Forward Gianna Paul, Two-Time All-American, Joins Kansas City Current Through 2028 on Three-Year Deal

KANSAS CITY (Dec. 26, 2025) – The Kansas City Current has agreed to terms on a three-year contract with forward Gianna Paul from the University of Alabama, the club announced Friday. Paul, a two-time United Soccer Coaches All-American, will be in Kansas City through the 2028 season with a team option for 2029, and she will join the club ahead of its upcoming preseason training.

“Gianna is a dynamic forward who is skilled technically and tactically,” said general manager Ryan Dell. “She had a remarkable collegiate career at Alabama where she rewrote the record book, and we’re confident she’ll use that experience as a springboard to a successful pro career. She has progressed each season and we know she will continue to develop with our world-class technical staff. We couldn’t be happier to have Gianna in Kansas City for the next three years.”

Paul concluded her time in Tuscaloosa as Alabama’s program record holder with 40 goals, 94 points, 279 shots and 115 shots on target during her four-year career from 2022-25. Paul ranked fifth nationally among active Division I players in career goals (40) and eighth in career points (94) at the end of the 2025 season. She started 69 of her 90 career games and logged over 6,000 minutes.

She had a team-leading 12 goals and 31 points as a senior en route to breaking the school’s 20-year-old record for career goals. Paul also topped the roster with 12 goals and 25 points in 2024 as well as with eight goals and 17 points in 2023. Her eight goals during her rookie year in 2022 was tied for 10th nationally among freshmen. She totaled nine game-winning goals in her career, five of which were in 2023 to lead the Southeastern Conference (SEC).

“Since I was a little girl, I had always dreamed about playing professional soccer,” said Paul. “To say that that is my current reality will never feel short of surreal. I feel honored, blessed and overwhelmingly humbled to be accepted with warm arms and enthusiasm into such an incredible program such as Kansas City. The love they have for the sport of women’s football can be felt across the world and to be a small part of that history means everything to me. Every step of this journey has been led by God’s hand. I’m thankful for the growth, the challenges, and the blessings that brought me here. Additionally, my mother’s decade worth of sacrifices has made me into the woman and player I am today. Quite literally none of this would be possible with her. I’m grateful for the journey and ready for this next chapter with the Kansas City Current—let’s get to work!”

Accolades were abundant for Paul during her standout college campaign. She was named the SEC Freshman of the Year in 2022 to coincide with a spot on the All-SEC Second Team and SEC All-Freshman Team. She landed on the United Soccer Coaches All-Southeast Region First Team in 2023 and 2024 before garnering second team praise as a senior. Paul earned All-SEC First Team honors for three straight years and collected four SEC Player of the Week awards. She is the first player in school history to be a five-time All-SEC honoree.

Additionally, Paul’s back-to-back United Soccer Coaches Fourth Team All-America selections in 2024 and 2025 made her the first player in Alabama history to become a two-time All-American.

A native of Huntington Station, N.Y., Paul helped lead the Crimson Tide to NCAA Tournament berths in three of her four seasons, including the program’s first-ever trip to the College Cup in 2022 as a No. 1 overall seed. Alabama won the 2022 SEC regular season title after an unblemished 10-0 conference record and was the SEC Tournament runner-up that year.

The forward was also called up to United States Youth National Team training camps at the Under-19/U-18 level in preparation for the 2023 Concacaf Women’s U-20 Championship.