Jenna Butler (soccer)
Jenna Carolene Butler is an American professional soccer player who plays as a center back for USL Super League club Carolina Ascent. She played college soccer for the NC State Wolfpack and began her professional career with the Washington Spirit in 2024.
Early life
Butler grew up in Gainesville, Virginia. She played club soccer for Prince William Courage, Northern Virginia SC, Fredericksburg FC, and FC Virginia. She committed to the NC State Wolfpack during her junior year.
College career
Butler played five seasons for the NC State Wolfpack, starting in 86 games and scoring 7 goals as a center back. In her freshman season in 2018, she played in two NCAA tournament wins, scoring the lone goal of the opening round against Northwestern and taking out seven seed Santa Clara on penalties, but she missed the round of 16 loss to UCLA due to injury. After suffering a season-ending injury as a sophomore in 2019, she had a short junior season due to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. She started every game over the following two full seasons, making use of the extra year of NCAA eligibility granted due to the pandemic, and helped the Wolfpack to fifth and sixth consecutive NCAA tournament appearances, not counting the pandemic year. She graduated from NC State with a degree in industrial and systems engineering in 2022.
After graduating, Butler declared for the 2023 NWSL Draft but was not selected. The following year, she played for the Carolina Ascent's USL W League side, starting all 10 games and scoring 2 goals, and was named in the league's second-team Team of the Year.
Club career
Washington Spirit
The NWSL's Washington Spirit announced on July 18, 2024, that they had signed Butler to first professional deal on a national team replacement contract. She made her professional debut three days later, starting and playing the full 90 minutes in a 2–1 win over Mexican club Guadalajara in the NWSL x Liga MX Femenil Summer Cup. She went on to play the entirety of the Spirit's three Summer Cup games and appeared as a substitute in their friendly against Arsenal. On August 23, the Spirit re-signed Butler for the remainder of the season. On October 6, she made her NWSL regular-season debut against the Orlando Pride as a stoppage-time substitute for the injured Andi Sullivan. She wasn't used in the playoffs as the Spirit reached the 2024 NWSL Championship, losing to Orlando.
Carolina Ascent
On January 16, 2025, Butler returned to the Carolina Ascent – now their professional side in the USL Super League – during their inaugural season. She made her USL Super League debut in the spring opener, a 2–1 win over Lexington SC on February 15. On March 8, she scored her first professional goal with a header from Jill Aguilera's set piece in a 2–1 victory over the Spokane Zephyr. She played every minute of the Ascent's games in the spring, helping secure the Players' Shield with the best record in the league. She was named in the USL Super League Team of the Month twice in her first four months. In the playoff semifinals, the Ascent lost 2–1 to Fort Lauderdale United in extra time. She remained on the field for every minute until she was handed a straight red card for her foul on a stoppage-time breakaway in a 1–0 loss to the Spokane Zephyr on September 24.
Honors
Carolina Ascent