Savy King’s Road Back Leads to Her First U-23 Call-Up

Savy King is back in the U.S. Women’s National Team pathway. More than a year after a life-threatening cardiac event temporarily halted her career, the Angel City FC defender has received her first-ever call-up to the U.S. U-23 Women’s National Team, marking another important step in a remarkable comeback.

King was included in Heather Dyche’s 24-player roster for the October camp in Fayetteville, Georgia, where the U-23s will train alongside Emma Hayes’ senior USWNT and face the Dominican Republic U-23s twice. The October window represents King’s first national team call-up since her recovery, and her first opportunity to represent the United States at U-23 level.

Born in Santa Monica and raised in West Hills, California, King developed with Slammers FC before quickly establishing herself within the U.S. youth national team system. She represented the country at the U-15, U-17 and U-20 levels, earning 14 appearances with the U-17s and 19 with the U-20s.

One of the early highlights of her international career came in 2022, when she helped the United States win the Concacaf Women’s U-17 Championship and then competed at the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup. A year later, she was part of the U.S. U-20 setup that finished runner-up at the Concacaf Women’s U-20 Championship and qualified for the 2024 World Cup. King eventually became co-captain of that U-20 group. 

Her development also accelerated at the college level. King spent the 2023 season at the University of North Carolina, starting all 23 matches as a freshman and leading the team with 2,030 minutes. She played the full 90 minutes in 19 of those games and earned All-ACC Second Team and ACC All-Freshman Team recognition. 

That season was enough to make King the second overall selection in the 2024 NWSL Draft, where Bay FC selected her as one of the league’s most promising young defenders. She immediately made an impact, appearing in 20 matches across all competitions during her rookie season and helping the expansion club reach the playoffs. 

In February 2025, King was traded to her hometown club, Angel City FC. The move gave the Los Angeles native the opportunity to continue her professional development close to home, and the club quickly showed its belief in her future by extending her contract through 2028. She began the 2025 season as an important part of Angel City’s defense, starting seven matches before her career suddenly took an unimaginable turn.

On May 9, 2025, during Angel City’s match against the Utah Royals, King suffered a cardiac arrest on the field. Medical personnel performed CPR for several minutes before she was transported to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, where doctors discovered a previously undiagnosed congenital heart abnormality. She subsequently underwent open-heart surgery to repair an anomalous coronary artery and began a lengthy rehabilitation process. 

For months, soccer became secondary to recovery. King completed cardiac rehabilitation and gradually progressed from non-contact training to full participation. She also used the experience to create Savy King of Hearts, a nonprofit focused on CPR awareness, preventive screenings and heart-health advocacy.

Then, almost 10 months after collapsing on the field, King finally returned.

On March 15, 2026, King entered Angel City’s season opener against Chicago in the 63rd minute. The home crowd at BMO Stadium gave her a standing ovation as she stepped back onto the field for the first time since the cardiac event. She played more than 30 minutes as Angel City won 4-0.

Since then, the defender has continued rebuilding her rhythm and role at club level. Angel City’s September international-duty announcement noted that King had recorded two assists during the 2026 season, including one for Ally Sentnor’s first goal for the club against the Washington Spirit. 

Now, her comeback has reached another milestone.

King’s inclusion in the U-23 roster gives her a chance to return to the international environment for the first time since joining Emma Hayes’ Futures Camp in January 2025. It also places her alongside several players already competing for senior-team opportunities, including Jaedyn Shaw, Ally Sentnor and Jordyn Bugg.

For a defender who was already considered one of the most promising young players in the American system before her career was interrupted, this call-up represents more than another step up the national-team ladder. It is another chapter in a journey that has taken King from youth international standout to NWSL draft pick, from a life-threatening setback to a return to professional soccer — and now back into the U.S. national-team pathway.

Her next chapter begins in Georgia.