Khyah Harper joins Lilly Reale as Gotham FC’s next Big Ten signing

On Wednesday, NJ/NY Gotham FC announced they signed Khyah Harper for the 2025 season. She is from the University of Minnesota and is the first college signing to sign just for the year. She joins fellow Big Ten player Lilly Reale and ACC star Sarah Schupansky as this season’s college additions.

The forward signed her first professional contract with the Bats after a superb senior season where she scored 17 goals and had six assists. She helped lead the Golden Gophers to a 14-5-3 record and the Round of 16 in the NCAA Division 1 Women’s Soccer Tournament.

Gotham FC signs Big Ten Forward of the Year Khyah Harper

In total, Harper scored 20 goals and registered 17 assists during her four years at Minnesota, scoring one goal in each of her first three years. In part, it helped that she played her most minutes in a season during her final year and was also a starter. In a sense, she blossomed at the perfect time. She was the Big Ten Forward of the Year and on the First Team All-Big Ten. Reale was also a part of the First Team, which makes one wonder whether Gotham FC was paying close attention to the Big Ten. Notably, when the two faced off in the regular season, Reale’s UCLA beat Harper’s Minnesota.

Meanwhile, Gotham is taking a chance on Harper despite her impressive collegiate season. Signing her to a friendly contract allows them to evaluate to see whether she can continue her development in the NWSL and stay consistent with her production. Compared to previous years, 2024 was an abnormality in production. Again, she started all 22 matches she played in, so the increase in playing time helped. Still, the 17 goals was unexpected.

Of course, there are already multiple options in the final third, despite the departures of stars Lynn Williams and Yazmeen Ryan, who were traded to Seattle Reign FC and the Houston Dash respectively. Harper will have a lot of competition. At the same time, she can utilize this season to learn as much as she can from some of the top players in the league.

Signing Harper is another great move by Gotham FC. It already appears they made the right choice in signing her fellow Big Ten player Reale too. The defender was recently named to the USWNT’s Futures Camp, making her the seventh Bat to join the January camp. The Futures Camp is for national team prospects and the camp will run with the USWNT Camp.