Seattle Reign announced on Wednesday that the club signed Rutgers and U.S. youth national team defender Emily Mason to a contract for the 2025 season. Mason becomes the first college player to sign with the Reign after the league's new collective bargaining agreement eliminated the NWSL College Draft.
Mason, 22, was also named to the 24-player January Futures Camp roster that will feature up-and-coming U.S. Women's National Team prospects. She'll join new Reign teammates Jordyn Bugg and Ainsley McCammon.
“I’m so excited to be joining Seattle Reign and making the move to the West Coast,” said Mason in a team release. “It’s an incredible club and I can’t wait to get started and begin this new chapter in my career!”
The versatile defender played 82 games in her four seasons at Rutgers, scoring six goals and assisting seven. While she primarily played centerback at Rutgers, Mason also spent time at right back in her early college career and with U.S. youth national teams. Standing at 5’10”, she’s a threat on set pieces and her long legs help her make crucial stops on the defensive end.
According to Wyscout, in the 2024 season, Mason won 71.6% of her defensive duels and averaged more than 5 interceptions, 3 clearances, and 57 passes per game.
Mason was named to the All-Big 10 First Team in 2022 and 2024 and the Second Team in 2023. She was also named to the United Soccer Coaches All-America Third Team in 2022.
"Emily is a smart, versatile and highly skilled defender with tremendous potential as a professional," Reign general manager Lesle Gallimore said in a team release. "Her impressive collegiate career and reputation as a leader and teammate speak volumes about her character and talent. We can’t wait to see her in a Reign jersey, and we’re confident she will make a significant impact both on and off the field.”
Mason has received several youth national team call-ups, including being named to the U-20 U.S. women’s national team roster for the 2022 Concacaf U-20 Championships and the U-20 World Cup that summer. In the Concacaf U-20 Championships, Mason started five of seven games for the U.S., scoring three goals and adding an assist. She was named to the Concacf U-20 Championship Best XI.
Mason went on to start two of the three group-stage games during the U-20 World Cup and came on at halftime for the third. Unfortunately, the U.S. did not advance out of the group stage in the 2022 tournament – failing to get past Japan and the Netherlands.
Reign head coach Laura Harvey also named Mason to the U-20 squad in 2020 for the Concacaf U-20 Championships when she was just 17 years old. The U.S. won the competition, and Mason started the quarterfinal and final at right back, but the pandemic prevented the U-20 World Cup from occurring. Mason was also the 2019-20 Gatorade National Player of the Year in high school and was named NJ Gatorade Player of the Year in 2019-20 and 2020-21.