Interview: Chicago Stars FC's Taylor Malham on Her Long-term Contract Extension

Chicago Stars FC locked up another defender for the long haul.

Chicago announced that they have signed defender Taylor Malham to a contract extension through the 2027 NWSL season with a mutual option for 2028. Malham was set to be a free agent after the 2025 season.

Malham spent her first NWSL season with Racing Louisville after going undrafted in 2022 following a standout career at Arkansas as a midfielder. Malham initially joined Chicago as a non-rostered invitee for the 2023 preseason, played herself into a contract for that year and then signed an extension after the season that tied her to the club through 2025. Now she will be with the club for at least two more years.

After hardly playing in her first professional season before joining Chicago, Malham came to the club in 2023 with the goal of simply making the team out of preseason while learning the tricks of being a defender from then-teammates Casey Krueger, Arin Wright, and Tierna Davidson.

“Coming in, I didn't really have many expectations,” Malham told On Tap Sports Net. “I just wanted to come in and try to earn a spot, which ultimately ended up happening. So just going through that year, I was just trying to get better, trying to learn, trying to grow as much as I could. We had a lot of really good defending players that year, so I was trying to just soak it all in and just learn. I think I learned a lot out of that year. And then going into year two, I got a little bit more playing time, which was great. But overall, I just really tried to learn and take away a lot of what the older players were doing.”

Malham only played 47 NWSL regular season minutes in her lone season in Louisville but those numbers have consistently increased during her time in Chicago. That first season calling SeatGeek Stadium home was crucial for her success with the club as she built her confidence back up on the pitch.

“It was a lot of getting confidence back within myself. I think that's really hard in this league. You come from college and maybe you're playing all the time. You come into here and it's your first year and you're getting zero minutes. So that was an adjustment and [required] a learning curve, for sure. So I think a lot of it was just getting that confidence back into myself and, once that came, then good things started happening and then things took off from there.

“But that was the number one thing: just knowing that I am good enough to be in this league and good enough to play in this team and be on the field as well.”

Malham is having a career year in 2025 despite Chicago’s struggles as a team. She leads team in minutes (1,170), is second with 35 tackles, third with 53 clearances all while being more of an attacking presence in 2025 as she’s on track to eclipsing her career-highs in progressive touches all over the pitch.

It’s clear that Malham belongs at this level despite her side’s hardships in 2025.

“There's a lot of ups and downs. I still struggle with that. I would say sometimes, just depending on how the game goes, how the season’s going, which everyone does. I'm obviously not the only one, but I wouldn't say there was one moment where I was just like, ‘Okay, I am good enough to be here.’ But I think it was just a lot of ups and downs and then really just realizing that I am gonna have a bad game, I'm gonna have a bad touch. Those are gonna happen. So I think you have to reground yourself and know that you are good enough to be here and everyone around you is here to help you as well.”

What’s On Tap Next?

Chicago Stars FC will be back in action when they compete in the inaugural Teal Rising Cup in Kansas City on July 12 and 15th. They will face off against Brazilian side Corinthians SC on July 12 at 4:30 p.m. CT and broadcast details are TBD.