Croix Bethune
Croix Collette Bethune is an American professional soccer player who plays as an attacking midfielder for the Washington Spirit of the National Women's Soccer League and the United States national team.
Bethune played college soccer for the USC Trojans and Georgia Bulldogs, twice being named first-team All-American, and was selected third overall by the Spirit in the 2024 NWSL Draft. She tied the league's single-season assist record as a rookie and was named the NWSL Rookie of the Year and Midfielder of the Year. She also won a gold medal with the U.S. national team at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Early life
Bethune was raised in Alpharetta, Georgia, the daughter of United States Air Force members Richard and Jean Bethune, and has a brother. She started playing soccer at age three or four. When she was four, her parents were stationed Stratford-upon-Avon, England, for three and a half years, where she played with boys because there was no girls' team. She played club soccer for the ECNL's Concorde Fire Soccer Club in Atlanta and was named to the national Best XI in 2017 and 2018. She played one season of high school soccer at Alpharetta High School. She also played basketball in high school but chose to focus on soccer after recovering from an ACL tear while training with the national under-17 team. She committed to the University of Southern California over schools including Florida State, Duke, and UCLA.College career
USC Trojans
Bethune played three seasons for the USC Trojans. She missed her freshman 2019 season due to a second ACL tear. On her debut for the Trojans, she provided two assists in a 4–3 overtime win over BYU in spring 2021. She scored 16 goals in the fall 2021 season, the third most in a season in program history, including a nine-minute hat trick in the first round of the NCAA tournament. In both 2021 and 2022, as captain of the Trojans, she was named first-team All-Pac-12, first-team All-American, and the Pac-12 Midfielder of the Year.Georgia Bulldogs
Bethune transferred to the Georgia Bulldogs for the 2023 season, reuniting with former USC coach Keidane McAlpine, after tearing her ACL for a third time while finishing her undergraduate degree at USC. She led Georgia to its first postseason title in program history at the SEC tournament in 2023, where she scored an equalizer against Kentucky in the quarterfinals and a last-minute winner over Texas A&M in the semifinals, and was named the tournament's most valuable player. She was named second-team All-SEC and second-team All-American.Club career
Washington Spirit
The Washington Spirit selected Bethune third overall in the 2024 NWSL Draft; the Spirit acquired the pick by trading Sam Staab to the Chicago Red Stars. She signed a three-year contract with the option to extend another year. She made her professional debut in the season opener against the Seattle Reign on March 17, starting in the attacking midfield role that previously belonged to the recently traded Ashley Sanchez. The following week, she scored her first professional goal in late stoppage time to secure a 2–1 win over Bay FC. On May 2, she assisted on three goals in a 4–2 win over the Chicago Red Stars, becoming the youngest NWSL player to record three assists in one match. On May 24, she scored a goal and broke the rookie assist record with her seventh assist of the season during a 3–2 win over the Seattle Reign. On June 15, she struck in late stoppage time to salvage a 1–1 draw against the San Diego Wave, earning NWSL Goal of the Week.Bethune provided her tenth assist of the season in a 4–1 win over the Kansas City Current on August 25, tying the league record for assists in a season set by Tobin Heath in 2016. Five of those assists were to Ouleymata Sarr, the most between two NWSL teammates since 2019. Four days later, she tore her meniscus while throwing the first pitch at a Washington Nationals baseball game, ending her rookie season after 17 appearances with 5 goal. Without her, the Spirit finished as regular season and playoffs runner-up to the Orlando Pride. Bethune was named NWSL Rookie of the Month a record four times. Despite missing the last two months of the season, she was voted NWSL Rookie of the Year and Midfielder of the Year and selected to the NWSL Best XI First Team.
After eight months out of action, Bethune made her return from injury in the game against Gotham FC on April 26, 2025. She scored her first goal since the injury on August 23, striking into the net after a crafty dribble in a 3–2 win over Bay FC before an NWSL record crowd at Oracle Park. She finished the season with 2 goals and 2 assists in 20 regular-season games as the Spirit again placed second in the league. In the playoffs, she scored a late insurance goal to secure a 2–0 win over the Portland Thorns in the semifinals, before losing 1–0 to Gotham FC in the 2025 NWSL Championship. She was named to the NWSL Best XI Second Team at the end of the season.
International career
Youth national team
Bethune was first called up to a youth national team training camp with the United States national under-15 team at age 13 in March 2015. She helped win the 2016 CONCACAF Girls' U-15 Championship, where she was named to the tournament's Best XI team. She was the youngest player on the under-17 team in November 2016. She played for the winning team at the 2018 CONCACAF Women's U-17 Championship and competed at the 2018 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup. She played friendlies for the under-23 team in 2022.Senior national team
Bethune was called into her first senior national team camp as a training player in June 2024. Later that month she was named as an alternate to the national team for the 2024 Summer Olympics in France. Bethune made her first USWNT appearance on July 13, 2024, in the 81st minute of a friendly Olympic sendoff against Mexico. She was elevated to the main roster at the Olympics because of an injury to Jaedyn Shaw and made her Olympic debut in the 79th minute of the third group stage game against Australia on July 31. The United States went on to win the gold medal, defeating Brazil 1–0 in the final on a goal from Mallory Swanson.On January 27, 2026, Bethune scored her first USWNT goal in a 5–0 friendly win over Chile.
Style of play
An attacking midfielder, Bethune possesses excellent vision and technical skill which make her a standout passer.Career statistics
Club
International statistics
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition | |
| 1 | January 27, 2026 | Santa Barbara, California, United States | 1–0 | 5–0 | Friendly |
Honors and awards
Georgia Bulldogs- SEC women's soccer tournament: 2023
- NWSL Challenge Cup: 2025
- Summer Olympic Games gold medal: 2024
- NWSL Midfielder of the Year: 2024
- NWSL Rookie of the Year: 2024
- NWSL Best XI First Team: 2024
- NWSL Best XI Second Team: 2025
- NWSL Team of the Month: March/April 2024, May 2024, June 2024 September 2025
- NWSL Rookie of the Month: March/April 2024, May 2024, June 2024, August 2024
- First-team All-American: 2021, 2022
- Second-team All-American: 2023
- First-team All-Pac-12: 2020, 2021, 2022
- Second-team All-SEC: 2023
- Pac-12 Midfielder of the Year: 2021, 2022
- SEC tournament MVP: 2023