Alyssa Thompson

In 2020, at the age of 15, Thompson verbally committed to joining the Cardinal of Stanford University starting in the 2023 season. However, she later decommitted to enter the 2023 NWSL Draft.

Angel City

On January 12, 2023, Angel City selected Thompson as the first overall pick in the 2023 NWSL Draft. As part of a three-team trade, Angel City had sent a total of $450,000 to Portland Thorns and Gotham FC to secure the No. 1 pick. At the time, this trade made Thompson "essentially the most expensive player in league history", which was a record previously set by Alex Morgan. Thompson signed a three-year deal with the club.

While still attending her senior year of high school at Harvard-Westlake, Thompson scored five minutes into her professional debut with Angel City, in a friendly match against Club América of the Liga MX Femenil. Thompson scored a goal eleven minutes into her NWSL regular-season debut on March 26, 2023, in a 1–2 loss against NJ/NY Gotham. On April 11, she scored the game-opener against the Portland Thorns. She was named NWSL Rookie of the Month for her performance during March–April 2023. Thompson's third regular season goal was the opening goal in the team's 3–2 win against the Kansas City Current. On June 5, she provided the assist for Sydney Leroux's first goal and game of the season (after returning from an ankle injury in the previous season). Thompson finished her first season for Angel City with four goals and two assists in regular-season…

Thompson has represented the United States on the United States senior national team as well as the under-20 national team. In 2022, she helped lead the under-20 national team to win gold at the 2022 CONCACAF Women's U-20 Championship, playing in five matches and scoring three goals. At the 2022 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup in Costa Rica, she played in three matches and scored one goal.

Thompson was called up to the senior national team in September 2022 and was the youngest player since Sophia Smith in 2017. On October 7, 2022, she made her senior national team debut at Wembley during a friendly against England in front of 90,000 fans. On April 9, 2023, Thompson was called up to the senior team to replace an injured Mallory Swanson in a friendly scheduled for April 11 against Ireland. In June of the same year, she was named to the U.S. squad for the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup in Australia and New Zealand. She made her debut during the team's first group stage match, a 3–0 win against Vietnam. Thompson recorded her first assist for the senior national team on October 29, 2023, setting up Jaedyn Shaw's goal in a 3–0 win in a friendly against Colombia. After missing the 2024 CONCACAF W Gold Cup due to a minor back injury, Thompson was called back into the national team in October 2024 for the teams Olympic gold medal victory tour. In what was her tenth cap, Thompson scored her first international goal against Iceland, the first goal in the match to secure a 3–1 victory. On…

In July 2023, the BBC said that her "pace and tenacity are stand-out features".

Raised in Studio City, California in the Los Angeles area, Alyssa attended The Wesley School in North Hollywood. At age eight, she raced against the fastest boy at the school and won. Thompson's parents Karen and Mario signed Alyssa and her sister Gisele up to Total Futbol Academy (TFA) in 2013, when Alyssa Thompson was nine years old, for them to compete on boys' teams. After two years, they transferred to Elite Clubs National League club Real So Cal, where they played until the COVID-19 pandemic. By the age of 13, Thompson was playing with players four years older than her. Thompson returned to TFA in 2020 and played for its under-19 team in the MLS Next league at the age of 17, and was the only female player in the league. Thompson attended and played for Harvard-Westlake School during her freshman and sophomore years of high school and scored 48 goals in 18 games. National team and club soccer prevented her from playing during her junior season. She was drafted to professional play as a high school senior. Thompson was named Gatorade Player of the Year in April 2021.