Melanie Barcenas

Melanie Barcenas
Barcenas with the San Diego Wave in 2026
Personal information
Full name Melanie Magali Barcenas[1]
Date of birth (2007-10-30) October 30, 2007[2]
Place of birth San Diego, California, U.S.
Height 5 ft 4 in (1.63 m)[3]
Position Forward
Team information
Current team
 San Diego Wave
Number 7
Youth career
2013–2023 San Diego Surf
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2023– San Diego Wave 50 (5)
International career‡
2022–2024 United States U17 16 (5)
Medal record
Women's soccer
FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup
Bronze medal – third placeDominican Republic 2024
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of July 26, 2026
‡ National team caps and goals as of November 3, 2024

Melanie Magali Barcenas (born October 30, 2007) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a forward for San Diego Wave FC of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). She was the youngest player in the NWSL when she signed with the Wave at age 15 in 2023. She won bronze with the United States at the 2024 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup.

Early life

Barcenas was born and raised in San Diego, California.[4][5] At age 10, she accompanied United States players out onto the pitch before a match against Brazil at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego; after the match, she asked for and received a jersey from her favorite player and future Wave teammate Alex Morgan.[3]

Barcenas played during her youth career with San Diego Surf.[3][4] She was part of the Surf under-8 team that won the 2014 Albion Cup National Soccer Showcase in San Diego[6] and the leading goalscorer for the Surf's under-12 team at the 2019 Far West President's Cup in Norco, California, which the Surf won on two goals by Barcenas in the championship match.[7]

Club career

San Diego Wave FC announced on March 21, 2023, that the club had signed Barcenas to a three-year contract under the recently created NWSL Under-18 Entry Mechanism.[3] At the age of 15 years and 138 days, she became the youngest player at the time to sign in the NWSL, breaking the record set by Chloe Ricketts earlier in the month (15 years and 283 days).[5] She had made her first appearance during a preseason match against Angel City FC earlier in the week.[5]

On April 29, 2023, Barcenas made her NWSL regular-season debut as a 72nd-minute substitute for Belle Briede in a 3–1 loss to the Orlando Pride, becoming the youngest NWSL player to appear in a regular-season match (15 years and 177 days).[8][9] On August 19, she became the youngest player to record an NWSL assist after setting up Amirah Ali in a 2–1 win over NJ/NY Gotham FC.[10][11] She made 12 appearances in all competitions as the Wave won the NWSL Shield with the best record in the league.[12]

On September 28, 2024, Barcenas scored her first professional goal in a 2–0 victory over the Portland Thorns.[13][14] She made 16 appearances in all competitions in her second season,[12] but the Wave finished 10th and missed the playoffs for the first time.[15]

Under new head coach Jonas Eidevall, Barcenas scored her first goal of the season in a 4–1 win over Racing Louisville on April 19, 2025.[12] The following week, she joined teammates Trinity Armstrong and Kimmi Ascanio as the first trio of 17-year-olds to start an NWSL game.[16] She appeared in 17 matches over her third season as San Diego finished in sixth,[12] though she missed the playoffs through injury as the Wave lost to the Portland Thorns in the quarterfinals.[17]

With her rookie contract expiring, Barcenas signed a new one-year deal with the Wave on December 31, 2025.[18] She scored her first goal of the season on March 25, 2026, in a 3–1 win over the Portland Thorns.[12] Three days later, she scored an NWSL Goal of the Week–winning strike from the top of the box against the Chicago Stars.[19] On July 4, she scored another Goal of the Week from distance into the top bins in a 2–0 win over Gotham FC.[20] Later that month, she became the second-youngest NWSL player to make 50 regular-season appearances after Olivia Moultrie.[21]

International career

Barcenas has Mexican American heritage.[11] On January 17, 2022, Barcenas attended training camp for the Mexico national under-17 team.[22][23]

