Just a couple of weeks after the Washington Spirit signed midfielder Chloe Ricketts to a three-year contract with an option for 2026, the San Diego Wave FC announced on Tuesday, March 21, it has reached an agreement with 15-year-old forward Melanie Barcenas to a three-year contract making her the youngest player to ever sign with an NWSL team.

Barcenas is 45 days younger than Ricketts when she signed with Washington on March 3, which at the time, was three days younger than Thorns player Olivia Moultrie who signed with Portland on June 30, 2021.

“I’m very excited to sign my first professional contract with my hometown team, San Diego Wave,” said Barcenas. “It’s been a dream of mine to not just play in the NWSL but to have the opportunity to represent this city since the announcement of the Wave last year. I know I am young, but the team and coaching staff have been amazing, and I look forward to learning from them every day as I continue to develop.”

The Clairemont native also becomes the first youth local player in the NWSL as well as the first to join the SD Wave through the league’s new Under-18 Entry Mechanism.

“We are very happy that Melanie and her family have decided to entrust her hometown club as the place for her to begin her professional career,” said San Diego head coach Casey Stoney. “The coaches at San Diego Surf have been instrumental in helping her develop as a person and as a player for her entire youth career. We’re excited to maximize her potential through the coming years while being patient and deliberate in advancing her development while ensuring she retains some routine and normalcy of being a teenager.”

Barcenas became the first high school player to sign a name, image, and likeness (NIL) deal with Nike when she signed on Jan. 1, 2022. She has already been called into the U-14, U-15, and U-16 U.S. women’s national teams for training camps and was most recently called up to the U.S. U-17 women’s youth national team for matches against England where she was the youngest player on the roster.

Photo courtesy: San Diego Wave Fútbol Club