By OkayGoal 
Photo Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
Bay FC has agreed to sign U.S. women’s national team fullback Jenna Nighswonger from Arsenal in a move worth around $200,000, ESPN reported Monday. The move will bring Nighswonger back to the National Women’s Soccer League, where she began her professional career and rose to success with the national team before joining Arsenal in England.
Gotham FC selected Nighswonger No. 4 overall in the 2023 NWSL Draft and she had an outstanding first season. She started 20 regular season matches and all three playoff matches on the way to winning the NWSL Championship in 2023 and NWSL Rookie of the Year.
Those performances earned the Florida State alum her first call-up to the U.S. women’s national team, making her senior debut in December 2023. Nighswonger went on to make 20 appearances for the United States and was part of the USWNT’s 2024 Olympic gold medal-winning team. Her last appearance for the U.S. was in February 2025.
Gotham sold Nighswonger to Arsenal in January 2025 for a fee of around $100,000. Since then, she has only played in five league matches for Arsenal. She was with Arsenal for the team’s 2025 UEFA Women’s Champions League title, though she didn’t play.
Nighswonger then spent the first half of 2026 on loan with Aston Villa, still in England’s Women’s Super League, playing in eight league matches. Aston Villa had an option to buy the winger’s contract on a permanent transfer after the loan spell but declined.
Bay FC will hope Nighswonger can lift them on both sides of the ball in combination with their other big additions in head coach Emma Coates’ first year, namely Claire Hutton and Kennedy Fuller, and the newly announced addition of Argentine forward Agostina Holzheier. They currently sit 14th in the standings with 18 points on a 5-3-9 (W-D-L) record.
