Over the past a number of years, the crew right here at American Soccer Evaluation has been assessing the State of MLS Analytics by combing by way of crew web sites, scouring LinkedIn, and asking those that would learn about how many individuals every crew employs. This 12 months, we’ve taken our abilities to the ladies’s recreation to find out the Tiers of NWSL Analytics.
Earlier than we get into these tiers, we’ve to outline analytics on this context. Former ASA Contributor Kevin Minkus, now Director of Analytics for MLS’ Chicago Fireplace, wrote Soccer Analytics 101 over at MLSsoccer.com the place he outlined analytics as “utilizing information and statistics to higher perceive one thing.” For the needs of deciding which NWSL (and MLS) groups have an analytics employees member, the “one thing” is participant recruitment and tactical evaluation.
We’re speaking about utilizing numbers and mathematical fashions (i.e., xG, xA, g+) to assist consider switch targets and crew and participant efficiency.
The place to begin right here is math, not video, though video and the attention take a look at will at all times be an essential step within the course of. We’re defining analytics as separate from sports activities science, the place information and statistics are used to primarily consider a crew’s personal gamers’ bodily efficiency, which embrace points like coaching masses and damage prevention. Moreover, analytics is totally different from enterprise analytics the place information and statistics are used to drive extra financial worth for a membership in a manner that’s not associated to the sporting aspect.
Like we mentioned within the MLS model of this sequence, there isn’t any doubt that NWSL employees members are tasked with a number of duties. Simply because a person has the job title of “information analyst” doesn’t imply they wouldn’t be recruited to movie a coaching session or break down video. Equally, a sports activities scientist, video analyst, or efficiency analyst might spend a part of their time statistics and even coding. However there’s a distinction between utilizing analytics as a part of the job and analytics being the job. For this, we will likely be counting the latter. One NWSL-specific wrinkle we should deal with: many NWSL golf equipment are co-owned or share assets with a accomplice males’s membership. We determined that solely workers truly employed by the NWSL membership had been eligible. Get your individual employees.
As a reminder, we solely depend full-time workers – not interns or half time workers.
Primarily based upon public information and a few non-public communications, and realizing full effectively that anybody exterior a membership can’t actually know what’s going on inside (if we missed anybody or received a job title flawed, please attain out), listed below are the Tiers of NWSL Analytics as of August 2025.
Tier 0: Nerd Boss.
Should you appoint a Basic Supervisor/Sporting Director from a primarily analytics background you find yourself in Tier 0. Them’s the foundations.
Washington Spirit
The Spirit’s Sporting Director is James Hocken, who was previously the crew’s Head of Information Analytics for a bit of over two years. The membership’s present Director of Information Analytics, Seungbeum Lee, falls into the analytics class however toes the road of medical/sports activities science, too. The crew additionally has a full-time Information Scientist on employees in Edvin Tran Hoac, cementing them because the NWSL’s solely crew within the Nerd Boss tier.
Tier 1: “F” is for buddies that do math collectively.
These are NWSL golf equipment which have at the least two full-time analytics employees members, an precise division.
Bay FC
ASA alum Arielle Dror has been the Bay’s Director of Information & Analytics since their arrival to the league forward of the 2024 season. She’s joined by Information/Video Analyst Rachel Consolation, to spherical out the crew’s analytics employees.
Houston Sprint
Michael Poma is the Sprint’s Director of Recruitment and Analytics and has been since January of this 12 months. A veteran within the analytics world, Poma was beforehand an analyst for the U.S. youth nationwide soccer crew and the Head of Analytics for the San Diego Wave earlier than shifting up the ranks in Houston. Adelaide Gilley was lately employed because the Sprint’s full-time Recruitment Analyst, too. The crew additionally employs Chloe Dillon in a data-forward Efficiency Analyst function, and has three half time workers within the analytics division.
Orlando Delight
Kat Conner is Orlando’s Director of Scouting and Analytics, and Aaron Hegenberger is their Expertise Identification Scout. Based on Hegenbergers’ LinkedIn, he employs a ‘data-based recruitment’ technique for the Delight. Delight GM Haley Carter sat down with Evan and Eric to speak about their membership’s information utilization and her private views on information, hours earlier than their 2024 NWSL Championship victory.
Tier 2: One is the loneliest quantity.
These are the golf equipment which have one full-time analytics employees member. Different employees members may assist out with analytics work, however it’s not their main duty.
Boston Legacy
Forward of their first season within the NWSL, the Legacy employed Jordyn Kaplan as their first ever Director of Analytics, persevering with the pattern of growth groups investing in analytics from the soar. Earlier than Boston, Kaplan was a Senior Information Analyst with MLS’ Inter Miami. Recruiting Messi’s buddies in all probability received’t work in NWSL in addition to it did in MLS.
NJ/NY Gotham FC
Gotham’s Head of Analytics is Jorma Göms, who’s in his first full-time function in sports activities. Coming from a background primarily in machine studying in STEM, Görns has been with Gotham for the reason that 2022 season.
Tier 3: We now have an important analytic, and that’s the rating.
These golf equipment don’t have an analytics staffer listed on their membership web site or the make-up of their analytics division is in any other case unknown. These golf equipment might use contractors, farm out their information recruitment and/or tactical evaluation to analytics corporations or consultants, or want to maintain their in-house employees hidden for some motive. If you’re a member of the entrance workplace of any of those golf equipment and want some pointers, contact us.
Angel Metropolis
Although Angel Metropolis employs three individuals whose titles have ‘analytics’ in it, none of them truly match the analytics invoice on this context. Director of Soccer Mark Parsons is traditionally fairly information pleasant, and spoke to the xOwn Targets Crew in preseason. Related is true of Technical Director Mark Wilson and Assistant Basic Supervisor Matt Wade.
Chicago Stars
Nobody on the Stars’ employees is primarily in an analytics function. Karina Báez is employed as an assistant coach, although her background is in analytics.
Kansas Metropolis Present
The Present have a Sport Science Analyst on employees, however don’t seem to make use of an analytics practitioner.
North Carolina Braveness
North Carolina employs an information scientist, although he works with sports activities science and bodily information administration, leaving the Braveness within the backside tier.
Portland Thorns FC
The Thorns don’t have a single full-time employees member of their analytics crew. They do, nonetheless, make use of Lee Merricks, who’s a Information Analytics and Video Evaluation Marketing consultant for the membership.
Racing Louisville
Racing Louisville’s Malek Shafei is a Information Analyst, however he’s twin employed by Louisville Metropolis and Racing Louisville, leaving Racing in tier three.
Seattle Reign FC
The Reign make use of two video analysts and a sports activities scientist, however no information of us.
San Diego Wave FC
Chris Loxston is listed because the Director of Recruitment and Analytics on San Diego’s employees web page, however refers to himself solely as Director of Recruitment on LinkedIn and seems to come back from a training and scouting background.
Utah Royals
Joe Thomas is the Royals’ Lead Analyst – Group Operations and Recruiting, however he’s employed by Actual Salt Lake in MLS, so doesn’t assist the Royal’s Tiers place. Utah additionally employs two primarily video analysts. The Royals have allegedly labored with a part-time information marketing consultant previously.
As at all times, if we’re flawed about your crew. Please tell us and we will replace the Tiers listing.
