Maddie Mercado re-signs with Reign for 2025

The Seattle Reign announced Monday that second-year midfielder Maddie Mercado has signed for the 2025 season. The Reign drafted Mercado 27th overall in the second round of the 2024 NWSL draft and signed her to a one-year rookie deal.

“We’re delighted to announce the return of Maddie Mercado,” said Seattle Reign General Manager Lesle Gallimore in a team release. “Last season, our fans caught a glimpse of her incredible potential, and we’re confident that her sophomore season will be even more remarkable. Maddie is a talented young professional with a winning mindset that elevates every training session, game, and moment on the pitch. Her ability to make an impact at crucial moments is exceptional, and we look forward to watching her growth and contributions this year.”

While Mercado was not able to find significant minutes in NWSL play during her rookie season, she featured in starts in the Summer Cup against the Utah Royals and Tijuana and also earned minutes against the Portland Thorns. Against the Royals, she started as a box-to-box midfielder, playing 67 minutes in the win. She then scored her first professional goal against Tijuana, putting in a rebound after Tijuana goalkeeper Maricruz Gonzalez redirected Lily Woodham's cross. Mercado also assisted on Emeri Adames's earlier goal in the match. In that match, she started as the left wing in a sort-of 3-5-2 and switched to the right in the second half (Opta's match sheet shows her as a right mid in a 4-3-3, although it was a fluid formation). Though the Reign gave up three goals against Tijuana, Mercado was a bright spot in the attack and had little to do on the two transition goals the Reign gave up while she was on the field.

Mercado's NWSL league minutes were limited to five substitute outings, her most significant being the final match at Orlando, where she made a 13-minute appearance and scored her first league goal. In the 84th minute, with the Reign down 3-1, Mercado found the end of a beautiful cross from Veronica Latsko and headed it perfectly past the Orlando keeper.

“I’m grateful to sign with the club for another season,” said Mercado. “I learned so much in my first year as a professional and can’t wait to continue developing around the team and within this culture."

The Reign will be hoping that Mercado continues to grow into the potential she showed in her youth and college career. She played every match for Notre Dame in her sophomore, junior and senior seasons, scoring 26 goals with 12 assists. To pull from our story announcing her signing last year, Top Drawer Soccer had good things to say about her attacking potential:

With better finishing [by her teammates] on chances she created, Mercado would have had an even better statistical season than her nine goals and two assists. As a left-footed long-range shooting specialist with the stats to back it up, the San Diego Surf graduate has caught the eye of scouts over the last few seasons as someone who can create something from nothing.

The California native has represented the United States at various youth stages, most recently with the U-19 team in 2020.

Her late season usage suggested she was still finding her best role on the team, substituting in for Jaelin Howell twice and Tziarra King twice. It remains to be seen how the team plans to utilize her going forward, but she could take on a utility role similar to the one played by the recently departed Olivia Athens, serving as a wide attacker or across the midfield. The highlights against Tijuana showed some chemistry with Adames, which would be a huge boon to the goal-starved Reign if that partnership develops. The one-year deal will give Mercado an opportunity to deliver on her potential and earn a longer-term contract if she is able to develop into a contributor in her second year.