Riley Jackson

Riley Francis Jackson (born December 2, 2005) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a midfielder for the North Carolina Courage of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) and the United States women's national under-20 team. She was named the national Gatorade Player of the Year in 2022. She signed with the Courage at the age of 17 in 2023.

Early life
Jackson grew up in Roswell, Georgia. She played ten years of club soccer for Roswell Soccer Club, a team coached by her father. She then joined Concorde Fire of the Elite Clubs National League (ECNL), where she played up an age group. She was named the ECNL's Southeast Conference Player of the Year in 2020–21, and after helping the Fire win the national club title, she was named the national ECNL Player of the Year in 2021–22.

Jackson played high school soccer for Blessed Trinity Catholic High School in Roswell, recording 36 goals and 48 assists over her career. As a sophomore in 2021–22, she scored 14 goals and had 18 assists and was named the national Gatorade Player of the Year.

Professional career
In July 2023, through the NWSL's Under-18 Entry Mechanism, 17-year-old Jackson signed a professional contract with the North Carolina Courage through 2025 with an option for another year. She previously verbally committed to Duke University in the fall of 2022. She was placed on injured reserve due to a right foot injury the next month. She made her professional debut in the 2024 season as a 90th-minute substitute on March 16. She made her first start in her 12th appearance on June 23 in a home win over the Chicago Red Stars.

International career
Jackson got her first call up to a youth national team training camp with the under-15 team in October 2019. She trained again with the team in March 2020 at a camp run by her future Courage coach Sean Nahas. When youth soccer returned from its COVID-19 pandemic hiatus, Jackson traveled abroad for the first time to play for the national under-17 team at the 2022 CONCACAF Women's U-17 Championship in the Dominican Republic. She co-captained the team to win the tournament, scoring two goals and making three assists, and was awarded the Golden Ball as the tournament's best player. She recorded two assists at the 2022 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup, where the United States fell in the quarterfinals on penalties. She played friendlies for the national under-20 team against Colombia in February 2024.