Last Updated on September 29, 2026 by Mike

Wyatt Thomas Meyer is an American professional soccer player who plays as a defender and midfielder for Sporting Kansas City in Major League Soccer. Born on November 12, 2001, in Berkeley, California, Meyer grew up in a family with unusually strong ties to soccer. He played college soccer for the California Golden Bears before beginning his MLS career with Nashville SC and joining Sporting Kansas City in 2026.
Soccer was part of Meyer’s life virtually from birth. His mother, Jennifer “J.T.” Thomas, was a former California women’s soccer player who later spent 11 seasons as an assistant coach for the Golden Bears, while his father, Rich Meyer, played both soccer and lacrosse at Lake Forest College. Meyer’s mother eventually became his club coach as well, coaching him from around age five until he was 19. Despite the wealth of public information about his parents, Meyer has kept other areas of his family and relationship life much more private.
Who Is Wyatt Meyer’s Girlfriend?
As of now, Wyatt Meyer has not publicly confirmed a girlfriend, fiancée or wife through a reliable source.
Official profiles from Sporting Kansas City, Nashville SC and the University of California primarily discuss his soccer career and his close relationship with his parents. None of the authoritative sources reviewed for this profile identifies a romantic partner.
Meyer also appears to maintain significant privacy regarding his relationships. Therefore, photographs or interactions on social media should not be used by themselves to identify someone as his girlfriend without confirmation from Meyer or another reliable source.
Does Wyatt Meyer Have Children?
There are no publicly confirmed reports that Wyatt Meyer has children.
Neither his current Sporting Kansas City profile nor detailed features about his personal background identify him as a father. As of now, no son or daughter has been publicly documented.
Who Are Wyatt Meyer’s Parents?
Wyatt Meyer’s parents are Jennifer “J.T.” Thomas and Rich Meyer. Both have athletic backgrounds, with soccer playing a particularly important role in the family.
Meyer was raised in Berkeley, California, where his parents introduced him to several sports. Basketball and American football were among the activities he tried, but soccer became his main passion. His childhood was heavily influenced by his mother’s work with the California women’s soccer program and his father’s own experience as a college athlete.
The Meyer family became so immersed in soccer that Wyatt later described tactical conversations around the dinner table and family vacations centered on major international tournaments.
Wyatt Meyer’s Mother: Jennifer “J.T.” Thomas
Wyatt Meyer’s mother is Jennifer Thomas, commonly known as “J.T.” She has one of the most significant sporting backgrounds of any member of Meyer’s family.
Thomas played as a defender for the California Golden Bears women’s soccer team from 1982 to 1985. During her playing career, Cal reached two NCAA tournaments and advanced to the national semifinals in 1984. She earned all-conference and all-region recognition before graduating from the University of California, Berkeley, in 1986.
Thomas later earned a master’s degree in education from Stanford University in 1991 and built an extensive career in coaching and athletics administration. She worked as an athletic director at Incline High School in Nevada and founded soccer programs and camps before returning to Cal.
In 1998, Thomas joined the California women’s soccer coaching staff. She eventually spent 11 seasons as an assistant coach, helping the program make repeated NCAA tournament appearances.
Her coaching career also created one of the most unusual stories surrounding Wyatt’s birth. Thomas was helping coach California against USC in November 2001 when she began experiencing signs that she was going into labor. After completing her responsibilities at the match, she went to the hospital and Wyatt was born shortly afterward.
Thomas returned to the Cal soccer environment quickly, meaning Wyatt was around the program almost immediately. As a baby and young child, he regularly accompanied his parents to Edwards Stadium and spent time around the California women’s players.
Wyatt Meyer Was Raised Around Cal Soccer
Some of Meyer’s earliest memories involve watching his mother coach the California women’s soccer team. His father would bring him to Edwards Stadium, where he watched training sessions and matches and interacted with the players.
Meyer became so accustomed to watching the women’s team that, according to a detailed Cal Athletics profile, he initially thought soccer was played only by women. As a small child, he eventually asked his mother whether boys played the sport too.
His parents subsequently enrolled him with the Albany-Berkeley Soccer Club. Thomas became one of his coaches and continued coaching him for much of his youth career, from approximately age five through age 19.
Interestingly, Meyer called his mother “J.T.” during part of his childhood because that was what he heard her players call her. He later began calling her “Mom” more regularly after she stopped coaching at Cal.
Wyatt Meyer’s Father: Rich Meyer
Wyatt Meyer’s father is Rich Meyer. Although he has maintained a lower public profile than Jennifer Thomas, Rich also has a competitive sporting background.
Rich attended Lake Forest College in Illinois, where he played both soccer and lacrosse. His experience gave Wyatt another parent who understood the commitment required to compete in organized sports.
Rich played an important role during Wyatt’s earliest years around soccer. When Jennifer was coaching the California women’s team, Rich frequently brought their young son to practices and games, allowing Wyatt to grow up around a high-level college soccer environment.
Together, Rich and Jennifer exposed their son to several different sports before allowing him to settle on soccer as his primary passion. Rather than soccer existing only as Wyatt’s activity, it became part of the family’s everyday life.
Jennifer Thomas’s Influence on Wyatt Meyer’s Career
Few professional players can say that one of their parents served as their soccer coach for most of their childhood, but that was the case for Meyer.
Thomas began coaching Wyatt after he joined the Albany-Berkeley Soccer Club and continued working with him into his late teenage years. This meant that the person responsible for much of his early technical and tactical education was also his mother.
