. Byars tore her ACL around the time of her signing, and her recovery pushed her first NWSL minutes back nearly a full year, to San Diego’s 2025 regular-season finale. This season represents her first full, healthy year as a professional — and this weekend’s performance is the clearest evidence yet that the wait produced a genuine difference-maker.
Why It Matters
Byars enters USWNT conversations at an interesting moment. Emma Hayes is roughly a month away from selecting her squad for October’s friendlies against Spain, and competition for forward spots is intensifying as several contenders play their best soccer of the season simultaneously. A four-goal-involvement weekend is exactly the kind of form Hayes’ staff notices heading into a selection window, particularly for a player still building a senior-team résumé from scratch.
It also reinforces something the NWSL’s post-draft signing system was designed to enable: a genuine, direct pathway from college soccer to professional and international relevance, without the draft-era lottery of landing spots that once shaped rookie opportunity. Byars was the first player to take that path. Her current form is a real-time argument for why more programs might follow it.
What Does Byars’ Breakout Mean for San Diego?
San Diego has now clinched a playoff spot behind Byars’ growing production, with the forward up to six goals in her first full healthy NWSL season. Her chemistry with the Wave’s attack has been building for weeks, but this weekend marked the first time it fully arrived in one match. For a team still settling its final playoff seeding, adding a fully healthy, in-form Byars to the group is a real boost heading into the stretch run.
The result also carries weight elsewhere in the league: Utah Royals FC, whose Japanese trio made NWSL history earlier this month during a franchise-record unbeaten stretch, saw that run end in this match — a reminder of how quickly form can shift in either direction across the league’s compressed final third of the schedule.
What Comes Next
Byars’ clearest next opportunity comes if Hayes calls her into the USWNT’s October camp for the two friendlies against Spain — a realistic possibility if her form continues at this level through September, ahead of the Concacaf W Championship in November that follows. San Diego, meanwhile, will look to build on the win as it locks in playoff positioning, with Byars now a central piece of that push rather than a name still working her way back from injury.
Conclusion
Trinity Byars’ path to this point wasn’t the one the NWSL originally built for incoming college players, and a torn ACL made even that unconventional path harder before it really started. A four-goal-involvement weekend doesn’t erase any of that, but it does mark the moment her San Diego Wave career — and her national team case — stopped being about potential and started being about production.
Frequently Asked Questions
What did Trinity Byars do against Utah Royals?
Trinity Byars scored twice and assisted twice as San Diego Wave FC beat Utah Royals FC 4-2, a performance directly involved in all four of the Wave’s goals and one of the best individual outings in the NWSL this season.
Why is Trinity Byars significant to NWSL history?
Byars became the first college player to sign directly with an NWSL club, joining San Diego Wave FC in November 2024 after the league eliminated its collegiate draft as part of a new collective bargaining agreement.
Why did it take Trinity Byars so long to make her NWSL debut?
Byars tore her ACL around the time of her signing, delaying her official NWSL debut by nearly a year. She didn’t make her first appearance for San Diego until the club’s 2025 regular-season finale.
Is Trinity Byars close to a USWNT call-up?
She’s building a real case. With Emma Hayes selecting her squad for October’s friendlies against Spain roughly a month away, a strong finish to San Diego’s season could put Byars in contention for her first senior national team call-up.