# Mak Whitham

Mckenna Whitham (born July 27, 2010) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a forward for NJ/NY Gotham FC of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). She signed with Gotham the age of 13 in 2024, becoming the youngest player in NWSL history. She has represented the United States at the youth international level.

## Early life

Whitham grew up in Granite Bay, California, the daughter of Joni and Josh Whitham, and was homeschooled by her mother. Her father was an alternate for the United States Ski Team at the 1998 Winter Olympics as a high schooler. Whitham played ECNL club soccer for MVLA Soccer Club and Slammers FC HB Køge. She led MVLA to the under-13 national finals in July 2023, finishing runners-up to Slammers. She signed a name, image, and likeness contract with Nike in February 2024 at age 13, becoming the youngest athlete to sign with the company.

## Club career
### Gotham FC

At age 13, Whitham trained as a non-roster invitee with National Women's Soccer League clubs Kansas City Current, Washington Spirit, and NJ/NY Gotham FC in the 2024 preseason. She became the youngest person to play for an NWSL team when she appeared in an exhibition game for Gotham at the Women's Cup in Colombia, even scoring the last-minute game winner against Deportivo Cali. Gotham general manager Yael Averbuch West said Whitham "is clearly very ready, not just to handle this level, but to excel in our sessions". She continued to train with Gotham throughout the year and also trained with the boys' Los Angeles FC Academy of MLS Next and played for Santa Clarita Blue Heat of United Women's Soccer (UWS). The youngest player in UWS history at 13, she scored the opening goal for Santa Clarita in the national semifinals and converted her penalty kick in the team's championship shootout victory in July 2024.
Gotham announced on July 26, 2024, that they had signed Whitham to a four-year under-18 contract effective January 1, 2025, making her the youngest signing in NWSL history, one day before her 14th birthday. She reached an additional short-term deal which allowed her to debut for Gotham two days later. When she appeared as a substitute for Katie Stengel and logged 17 minutes during a 2–1 win against the Washington Spirit in the NWSL x Liga MX Femenil Summer Cup group stage, she became the youngest player in top-division American soccer history. She made two further appearances during the year, including as a 66th-minute replacement for McCall Zerboni in the Summer Cup final, which Gotham lost 2–0 to the Kansas City Current.
Whitham made her NWSL regular-season debut on March 15, 2025, as a stoppage-time substitute for Esther in the season opener, a 1–1 draw against the Seattle Reign. This made her the youngest player in league history at 14 years, 8 months, surpassing Melanie Barcenas.

## International career

Whitham was called into training camp with the United States national under-15 team at age 13 in October 2023. The next year, she helped the team win the 2024 CONCACAF Girls' U-15 Championship, scoring the second goal in a 3–0 win against Mexico in the final.

## Career statistics
### Club

    As of October 26, 2024
| Club | Season | League | League | League | Playoffs | Playoffs | Other | Other | Total | Total |
| Club | Season | Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| NJ/NY Gotham FC | 2024 | NWSL | — | — | — | — | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| Career total | Career total | Career total | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
* ↑ NWSL x Liga MX Femenil Summer Cup

## Honors

Santa Clarita Blue Heat
* United Women's Soccer: 2024
United States U-15
* CONCACAF Girls' Under-15 Championship: 2024