On April 11, 2022, Barcenas was the youngest player named to the initial roster of the United States national under-17 team for the 2022 CONCACAF Women's U-17 Championship,[24] but was forced to withdraw before the start of the tournament due to an ankle injury.[25] She was called into United States under-17 friendlies in August 2022[26] and under-16 training camp in October 2022.[27]

In February 2023, Barcenas played in two exhibition games with the United States under-17 team.[5] Barcenas was named to the roster for the 2024 CONCACAF Women's U-17 Championship in Mexico where she scored 1 goal en route to the US team winning the championship for the sixth time as well as qualifying the team for the 2024 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup.[28]

Barcenas started every game for the United States as they placed third at the 2024 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup, their best result since 2008.[29] She scored three times in the group stage, with one goal in a 3–1 loss to Spain and two goals in a 5–0 win over South Korea.[30]

Career statistics

Club

As of November 23, 2025[12]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League Cup[a] Playoffs[b] Continental[c] Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals Apps Goals Apps GoalsAppsGoals
San Diego Wave FC 2023 NWSL 705000——120
2024 10100—303[d]0161
2025 171—0 0——171
Career total 34250003030452

Honors

San Diego Wave

United States U-17

References

  1. ↑ "2024 CONCACAF Women's Under-17 Championship – National team roster: USA" (PDF). CONCACAF. January 28, 2024. Archived (PDF) from the original on January 29, 2024. Retrieved January 29, 2024.
  2. ↑ "United States Women's Under-17 Roster". CONCACAF. Archived from the original on October 30, 2023. Retrieved March 21, 2023.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Krasovic, Tom (March 26, 2023). "Column: Wave sign 15-year-old San Diegan". San Diego Union-Tribune. Archived from the original on June 8, 2023. Retrieved May 1, 2023.
  4. 1 2 Williams, Madison (March 21, 2023). "Wave's Melanie Barcenas Becomes Youngest Player in NWSL History". Sports Illustrated. Archived from the original on April 29, 2023. Retrieved March 21, 2023.
  5. 1 2 3 4 "Melanie Barcenas youngest player ever to sign with NWSL team". Spectrum News. Associated Press. March 22, 2023. Archived from the original on October 31, 2023. Retrieved May 1, 2023. San Diego Wave forward Melanie Barcenas controls the ball during a preseason soccer match against Angel City FC Saturday, March 18, 2023, in San Diego.
  6. ↑ "San Diego Surf Academy Select GU8 win soccer showcase". Del Mar Times. The Baltimore Sun. July 29, 2014. Archived from the original on October 30, 2023. Retrieved May 1, 2023.
  7. ↑ Rubin, Gideon (July 12, 2019). "Unselfishness pays off for San Diego Surf U12 girls team in Far West Regional Championships". Del Mar Times. Archived from the original on May 7, 2023. Retrieved May 1, 2023.
  8. ↑ Yang, Steph (April 30, 2023). "San Diego Wave's Melanie Barcenas, 15, becomes youngest to play in NWSL game: How did she fare?". The Athletic. Retrieved April 30, 2023.
  9. ↑ Stone, Ken (April 30, 2023). "San Diego Wave Is Pounded by Pride, Falls 3-1 to Winless Orlando at Home". Times of San Diego. Archived from the original on April 30, 2023. Retrieved April 30, 2023.
  10. ↑ Emerick, Tyler (August 20, 2023). "San Diego Wave FC Defeats NJ/NY Gotham FC 2-1 at Snapdragon Stadium". San Diego Wave Fútbol Club. Retrieved April 14, 2025.
