Messiah Da'kahlian Bright (born January 12, 2000) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a forward for Orlando Pride of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). Internationally she has represented the United States at youth level.

Bright played collegiately for TCU Horned Frogs and set the program record for all-time goals while winning two Big 12 regular season and one Big 12 Tournament titles. She was named 2018 Big 12 Freshman of the Year and in 2021 she was named First Team All-American.

Early life
Born in Dallas, Texas, Bright attended Cedar Hill High School. She scored 48 goals and 15 assists in her freshman and second years and was named District 8-6A Offensive MVP in 2016 before opting not to play high school soccer in her last two years. She played club soccer for Solar SC where she was a three-time Dallas Girls Cup champion. She was also a standout track and field athlete.

College career
Bright played five seasons of college soccer for the TCU Horned Frogs at Texas Christian University between 2018 and 2022 while studying for a bachelor's in strategic communication. In her first year, Bright was one of five players to start all 21 games and tied for the team lead with six goals. She was an All-Big 12 Conference Second Team honoree and named Big 12 Freshman of the Year, shared with Julia Grosso. Nationally, TopDrawerSoccer.com named her to the All-Freshman Second Team. In 2019, Bright again started every TCU game and led the team with 12 goals as a sophomore. She was recognized as All-Big 12 First Team and Offensive MVP at the 2019 Big 12 Tournament. Having missed the opening two games of the season and a further two in October, Bright made a total of 12 appearances during the 2020–21 season which was shortened due to the COVID-19 pandemic. TCU won the regular season title for the first in program history. Despite being limited to nine regular season appearances, Bright scored three goals and was named All-Big 12 Second Team. As a senior, Bright started all 24 games and set a new school single-season record for goals with 17. She played in all three matches during the 2021 Big 12 Tournament, scoring twice in a 3–0 win over the Texas Tech Red Raiders in the semi-final and another in the final before assisting the game-winner by Camryn Lancaster as TCU came from behind to beat the Texas Longhorns 2–1 to win the first tournament title in school history. The team had also retained their regular season title. She was named All-Big 12 First Team for a second time, the Big 12 Tournament Offensive MVP and also nationally recognized with United Soccer Coaches All-America First Team honors. Having accrued an additional year of eligibility following the COVID-19 impacted season, Bright did not declare for the 2022 NWSL Draft and returned to play a fifth season in 2022. She made 24 appearances, scoring 11 goals and four assists. TCU finished runners-up to the Texas Longhorns in the regular season and lost the tournament final to the West Virginia Mountaineers. Bright earned All-Big 12 First Team honors for a third time in five seasons and was All-America Second Team. In total, she made 103 career appearances (all starts) out of a possible 107 and set a new program record for all-time goals with 50 as well as adding 18 assists.

Club career

Orlando Pride
On January 12, 2023, Bright was selected in the second round (21st overall) of the 2023 NWSL Draft by Orlando Pride. She was part of a record sized Big 12 draft class as five players were selected. Bright signed a three-year contract with Orlando on March 1, 2023. She made her debut on March 26, 2023, starting Orlando's 2023 season opener, a 4–0 defeat away to Portland Thorns FC. She was named NWSL player of the week on July 11 after scoring the only goal in a 1–0 win against OL Reign.

International career
In March 2018, Bright was called-up to the United States under-18 squad for a training camp and friendlies against Switzerland under-19s in Köniz. In February 2022, Bright was named to the United States under-23 squad for the 2022 Thorns Invitational. She returned to the under-23s in June as part of a 21-player squad to travel to Sweden for the U23 Three Nations Tournament.

Career statistics

College summary

Club summary

Honors
TCU Horned Frogs
Big 12 Conference regular season: 2020, 2021
Big 12 Conference Tournament: 2021

Individual
Big 12 Freshman of the Year: 2018
United Soccer Coaches First Team All-America: 2021

References

External links
Messiah Bright at TCU Horned Frogs

Living people
2000 births
Soccer players from Dallas
American women's soccer players
Women's association football forwards
TCU Horned Frogs women's soccer players
Orlando Pride draft picks
Orlando Pride players
National Women's Soccer League players