Dallas Trinity’s Seven Castain, Sporting JAX’s Ashlyn Puerta, Baylee DeSmit have taken different paths, but are difference-makers for their current clubs
The Gainbridge Super League Match of the Month between Dallas Trinity FC and Sporting Club Jacksonville on Sunday evening (5 p.m. ET | Peacock) brings together three of the most interesting attacking talents in the league this fall.
For Sporting JAX, there are the two current leaders in the race for the Golden Boot, with Ashlyn Puerta and Baylee DeSmit each having logged eight goals so far in the campaign. For Dallas, there’s Seven Castain, who’s bagged four goals in her first professional season after arriving on loan from Orlando Pride.
For all three, the Gainbridge Super League has provided a pathway into the professional ranks, with DeSmit and Castain arriving as former USL W League Golden Boot winners and Puerta as one of the top college freshmen in the country.
Here’s a look at each player’s path to success at their current club.
Seven Castain, Dallas Trinity FC
A Utah native, Castain was a standout at TCU collegiately, earning All-Big 12 honors on three occasions while helping the Horned Frogs win the conference title in 2024 and 2025. It was back in her home state that last year she made another big splash, however, starring for Utah United in its first season in the W League. Castain won both the Golden Boot with 17 goals in nine regular season games and the Player of the Year award before helping the club win the league title, scoring three goals in the postseason including a tally in the side’s 4-0 win against defending champion NC Courage U23 in the Final.
After completing her senior season at TCU, there were accolades and real promise, putting up 0.73xG per 90 minutes and earning an invitation to the United States Women’s National Team’s development camp in January, 2026. At the same time, her prospect card via American Soccer Analysis showed areas of opportunity for development, especially on the defensive side of the ball. After signing an initial one-year deal with the Pride early in 2026, Castain inked a multi-year extension with Orlando midway through the year before heading on loan to Dallas for the Fall campaign.
With Trinity, she’s made an immediate impact. Not only is Castain tied for the team-high with four goals, but she’s also showing growth in her all-around game. Her 10 possessions won in the attacking third are tied for fifth in the league and lead the side, while she’s also recorded 23 recoveries and four interceptions as well. The 22-year-old currently leads Trinity with a +2.56 Goals Added mark, a sign of her growing game and how her time in Dallas is being well spent for her future.
Ashlyn Puerta, Sporting Club Jacksonville
There was never a real question as to the path Ashlyn Puerta’s soccer career was on. The San Diego, Calif. native was a fixture in the U.S. youth national team set-up, trained with Gotham FC and recruited to Florida State University, one of the top programs in Division I Women’s Soccer and a four-time NCAA College Cup champion.
After Puerta’s freshman season saw her recorded four goals and five assists in just over 1,000 minutes of action for the Seminoles, though, her next move was maybe a surprise. Traveling across Florida’s panhandle, the teenager signed with Sporting Club Jacksonville for its inaugural season in the Super League, becoming its youngest professional signing on the roster.
The shift to the professional ranks didn’t faze Puerta one bit. Since her debut 15 months ago in the club’s inaugural contest against DC Power FC, the 19-year-old has been one of the Super League’s undisputed stars. During the past 2025/26 campaign her record of 12 goals and seven assists saw her earn both the Player of the Year award and Young Player of the Year award, helping drive Jacksonville to the brink of its first silverware.
This season, Puerta has continued apace. This past month she logged the first four-goal game in Super League history, bagging all four tallies in a 4-1 win against Fort Lauderdale United. This past weekend she reached 20 regular season goals for her career, reaching the mark in just 37 appearances. Puerta enters this weekend tied for the most goal contributions in league history, too, with the future looking even brighter for what’s ahead.
Baylee DeSmit, Sporting Club Jacksonville
You could make an argument that the advent of the Gainbridge Super League was the opportunity Baylee DeSmit needed for her talent to shine. After all, having excelled as a young player in Towson, Md., and then gone on to twice be the Patriot League’s Offensive Player of the Year at Loyola University (Md.) collegiately, there wasn’t an opportunity in the professional ranks waiting for DeSmit upon the completion of her career with the Greyhounds in 2024.
DeSmit had shown off her scoring chops in the W League as well, winning the Golden Boot in 2023 for Christos FC as she bagged 22 goals in 12 appearances for the club. After competing for Annapolis Blues in the 2025 W League season, where she bagged another three goals, Sporting Club Jacksonville came calling, giving her a pathway into the professional ranks.
Making her debut in late September, on her 23rd birthday no less, DeSmit has gone full steam ahead. Last Saturday afternoon she bagged her 20th regular season goal in the Super League, tied with Puerta for the club’s all-time high, while reaching the mark in just her 34th appearance. Currently scoring at a rate of a goal every 118.8 minutes, DeSmit ranks first in Super League history in strike rate among players with at least 10 tallies and has helped drive the side back toward the playoffs this season. DeSmit might not have had the pathway either Puerta or Castain had, but with one Super League All-League selection under her belt and the potential for more this fall, she’s grasped her opportunity and run with it.