  11. 1 2 Gerardo, Xiomara (September 27, 2023). "Meet Melanie Barcenas, the 15-year-old Latina trailblazer in the NWSL". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on November 26, 2023. Retrieved November 26, 2023.
  12. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Melanie Barcenas at Soccerway. Retrieved March 29, 2025.
  13. ↑ Stone, Chris (September 29, 2024). "Melanie Barcenas, 16, Scores First Pro Goal as the Wave Defeats Portland 2-0". Times of San Diego. Retrieved December 8, 2024.
  14. ↑ "Barcenas scores first goal as a pro in SD Wave victory". SDNews.com. September 30, 2024. Retrieved December 8, 2024.
  15. ↑ "San Diego Wave FC gears up for season opener with overhauled roster and new leadership". ABC 10 News San Diego KGTV. March 15, 2025. Retrieved May 5, 2025.
  16. ↑ Grueskin, Birgen (April 27, 2025). "San Diego Wave FC Defeats Chicago Stars FC 3-0 at SeatGeek Stadium". San Diego Wave Fútbol Club. Retrieved May 5, 2025.
  17. ↑ Grueskin, Birgen (November 9, 2025). "San Diego Wave FC Eliminated in Extra Time by Portland Thorns in NWSL Quarterfinals". San Diego Wave Fútbol Club. Retrieved November 23, 2025.
  18. ↑ Grueskin, Birgen (December 31, 2025). "San Diego Wave FC Signs Melanie Barcenas to New Contract". San Diego Wave Fútbol Club. Retrieved December 31, 2025.
  19. ↑ National Women's Soccer League [@NWSL] (March 31, 2026). "Certified Mel B banger 🎯" (Tweet) – via X (formerly Twitter).
  20. ↑ National Women's Soccer League [@NWSL] (July 8, 2026). "Melanie Top Bin Barcenas 🔥" (Tweet). Retrieved July 21, 2026 – via X (formerly Twitter).
  21. ↑ "San Diego Wave FC Falls 2-0 to Seattle Reign FC at Snapdragon Stadium". San Diego Wave FC. July 26, 2026. Retrieved July 26, 2026.
  22. ↑ "La SNM Femenil Sub -17 inició concentración" [The Sub-17 Women's SNM began concentration] (Press release) (in Spanish). FMF. January 17, 2022. Archived from the original on October 30, 2023. Retrieved May 1, 2023.
  23. ↑ "Solo una felina" [Just one feline]. Once. January 17, 2022. Archived from the original on November 3, 2023. Retrieved May 1, 2023.
  24. ↑ "USA roster unveiled for 2022 Concacaf Women's U-17 Championship". SoccerWire. April 11, 2022. Archived from the original on October 31, 2023. Retrieved May 1, 2023.
  25. ↑ "Five Things to Know About the 2022 CONCACAF Women's U17 Championship" (Press release). United States Soccer Federation. April 21, 2022. Archived from the original on October 31, 2023. Retrieved May 1, 2023.
  26. ↑ "U.S. U-17 Women's Youth National Team roster unveiled for Spain trip". SoccerWire. August 16, 2022. Archived from the original on October 31, 2023. Retrieved May 1, 2023.
  27. ↑ "U.S. U-16 Women's Youth National Team heads to Nike World Headquarters for training camp". SoccerWire. October 19, 2022. Archived from the original on October 31, 2023. Retrieved May 1, 2023.
  28. 1 2 "Game Details". Concacaf. March 12, 2021. Retrieved March 6, 2024.
  29. ↑ "USA Defeats England 3–0 to Take Third Place at 2024 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup". United States Soccer Federation. November 3, 2024. Retrieved November 3, 2024.
  30. ↑ "U.S. U-17 WYNT Reaches Semifinals for the First Time Since 2008 to Square Off With Korea DPR". United States Soccer Federation. October 29, 2024. Retrieved October 30, 2024.
  31. ↑ "San Diego Wave claim 2023 NWSL Shield". CONCACAF. October 17, 2023. Archived from the original on October 30, 2023. Retrieved October 19, 2023.
  32. ↑ "San Diego Wave FC Defeat 1-0 NJ/NY Gotham FC in 2024 UKG NWSL Challenge Cup". March 16, 2024.
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