Payton Crawford

Payton Crawford (; born March 25, 2001) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a forward for the North Carolina Courage of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). She played college soccer for the Penn State Nittany Lions and was drafted by the Portland Thorns in the first round of the 2024 NWSL Draft.

Early life Crawford was raised in Douglas, Massachusetts, the daughter of Sheri and Sean Linnehan. She started playing youth soccer when she was about five years old. Crawford played club soccer for FC Stars of Massachusetts starting at age 12.

College career Crawford played for the Penn State Nittany Lions from 2019 to 2023. She recorded 34 goals and 24 assists in 90 games. She was named the most outstanding offensive player of the 2019 Big Ten tournament after scoring the golden goal in the final. She scored two hat tricks at Penn State: one in the first half of a 2021 match against La Salle and another against Central Connecticut in the first round of the 2023 NCAA tournament.

Club career Portland Thorns The Portland Thorns chose Crawford with the 11th pick of the 2024 NWSL Draft. She signed for a two-year contract with a mutual third-year option. She scored 90 seconds into her first start for the Thorns on May 1, 2024, and added an assist to Sophia Smith five minutes later to help beat Bay FC 3–2.

North Carolina Courage

On August 30, 2025, the Thorns traded Crawford to the North Carolina Courage in exchange for $48,000 in intra-league transfer funds. North Carolina signed her to a new contract through 2027 with a mutual option for 2028. On September 13, she recorded her first Courage start and first assist in a 2–1 win over Angel City FC.

International career Crawford played on the United States national under-15, under-17 and under-23 teams. She won the Golden Boot of the 2016 CONCACAF Girls' U-15 Championship as the top scorer of the tournament.

Personal life

Crawford got engaged to baseball player Reggie Crawford in January 2026. They married in April 2026.

Career statistics