Simone Jackson

Simone Peyton Jackson (born January 28, 2003) is an American soccer player who plays as a forward for the Orlando Pride of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). She played college soccer for the USC Trojans. She has represented the United States at the youth international level. Early life and college career Jackson was born and raised in Redondo Beach, California. She began playing soccer w...

Simone Peyton Jackson (born January 28, 2003) is an American soccer player who plays as a forward for the Orlando Pride of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). She played college soccer for the USC Trojans. She has represented the United States at the youth international level. Early life and college career Jackson was born and raised in Redondo Beach, California. She began playing soccer with an AYSO team at age four. She attended Bishop Montgomery High School, where she played for the soccer, tennis, and track teams, and co-founded the school's Black Student Union. She played club soccer for So Cal Blues, winning the ECNL under-15 national championship in 2017, before moving to Slammers FC, where she was named ECNL All-American in 2019 and 2021. She committed to USC when she was a freshman. She was ranked by TopDrawerSoccer as the third-best recruit of her class. USC Trojans Jackson scored 5 goals and added 8 assists in 20 games (8 starts) in her freshman season with the USC Trojans in 2021, earning second-team All-Pac-12 honors. She scored a late equalizer in a 2–2 draw against Penn State in the second round of the NCAA tournament, but they lost on penalty kicks. She missed two games in her sophomore season while at the 2022 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup but returned to start the last 16, scoring 6 goals with 3 assists, and was named first-team All-Pac-12. She scored 5 goals in 15 games (10 starts) in her junior season in 2023, being named second-team All-Pac-12. In her senior season in 2024, she scored 6 goals with 2 assists in 22 games (17 starts), earning third-team All-Big Ten honors. USC won their first-ever outright regular-season title, doing so in their first year in the Big Ten Conference. Jackson scored in four of her last five college games, including in the quarterfinals of the NCAA tournament, where she also made her penalty in shootout loss to Wake Forest after a 2–2 draw. Club career Orlando Pride Jackson was invited to train as a non-roster player with the Orlando Pride in the 2025 preseason. She signed her first professional contract with the Pride on May 29, inking a deal through the 2028 NWSL season. On September 2, Jackson scored her first professional goal in the Pride's first-ever CONCACAF W Champions Cup match, a 3–0 win over Alajuelense. International career Jackson was first called up to the United States youth national team at the under-14 level in 2016. She played friendlies at the under-15, under-16, and under-17 levels, but her age group's FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. When youth international play resumed, she helped the United States win the 2022 CONCACAF Women's U-20 Championship, scoring six goals in six games (four starts). She played in two games off the bench at the 2022 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup, scoring in a 3–1 loss to Japan, as the United States failed to make it out of the group stage. She was called up to the under-23 team to play against NWSL competition in the 2023 preseason. Personal life Jackson is the middle of three children born to Ann-Frances McLyn and John Jackson Jr. Her father is a sports commentator who played professional football and minor league baseball in the 1990s, having also played both sports at USC. Her older brother, John Jackson III, played wide receiver at USC before being signed by the Chicago Bears. Her grandfather, John Jackson Sr., was on the coaching staff for the USC Trojans football team in the 1970s. Honors and awards USC Trojans Big Ten Conference: 2024 United States U20 CONCACAF Women's U-20 Championship: 2022 Individual All-Pac-12: 2022 (first team); 2021, 2023 (second team) Third-team All-Big Ten: 2024 References External links Simone Jackson at Soccerway.com