On September 22, Portland Thorns defender Reyna Reyes made NWSL history, becoming the first player to sign a contract extension through 2030.
Since being drafted fifth overall in the 2023 NWSL Draft, Reyes has blossomed into one of the league’s best fullbacks, and Portland rewarded her with a long-time deal.
“This extension speaks volumes for my belief in (the Thorns) future and the club’s belief in me,” Reyes said. “Staying in Portland and performing in front of our devoted fans excites me, as does watching our team develop.”
But for Carrie Reyes, Reyna Reyes’ mom and number one supporter, it has been a future she has always believed in.
“I’m glad they realize what I’ve known all her life,” Carrie Reyes said. “She’s definitely worth investing in. I’m very grateful (the Thorns) believe in her and make her feel at home, especially being so far away from (her childhood) home.”
Carrie Reyes still remembers the first time she saw her daughter kick a soccer ball. She was nine months old and at her older brother, Alex Reyes’, soccer game. It was then that Carrie Reyes knew she had to get her daughter into soccer. At three-years old, she signed her daughter up at the local YMCA.
From there, everything took off. Reyna Reyes stood out immediately. Carrie Reyes recalled a moment where instead of following everyone in the cluster, her daughter waited outside the circle for the ball to come loose and went straight to goal.
“I think she’s a natural,” Carrie Reyes said. “It was a God given talent.”
The old saying “It takes a village,” has certainly applied to the Reyes family. It may as well have been the motto when it comes to raising a professional soccer star. Growing up, both Alex and Reyna played every sport imaginable, a routine that required both Carrie and Rene (dad) to be on-call at nearly every non-school hour of the day.
“As soon as I got off work, it was time to feed them something and get them off to practice,” Carrie Reyes said. “When we were home, it was homework, bath, bed. It was crazy, it was hard. And you can ask any parent that.”
Once the Federación Mexicana de Fútbol Asociación invited Reyna Reyes to be part of their youth national teams, Carrie Reyes knew she had to do everything it required to help ensure her daughter’s dream came true. For her, those steps began off the field.
“It took a lot to get (Reyna’s) dual citizenship – trying to get her father’s birth certificate and all those papers and all that together,” Carrie Reyes said. “I was going to do whatever to make her dream come true, because she’s like, ‘I’m going to play in the World Cup.’”
At the age of 14, Reyna Reyes was invited to her first Mexico Youth Women’s National Team Camp. She ended up making the 2016 FIFA U-17 World Cup in Jordan.
At 16, still a senior at Naaman Forest High School in Garland, Texas, the defender made a second consecutive FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup in Uruguay, helping Mexico reach the finals of a U-17 tournament, it’s best-ever finish.
As Reyna Reyes chased her dreams on the field in South America, her mom was in the midst of an emotional rollercoaster in the stands.
“It was scary because I’m sitting here letting my 13-year-old go to a different country,” Carrie Reyes said. “Not even one country, multiple countries. Her first big tournament was in Grenada and she just turned 15 two days before that first game. I’ve seen all kinds of countries because of her. I went to Jordan. I went to all of that, and it’s given her a lot of experience. It did make her mature a lot faster.”
While she was living the dream as a professional, Reyna Reyes quickly learned there would be a lot of sacrifices to make to reach her professional aspirations. Reality first hit in high school, where she couldn’t walk at her high school graduation or attend school dances. Then came her college career in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.
After a standout collegiate career with the Alabama Crimson Tide, Reyna Reyes was selected fifth overall in the 2023 NWSL Draft by the 2022 NWSL Champions, Portland Thorns. She joined a backline that included USWNT legends Becky Sauerbrunn and Meghan Klingenberg, Natalia Kuikka, Kelli Hubly and Emily Menges.
In 2025, Reyna Reyes has now taken on a leadership role with the Thorns and, with her extension, became one of the club’s key building blocks into the future.
In addition to finding success at the club level, the defender has set her sights on the upcoming 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup and 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. With her present secured with the Thorns and the future in sight at the club and international level, one thing is clear: Carrie Reyes will be there to be her daughter’s number one fan.
“To see her living out her dreams and making them come true… I feel her joy, because that’s the only thing a mother wants for their child,” Carrie Reyes said. “To be a better person than them, to be better than them and to see them live out their dreams and hopes.”
Carrie Reyes isn’t just a “soccer mom.” She represents every parent who just wants to see her children live out their wishes, hopes, and dreams.
“My mom is my rock, man” Reyna Reyes said. “She’s been there since day one, pushed me, stayed with me. Been through all my ups and downs together. My dad and my grandparents, they’re also a part of it. Definitely gotta say my mom, she’s my number one fan.”
