The Kansas City Current star is the latest youngster capitalizing on the league's new age rules, following names like Olivia Moultrie and Jaedyn Shaw
When Claire Hutton, the Kansas City Current's 18-year-old midfielder, scored her first professional goal at the start of August, head coach Vlatko Andonovski did not shy away from the hype that has swelled around the talented teenager throughout her rookie season. After watching her dart in behind the Tigres defense to receive a throw-in, take a gorgeous first touch to create a yard of space and then curl the ball over the goalkeeper from the corner of the box, he declared Hutton ready to represent the United States women's national team.
Though she has played just 20 senior matches, all in 2024, it's hard not to feel like that's where Hutton's trajectory can take her if all continues to unfold as it currently is. There has been a huge influx of talented teenagers into the NWSL since Olivia Moultrie’s ground-breaking debut in the summer of 2021, with the likes of Jaedyn Shaw and Alyssa Thompson among those to make waves and, eventually, USWNT debuts after the league relaxed its age restriction rules. This year, though, there is no greater breakthrough story than Hutton, with the aforementioned Thompson the only teenager to have seen more game time in the NWSL in 2024 – and by just 15 minutes.
Maybe because she occupies the less glamorous role of a defensive midfielder, the youngster has not been grabbing headlines quite like other wonderkids from the last few years. But make no mistake, the Kansas City star is an incredible talent, one who looks destined to shine at the top level for years to come.
USA TODAY SportsWhere it all began
Hutton's explosive first season in the NWSL has only continued a theme from throughout her young career, that of performing beyond her years. When she was in the seventh grade, she joined the varsity team at Bethlehem High School. When youth national team duties made it hard for her to keep playing for the girls’ side as a junior, she played with the boys. That’s an experience that has certainly helped her make the step up to senior women’s soccer.
The all-state and all-American honors she earned in those early years unsurprisingly mean Hutton has been involved in the U.S. youth set-up for a while now, too. The midfielder was the third-youngest player on the roster at the 2022 CONCACAF Women’s Under-17 Championship, scoring six goals as the U.S. triumphed; she hit a sensational strike in the Bronze Medal match at the 2023 Pan American Games, as a U.S. U19 side finished third at a senior tournament; and she has spent all of 2024 playing for the U20s, despite only celebrating her 18th birthday in January.
AdvertisementUSA TODAY SportsThe big break
When Hutton graduated early from high school in the summer of 2023, she trained with an array of NWSL teams and eventually chose to forgo a collegiate career at the University of North Carolina, signing a three-year contract with the Kansas City Current in December.
“No decision was a bad decision, and that’s what people kept reminding me of,” she told . “But at the end of the day, I know where my goals are. I want to make the women’s full national team one day. I want to play in a World Cup and Olympics and all that.”
USA TODAY SportsHow it's going
Since signing that deal at 17, Hutton has thrived. She’s been outstanding for the Current in a superb first half-season in the NWSL, starting all-but-one of its first 16 games and ranking second overall across the division for tackles won.
Asked what made him feel she was ready for such a role in her rookie season, one that surprised the player herself, Andonovski told reporters earlier in the year: “Her performances in training. We see her every day training and we saw her in pre-season, in pre-season matches, and she showed that she can take the role that she has right now, and not just that, but take it to the next level as well. We've been very happy with her, how she's progressing, and we can see how her role evolves from game to game.”
Hutton added to that fantastic start by helping the Current reach the NWSL x Liga MX Femenil Summer Cup final in August, her first professional goal coming as part of that run. It was then that Andonovski declared: “She’s a player that is not just going to represent this team, but also a player that is ready to represent this country as well.” Asked about her potential to play on the USWNT in the near future, he added: “I think she has to take the right steps, but I would be shocked if she wasn't on the team. She is a seasoned pro, she starts, contributes, and makes us better every match.”
For now, her focus is with the U20 team, for which she’ll hope to continue her brilliant form at the Women's World Cup when it kicks off on August 31. It's 12 years since the U.S. won this youth title, but it heads to Colombia with an extremely talented roster, on which Hutton is one of eight names playing professional soccer in the NWSL.
USA TODAY SportsBiggest strengths
As a holding midfielder, Hutton is excellent at reading the game. She leads the Kansas City Current roster for tackles won, aerial duels won and interceptions made through the first 16 games of the season, showcasing that ability to protect the defense well.
Physically and in terms of her soccer IQ, the 18-year-old by no means looks out of her depth in the team that sits second in the NWSL standings, and she has some real flair, too. Despite her deep-lying role, Hutton is into double figures for chances created in the league this season, while only the explosive forward duo of Temwa Chawinga and Debinha have completed more dribbles on the team.
It’s her ability to do the latter, owing to wonderful technical skill, that regularly catches the eye when watching this talented teenager play. So often she spins away from the press, dances her way past a couple of opponents and gets herself, and her team, out of a sticky situation in an instant. “There are not many 18-year-olds that can come in and do that,” Andonovski remarked earlier this year.