Jaedyn Shaw Can’t Stop Winning

At 21 years old, Jaedyn Shaw is already an Olympic gold medalist and National Women’s Soccer League champion — and she’s not slowing down anytime soon. After an abrupt move to the East Coast toward the end of 2025, Shaw found immediate success on her new team, helping NJ/NY Gotham FC win the NWSL Championship just two months after joining them. “It was pretty chaotic,” Shaw says. She’s Zooming me from a hotel room during a rare break in her schedule. “It’s hard to even process, to be honest. Winning a trophy so early on is so wild to me.”

Her new home is a long way from her hometown of Frisco, Texas. As a kid, she was always surrounded by a passionate love for soccer. “I was born into it,” the midfielder says. “My sisters played; my mom played a little bit. My mom coached me when I was super young, and I started playing on a team by 4.”

Her family wasn’t only coaching her but also making major financial sacrifices to ensure Shaw had a future as a professional player. Her mother, Ann Shaw, has previously spoken about moving her family into a one-bedroom apartment and forgoing vacations in order to support Shaw. The soccer star says she was only “partially” aware of all this at the time.

“They didn’t really allow me to hold that burden. I didn’t know until I got older,” Shaw says. “Even being in that one-bedroom apartment, I didn’t really think about how we were moving out of a house into such a small place just so we could afford the opportunities that I was getting.”

All that work and sacrifice paid off in a big way when Shaw went pro in 2022. At 17 years old, she was one of the youngest NWSL players to be signed. “I didn’t really think too much about my age,” Shaw says. “It was just a really cool opportunity to hear that teams wanted to actually sign me. And coming into this league at this time has been so awesome. With how much the league and women’s sports in general have grown over the last few years, I’m really grateful to be part of this generation of players.”

I’m no stranger to chaos.

She had another pinch-me moment in 2024, when she was selected for Team USA in the Paris Olympics and won a gold medal with her teammates. “The Olympics is a whole different beast,” Shaw says. “I was the youngest on the roster, I believe, and just being there, experiencing that major event, those are some of the greatest memories.”

After getting that taste of gold, Shaw came into 2025 hungry for more. She began the year by signing with the North Carolina Courage, but her tenure didn’t last long. In September 2025, Shaw was acquired by Gotham FC in a record-breaking $1.25 million trade deal. Barely a month later, she was in the playoffs with Gotham.

“It was definitely a whirlwind, but I’m no stranger to chaos,” Shaw says. “I basically packed up in one day, went to New Jersey for one day and did my medicals, and then flew straight to San Diego for a game. It was pretty all over the place.”

Even her teammates can’t grasp just how sudden Shaw’s move was. “They’ll be talking about preseason, and I’m like, ‘Oh, yeah, girls, I wasn’t there.’ And they’re like, ‘Oh, my gosh, I forgot that you weren’t even here for the majority of the year,’” she says.

While soccer is a huge part of Shaw’s life, it isn’t the entirety of it. She credits being a Red Bull Athlete with helping her “explore different parts of the industry.” She recently designed a limited-edition shoe for Adidas, and now that she’s officially in a New York metro girl, she’s excited to expand her brand.

“I’m still new to the fashion world, but I love fashion so much,” Shaw says. “I always tried to throw a ’fit on here and there. So yeah, I would be interested in honestly anything. We’re in the New York space, so maybe a fashion week?”

After a chaotic year, Shaw is determined to go even bigger in 2026. “I’m just manifesting as many opportunities that I can get,” she says. “And obviously to win another championship.”