Her influence extended beyond coaching. Meyer grew up watching Cal players train and compete, serving around the university’s soccer programs and developing a familiarity with Edwards Stadium long before he eventually represented the Golden Bears himself.
That history made Meyer’s eventual decision to attend California especially meaningful. He became part of the same university soccer tradition in which his mother had first been a player and later a coach.
Wyatt Meyer’s Family Connection to the University of California
Meyer’s connection with California began decades before he became a Golden Bear himself.
His mother played for the university during the 1980s and later returned as an assistant coach. Wyatt then spent his childhood around the program before enrolling at Cal and becoming an important member of the men’s soccer team.
He developed into a defender and defensive midfielder, eventually serving as team captain. In 2023, Meyer was named Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year and earned All-Pac-12 First Team honors.
His family connection was regularly highlighted by Cal Athletics because few players had such longstanding ties to the university’s soccer programs. Meyer effectively progressed from being a child watching from the Edwards Stadium sidelines to captaining the university’s men’s team on the same field.
The Meyer Family’s Love of Soccer
Soccer was not simply Wyatt’s individual pursuit. Cal Athletics described the Meyers as a true soccer family whose conversations at home sometimes involved tactics and other aspects of the game.
The family also traveled internationally to attend major soccer tournaments. Meyer recalled attending the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil and the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup in France with his family.
These experiences complemented his development as a player. Between being coached by his mother, having a father who played collegiate soccer and traveling to major tournaments, Meyer grew up surrounded by the sport both at home and outside it.
Does Wyatt Meyer Have Siblings?
As of now, reliable public sources do not identify any brothers or sisters of Wyatt Meyer.
Cal Athletics has published unusually detailed coverage of Meyer’s childhood and parents but has not named any siblings. An official biography of Jennifer Thomas also previously described Thomas and Rich Meyer as residing in Berkeley with their son, Wyatt, without mentioning additional children.
That information is not enough to state definitively that Meyer is an only child. It is therefore more accurate to say that no siblings have been publicly confirmed through authoritative sources.
From Berkeley to Professional Soccer
Meyer remained closely connected to Berkeley throughout his early life. He attended St. Mary’s College High School and developed with the ACC Mavericks before joining the University of California men’s soccer program.
He eventually became one of Cal’s leading players. His 2023 season brought Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year honors, and Nashville SC selected him with the 11th overall pick in the 2024 MLS SuperDraft.
Meyer chose to return to Cal for the 2024 college season before officially signing with Nashville in February 2025. That decision allowed him to finish his college career at the university that had been part of his family story for decades.
After his first professional season in Nashville, Meyer became a free agent. Sporting Kansas City signed him in February 2026 on a contract through the 2026 MLS season with club options for future years.
Wyatt Meyer’s Family Life Today
As of now, Wyatt Meyer’s publicly documented immediate family centers on his parents, Jennifer “J.T.” Thomas and Rich Meyer.
Thomas was a standout Cal defender before becoming a coach and played an especially important role in Wyatt’s development, coaching him throughout much of his youth career. Rich was also a college athlete, competing in both soccer and lacrosse at Lake Forest College.
Together, they created a household in which soccer was part of everyday life. Meyer grew up around college players, discussed the game with his parents and traveled with his family to international tournaments before eventually reaching professional soccer himself.
No girlfriend, wife or children have been publicly confirmed for Meyer, while reliable sources do not currently establish whether he has brothers or sisters.
Frequently Asked Questions About Wyatt Meyer’s Family
Who are Wyatt Meyer’s parents?
Wyatt Meyer’s parents are Jennifer “J.T.” Thomas and Rich Meyer. Both have sporting backgrounds, with Thomas playing and coaching soccer at the University of California and Rich playing college soccer and lacrosse.
Who is Wyatt Meyer’s mother?
Wyatt Meyer’s mother is Jennifer “J.T.” Thomas. She played for the California Golden Bears women’s soccer team from 1982 to 1985 and later spent 11 seasons as an assistant coach with the program.
Did Wyatt Meyer’s mother coach him?
Yes. Jennifer Thomas coached Wyatt in youth soccer from around age five until he was 19, making her an important figure in both his family life and football development.
Who is Wyatt Meyer’s father?
Wyatt Meyer’s father is Rich Meyer. He played soccer and lacrosse at Lake Forest College in Illinois and helped introduce Wyatt to sports from an early age.
Does Wyatt Meyer have siblings?
No brothers or sisters have been reliably identified in public sources. Although older Cal biographies refer to Wyatt as Jennifer Thomas and Rich Meyer’s son, there is not enough evidence to state definitively that he is an only child.
Who is Wyatt Meyer’s girlfriend?
As of now, Wyatt Meyer has not publicly confirmed a girlfriend, fiancée or wife through a reliable source.
Does Wyatt Meyer have children?
There are no publicly confirmed reports that Wyatt Meyer has children.
Where is Wyatt Meyer’s family from?
Meyer was born and raised in Berkeley, California. His mother is originally from Portola Valley, California, while his father attended Lake Forest College in Illinois. The family has longstanding connections to the Berkeley soccer community.
Did Wyatt Meyer grow up supporting Cal?
Meyer grew up deeply connected to California soccer. He spent much of his childhood at Edwards Stadium while his mother coached the women’s team and later became a player and captain for Cal’s men’s soccer program.
Does soccer run in Wyatt Meyer’s family?
Yes. His mother played and coached college soccer, while his father played soccer at Lake Forest College. Wyatt himself went on to become a Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year and a professional MLS player.

Ronald Mike is a football writer covering the English Premier League, providing match analysis, tactical insight, and coverage of key rivalries and title races across the season.
