In the final analysis, the Florida State women’s soccer team didn’t have the richest NIL (Name, Image and Likeness) roster in the nation. But the Seminoles ended up as the national champions for the third time in the last five seasons.
In a tense defensive struggle, Florida State’s Wrianna Hudson scored off an assist from Taylor Suarez in the 87th minute to give the Seminoles a 1–0 victory against Stanford in the Women’s College Cup final. Florida State, the tournament’s No. 3 overall seed, also got a strong performance from goalkeeper Kate Ockene, who recorded nine saves to keep Stanford — the tournament’s No. 1 overall seed — off the scoreboard. That effort prevented Stanford from winning its first national title since 2019.
NIL Power Balance Doesn’t Dictate Champions
In women’s college sports, basketball players generally are the top NIL earners, with LSU’s Flau’jae Johnson leading the way at an estimated $1.5 million valuation. Softball players aren’t generally huge NIL earners, but Texas Tech pitcher NiJaree Canady is an exception with an NIL valuation of more than $1 million.
Soccer players fall further down the list, but several top players are collecting six-figure NIL earnings — and those numbers are increasing significantly each year as the sport grows and NIL, still in its relative infancy, continues to evolve.
As a traditional national power, Florida State is a big part of that evolution. Eight Seminoles rank among the top 100 women’s soccer players in the country, according to On3. Redshirt senior Claire Rain leads the way at No. 7, but the Seminoles have only four players ranked among the top 50.
That’s a stark contrast from Alabama, which placed eight players in the top 30, including three in the top five. Traditional powers UCLA and North Carolina have the most players in the top 100, with nine each.
The NCAA Division II women’s soccer title will be decided later this week at Weidner Field in Colorado Springs, Colo. The semifinal games will be played Thursday, with top seed Washburn facing No. 4 Franklin Pierce at 5 p.m. ET, and No. 2 Cal Poly Pomona taking on No. 3 Florida Tech at 8 p.m. ET. The championship match will be held Saturday at 3 p.m. ET.
In Division III, Washington University in St. Louis won its second straight national title with a 2–1 victory against Emory. Chicago and Tufts were the other two teams to reach the Final Four.
Learn More About the NIL Landscape
Name, Image, and Likeness plays an increasing role in college sports, and understanding how it works often requires more than individual articles or news updates.
RallyFuel is a platform focused on NIL-related topics across college athletics. It brings together information about athletes, NIL activity, and the broader structure behind modern college sports, helping readers explore the topic in more depth.
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