The Minnesota women’s soccer team makes history by signing its first TRANS athlete

A Minnesota women’s soccer club has signed the first transgender athlete in its history.

Isaac Ranson, a senior at California State University, Fullerton, will be the new goalkeeper for Minnesota Aurora, a community-owned pre-professional women’s team.

The 22-year-old player, who was assigned female at birth, came out as a transgender man while competing as a standout goalkeeper in college.

In an announcement shared on Minnesota Aurora FC’s Instagram page on Monday, the organization wrote: ‘We are so excited to welcome another goalkeeper to our roster, Isaac! He joins us this summer after playing for Fullerton Women’s Soccer.”

Ranson said he still feels safe to be himself in women’s sports and praised the team for being “nothing but supportive” amid the ongoing lawsuits against transgender athletes.

As recently as March, President Donald Trump filed a lawsuit against Minnesota and its athletics governing body over transgender athletes competing in girls’ sports.

The Justice Department alleges that the Department of Education and the Minnesota State High School League are violating Title IX, a federal law against sex discrimination in education programs that receive federal money.

‘It could become a topic that is talked about a lot, especially nowadays. I mean, a team has to be ready to unfortunately lose some fans because of it,” Ranson told the Minnesota Star Tribune.

“The Aurora have just been very supportive of me as a person and as a player,” he added.

‘Even though I don’t identify as a woman, I still feel included. “I’m proud to be part of women’s football because of the support and the great community it is.”

Saara Hassoun, the team’s president, told the Star Tribune that the club is “proud” to have the talented goalkeeper in the team.

“Aurora believes that everyone deserves the opportunity to play football, and we are committed to providing a safe, supportive environment in which Isaac can continue his strong career,” Hassoun said in a statement.

“Our players, coaches and organization are united in welcoming Isaac to Aurora,” she added.

During his freshman year of college, Ranson came out as queer and became the Titans’ four-year starting goalie, where he began to explore his gender identity more deeply.

Not long after, he began introducing his new pronouns and name “Isaac” to close friends and family, according to the Star Tribune.

He began identifying fully as a man in 2023 and used his growing social media platform as a popular college player to advocate for others.

“I want to make sports a safe and welcoming space for everyone, regardless of their background or identity,” Ranson told BigWest.org.

“I want people to be more aware that, ‘Hey, there are trans athletes, but we’re not putting the sport down or being dishonest about it,’” he added.

“For the athletes who are struggling, I want them to know that they are not alone or feeling like they are crazy for being their authentic selves.”

As the 2024 season approached, Ranson came out to his college teammates. Under NCAA rules, athletes assigned female at birth could continue to compete in women’s sports if they had not yet started hormone therapy.

Last fall, Ranson led the Titans to the best goals-against average and second-most shutouts in Division I women’s soccer. He was also named one of TopDrawerSoccer’s Top 100 Players for 2025.

He told the outlet that playing for the team “made it easy to open up and be me,” adding that his coaches used inclusive language, such as “athletes” instead of “women,” when referring to groups he belonged to.

Dubbed the “shutout king” by teammates, Ranson eventually caught the attention of Aurora’s coaches after a record-breaking run with the Titans.

The scouts were hunting for current and recently graduated college players in the 96-team W League ahead of the summer season.

In November, staff members contacted Ranson to help build a roster with the goal of extending a streak of four undefeated regular seasons while chasing the team’s first W League title.

After researching the club, the goalkeeper discovered that its values ​​closely aligned with his own: transformation, accessibility, inclusivity and empowerment.

The United Soccer League (USL) has a transgender rule that states that “a player may register with the gender term with which the player identifies, provided the player’s stated gender is sincerely held and part of the player’s core identity.”

The USL said in a statement that its policies are consistent with the U.S. Soccer Federation’s participation standards, according to Star Tribune.

The Federation said its rules align with those of the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC), which last year updated its Athlete Safety Policy to follow federal executive orders on gender identity and restrict athletes assigned male at birth from women’s sports.

Ranson’s new professional move marks a new chapter in his football career, which began when he became a full-time goalkeeper at the age of 10.

“I didn’t have a role model or anyone I grew up against who looked like me or identified as me. And I just think that’s super important,” Ranson told the outlet.

“I want to be that person that little kids can look up to and think to themselves, ‘I don’t care if I look different from everyone else or identify differently from everyone else, I can thrive in whatever I put myself into,’” he added.

Aurora’s 12-game regular season begins May 21 against Rochester at TCO Stadium in Eagan.

Across the U.S., including Minnesota, research on transgender inclusion in sports has largely focused on trans women, with less attention on how governing bodies’ policies affect trans male athletes like Ranson.

Currently, more than two dozen states have laws banning transgender women and girls from playing women’s sports, although courts have blocked some of those policies.

After the DOJ filed a lawsuit against Minnesota on March 30, then-Attorney General Pamela Bondi said, “The Trump Administration will not tolerate flawed state policies that ignore biological realities and unfairly undermine girls on the playing field.”

Democratic Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison called the lawsuit “a sad attempt to draw attention” to an issue that has been litigated for months. He promised to keep fighting.

“It’s astonishing that any president would try to shame, shame and harass children who are just trying to be themselves, let alone a president who has so many real-world issues to deal with,” Ellison said in a statement.