Gianna Paul\u2019s Alabama chapter may be closing, but her story in the game is just getting started.<\/p>\n
The Crimson Tide star officially took the next step in her soccer career Friday, signing a three-year professional contract with the National Women\u2019s Soccer League\u2019s Kansas City Current. It\u2019s a well-earned moment for one of the most accomplished players to ever wear an Alabama uniform, and a reminder that greatness in Tuscaloosa still translates to the highest level of the sport.<\/p>\n
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Paul becomes the ninth Alabama soccer player to sign an NWSL contract, joining a growing list of Tide alums competing on the league\u2019s biggest stages.<\/p>\n
With the league eliminating its draft in 2024 under the new Collective Bargaining Agreement, Paul\u2019s signing speaks volumes about how highly she is valued and how ready she is for the professional game.<\/p>\n
From the moment she arrived, Paul changed what was possible for Alabama soccer. She leaves as the program\u2019s first two-time All-American, earning the honor in both her junior and senior seasons.<\/p>\n
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Along the way, she rewrote the record book, surpassing two long-standing marks from 2005 to become Alabama\u2019s all-time leader in goals (40) and points (94).<\/p>\n
Consistency defined her career.<\/p>\n
Paul led the Tide in goals in back-to-back seasons, scoring 12 each year to close out her time at UA. She also owns program records for career shots (279), shots on goal (115), and single-season shots (80), a testament to both her work rate and relentless attacking presence.<\/p>\n
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Nationally, her impact was just as clear.<\/p>\n
By the end of her collegiate career, Paul ranked among the top active Division I players in both goals and points.<\/p>\n
During her senior season, she led Alabama across nearly every major offensive category and finished ranked among the nation\u2019s best in goals, points, and shots per game.<\/p>\n
Accolades followed as well. First-Team All-SEC honors, multiple United Soccer Coaches All-Region selections, and a spot on the Hermann Trophy Watchlist. But Paul\u2019s legacy goes beyond awards. She helped elevate Alabama soccer\u2019s standard and showed what belief, consistency, and competitiveness can build.<\/p>\n
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Now, that same edge heads to Kansas City.<\/p>\n
And for Gianna Paul, the next chapter looks every bit as promising as the last.<\/p>\n
Roll Tide!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Gianna Paul\u2019s Alabama chapter may be closing, but her story in the game is just getting started. The…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":371570,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[440],"tags":[1428,49,48,158880,135141,97726,158881,561,82],"class_list":["post-371569","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-soccer","tag-alabama","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-crimson-tide","tag-gianna","tag-kansas-city-current","tag-professional-contract","tag-soccer","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/371569","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=371569"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/371569\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/371570"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=371569"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=371569"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=371569"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}