| Trinity Byars | |
| Full Name: | Trinity Paula Byars |
| Birth Date: | 29 January 2003[1] |
| Height: | 5 ft 5 in |
| Position: | Forward |
| Currentclub: | San Diego Wave |
| Youthclubs1: | Solar SC |
| Collegeyears1: | 2021–2024 |
| College1: | Texas Longhorns |
| Collegecaps1: | 67 |
| Collegegoals1: | 47 |
| Years1: | 2024– |
| Clubs1: | San Diego Wave |
| Caps1: | 0 |
| Goals1: | 0 |
| Nationalyears1: | 2018 |
| Nationalteam1: | United States U-16 |
| Nationalyears2: | 2018–2019 |
| Nationalteam2: | United States U-17 |
| Nationalcaps2: | 8 |
| Nationalgoals2: | 2 |
| Nationalyears3: | 2019 |
| Nationalteam3: | United States U-18 |
| Nationalcaps3: | 2 |
| Nationalgoals3: | 0 |
| Nationalyears4: | 2022 |
| Nationalteam4: | United States U-20 |
| Nationalcaps4: | 12 |
| Nationalgoals4: | 3 |
| Nationalyears5: | 2023 |
| Nationalteam5: | United States U-23 |
Trinity Paula Byars (born January 29, 2003) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a forward for San Diego Wave FC of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). She played college soccer for the Texas Longhorns, for which she is the all-time top scorer. She represented the United States from the under-16 to under-23 level.
Byars was raised in the Dallas suburb of Richardson, Texas, one of five siblings born to Agatha and Charles Byars.[2] One of her sisters, Tatyana, played for the Texas Longhorns soccer team for one season.[2] Byars began playing soccer when she was four and joined Solar SC alongside future Longhorns teammate Lexi Missimo at age five. They led the team to win the USYS national under-13 championship in 2016 and the USSDA under-16/17 championship in 2019.[2] [3] Considered two of the top recruits of the class of 2021, they both committed to Texas when they were in seventh grade. Byars had offers to go pro out of high school from foreign clubs including Atlético Madrid, having trained with Atlético and Manchester City in the summer of 2019.[4] [5] She attended June Shelton School in Dallas, where she played basketball and ran track.[2]
Byars led the Texas Longhorns with 12 goals as a freshman in 2021, earning Big 12 Conference all-freshman and All-Big 12 second-team honors.[2] She led the Big 12 Conference with 17 goals as a sophomore in 2022, helping the Longhorns win the conference regular-season title, and was named the Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year, first-team All-Big 12, and first-team United Soccer Coaches All-American.[2] [6] She scored 18 goals as a junior in 2023, as the Longhorns won the Big 12 tournament, and was named first-team All-Big 12 and second-team All-American.[2] [7] She scored her 47th career goal during the NCAA tournament in 2023, passing Kelly McDonald for the program scoring record.[8] She scored five goals in five games as a senior in 2024 before suffering a season-ending knee injury. She ended her college career with 52 goals and 36 assists in 71 games.[2] [9]
On November 7, 2024, National Women's Soccer League club San Diego Wave FC announced that they had signed Byars to a three-year contract through the 2026 season with an option to extend for an additional year. She was the first NCAA player signed after the abolition of the annual NWSL Draft.[10] [11]
Byars began training with the United States youth national team at the under-14 level in 2016.[12] [13] After playing in a friendly tournament for the under-16 team, she was the youngest player included on the under-17 roster at the 2018 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup.[14] [15] For her club performance, she was nominated for U.S. Soccer Young Female Player of the Year in 2019.[16] She helped the under-20 team win the 2022 CONCACAF Women's U-20 Championship and 2022 Sud Ladies Cup, where she was the tournament's top scorer.[17] [18] She started all three games for the United States at the 2022 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup, assisting on a goal against Ghana.[19] She played friendlies for the under-23 team in 2023.[20]