American Girl of the Year 2026 Raquel Reyes Theories

Well, we're at about six months since Summer released, and this means we have roughly six more months until we meet our next Girl of the Year, Raquel Reyes. There are a few theories I have seen and thought of considering who our doll is - I'm not sure what one I'm 100% sold on yet, since we only know a bit about who she is - but I figured I'd list them all!

• This is the theory that makes the most sense to me - Raquel is from or goes to an exotic location. Every 5 years, this has happened with Girls of the Year. For example, in 2006, Jess went to Belize, in 2011, Kanani was from Hawaii, in 2016, Lea went to Brazil, in 2021, Kira went to Australia.

• I'm not sure exactly what location this is going to be, but there are 2 options. One is Mexico. The World Cup is going to be there (and America and Canada!) in 2026, and seeing as Raquel is Latina, it would make sense. However, this also might not happen, considering Maritza came out five years before, has the same author, and Maritza's interest was soccer.

• The other location I'm thinking of is Italy, where the Winter Olympics are going to be held, but that also might not happen because America is having the Summer Olympics in 2028 - and we all know AG LOVES their Summer Olympic tie ins no matter the location, but having it in America is even more special.

• Who knows - maybe Raquel won't be visiting a location, but will be from a location of interest. A Southwestern Truly Me outfit came out last fall, which could be a hint to where she's from - especially since several Truly Me items that came out in late 2023 and 2024 have been heavily playing into Summer's collection despite not actually being in her collection.

• Speaking of that, I've seen some comments on American Girl's posts of their new ballet outfit speculating we're getting another ballerina as Girl of the Year. We've had 3 dancers so far in the Girl of the Year line, but AG hasn't put a dancer as Girl of the Year since 2017, and not a ballet dancer since 2014. Considering how dancing is a popular play theme, and AG has been trying to hit more popular play themes with their GOTYs recently (like "animals", "cooking", and "gymnastics"), I wouldn't be surprised if Raquel is a dancer too. And who knows? Maybe Isabelle or Marisol can be her coach - most likely Marisol, since she was more popular, and the girls who were target age in 2005 are now having kids of their own.

What do you all think?