Amidst Bay FC’s up-and-down season, rookie midfielder Taylor Huff maintains a steady, high-level of play the team can rely on. As one of the club’s first rookie free agents, Huff signed a three-year contract with Bay FC Jan. 9 of this year. While many rookies take time to find their footing in the National Women’s Soccer League, Huff quickly became a display of persistent performance.
Huff achieved a particularly rare feat for a first-year professional. She is one of only two rookies across the league to start every match in the 2025 regular season. This level of immediate, non-stop integration into the starting lineup speaks volumes about the trust Bay FC has in her abilities. Huff has made herself known as a workhorse on the field who covers every blade of grass.
The Box-to-Box Midfielder
Huff stands out among others through her tireless, engine-like approach to the game. She is the epitome of a box-to-box midfielder, a player with exceptional stamina and the ability to cover the full length of the pitch.
“Taylor is a dynamic midfielder who has consistently excelled at every level of the game. Her ability to impact matches on both sides of the ball is truly unique,” Head Coach Albertin Montoya noted upon Huff signing with the club in 2025.
The midfielder’s constant motion serves as Bay FC’s control tower and governs the team’s transitions from defense to attack. Huff has found a passion for being the playmaker and revels in the opportunity to break lines and flip the game.
The club gives Huff a free role in the midfield, allowing her to move where she can impact the game most. She succeeds most by finding space, but always with structure behind it. This balance requires immense awareness; that is, the autonomy to create, combined with the discipline to track back and defend in the right positions.
“I’ve grown through the midfield and Albertine has done a good job at giving me that freedom in the ten role, playing with good players in the midfield who like to play make like I do, that always makes it easy,” Huff said after her match against the Portland Thorns Oct. 4.
On top of Huff’s physical game, her mental approach in combination gives her a critical edge during play. She operates with a powerful philosophy, especially in the late stages of a match.
Her approach is about outlasting the competition. Huff knows that all players are tired in the 89th minute, but she finds a way to reframe that tiredness. Where others falter, she finds one percent more as the final ingredient for a decisive play.
Huff’s stellar rookie campaign has not gone unnoticed by the U.S. National Team, which has invited her to U.S. National Team camps two times this year. Most recently, she joined the U.S. U-23 Women’s National Team training camps in both the late March/early April and June/July FIFA international windows. Additionally, Huff was recently selected to participate in the U.S. Under-23 Women’s National Team camp in Philadelphia during the upcoming October international window.
The rookie midfielder tallied four goals and one assist so far in the 2025 regular season. Her most recent contribution came against the Portland Thorns Oct. 4, where she scored the match’s opening goal. She received an assist from fellow Bay FC rookie, forward Karlie Lema, and executed a perfectly slotted left-footed strike to find the back of the net. However, while Huff’s offensive stats are impressive, it is her exemplary work rate that distinguishes her in the NWSL this year.
