Kat Rader
American soccer player (born 2004)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Katherine Ann Rader (born June 30, 2004) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a forward for the Houston Dash of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). She played college soccer for the Duke Blue Devils, earning first-team All-American honors in 2025. She has represented the United States at the youth international level.
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Rader with Duke in 2025 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Katherine Ann Rader[1] | ||
| Date of birth | June 30, 2004[1] | ||
| Height | 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m) | ||
| Position | Forward | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Houston Dash | ||
| Number | 22 | ||
| College career | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2022–2025 | Duke Blue Devils | 65 | (32) |
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2026– | Houston Dash | 1 | (0) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2018 | United States U-15 | ||
| 2019–2020 | United States U-16 | ||
| 2022–2024 | United States U-20 | 8 | (4) |
| 2026– | United States U-23 | 1 | (0) |
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* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of March 14, 2026 ‡ National team caps and goals as of 14:20, March 8, 2026 (UTC) | |||
Early life
Rader grew up in Stuart, Florida.[2] She began playing soccer when she was four years old.[3] She played club soccer for the Orlando Pride, Weston FC, and Florida United in the U.S. Soccer Development Academy/Girls Academy.[4] She committed to play college soccer for the Duke Blue Devils during her freshman year.[5] TopDrawerSoccer ranked her as the 5th-best prospect in the 2022 class.[2]
College career
Rader had an impressive freshman season with the Duke Blue Devils in 2022, forming a strong attacking duo with Hermann Trophy winner Michelle Cooper.[6] She scored 12 goals with 5 assists in 23 games, with her goal tally tying the Duke freshman record and ranking second nationally among freshmen.[2] She helped the Blue Devils reach the ACC tournament semifinals, scoring the winner against Virginia in the first round, and the NCAA tournament quarterfinals.[7] She was named second-team All-ACC, the ACC Freshman of the Year, and TopDrawerSoccer Freshman Best XI.[2]
In 2023, after Cooper left for the NWSL, Duke struggled and missed the NCAA tournament for the first time in eight years.[8] Rader was a bright spot as she led the team with 7 goals and added 2 assists in 16 games and again collected second-team All-ACC honors.[8] Four games into her junior year in 2024, she fractured her ankle and tore two ligaments and missed the rest of the season.[3] She returned in her senior year to score 12 goals and lead the Blue Devils with 12 assists (tied with Mia Oliaro) in 22 games in 2025.[2] In the NCAA tournament, she had two goals and four assists as Duke made their second consecutive NCAA College Cup appearance.[9] She earned second-team All-ACC and first-team All-American honors.[2]
Club career
The Houston Dash announced on January 7, 2026, that they had signed Rader to her first professional contract on a three-year deal.[10] She made her professional debut in the season opener on March 14, starting in a 1–0 win over the San Diego Wave.[11]
International career
Rader began training with the United States youth national team at the under-14 level in 2018.[12] Later that year, she helped the under-15 team win the 2018 CONCACAF Girls' U-15 Championship.[13] She helped the under-20s finish runner-up at the 2023 CONCACAF Women's U-20 Championship, scoring one goal as they qualified for the 2024 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup.[14]
Personal life
Rader is the daughter of Matt and Christine Rader and has three siblings.[2] She is the granddaughter of Major League Baseball (MLB) player Doug Rader.[2]
Honors and awards
Duke Blue Devils
United States U-15
Individual
- First-team All-American: 2025
- Second-team All-ACC: 2022, 2023, 2025
- ACC Freshman of the Year: 2022
- NCAA tournament all-tournament team: 2025
- ACC tournament all-tournament team: 2022, 2025
