Joelle Anderson

Joelle Anderson's first year as a professional came without a permanent position. Drafted by Houston Dash in the third round of the 2022 NWSL College Draft and signed to a two-year deal that January, she made 26 league appearances and scored twice before Houston traded her to Bay FC in December 2023, part of a deal that also brought the expansion club $25,000 in allocation money.

Her Bay FC debut season produced the club's first home win in franchise history. On 13 April 2024, with the score level at 2-2 against Seattle Reign, Anderson scored in the 87th minute to settle the match 3-2. She struck again on 30 August 2024 against Portland Thorns, a goal that helped lift Bay FC above the playoff line in a 3-1 win.

The bigger shift came at the start of the 2025 season, when head coach Albertin Montoya moved her out of midfield and into the centre of defence. The change stuck: by the San Francisco Chronicle's account, Anderson became one of the league's better centre-backs and, among players in that position, ranked seventh in the league for assists per 90 minutes.

Before turning professional, Anderson spent four years at Pepperdine, where she scored 35 goals and added 24 assists in 88 appearances and was named to the All-WCC team in each of her five years there. She was a Senior CLASS Award candidate in 2021. Earlier still, at Harker School, she scored 101 goals, the second-highest total in the school's history. She was called into the United States under-19 squad in February 2018 but did not earn a cap at that level, and has not featured for the senior national team.