Jeff Kassouf
Nov 29, 2024, 07:00 AM ET
The United States women's national team won a fifth Olympic gold medal this year before a string of retirement announcements for veteran stars including Alex Morgan, Alyssa Naeher and Kelley O'Hara. After Saturday's game against England at Wembley Stadium and next week's showdown with the Netherlands in The Hague, the team will shift its attention to a much-anticipated January summit in Southern California, where senior players will join federation staff and a "Futures Camp" of, effectively, the next couple of dozen players on head coach Emma Hayes' radar.
From there, Hayes will weed out players to figure out who will be part of the pool she develops in preparation for the 2027 World Cup.
Hayes is known to have an eye for talent, so we can expect to see plenty of intriguing call-ups for that January camp. Those two adjacent rosters could drastically shift our player pool rankings. For now, though, we're going with who we think the top 50 players in the pool are based on form for club and country over the past year. Some remain uncapped. Plenty are on ESPN FC's 2024 Women's Rank, the world top 50 that we just unveiled (although this writer's individual vote varied from the combined list).
Players who have announced their retirement have been omitted. We also omitted a few players due to long-term injuries, although in one prominent case (see: No. 6), there was a large enough body of work from the season to evaluate.
So, who are the best of the best from the stars you know? And who might be in the pool right now without you even realizing it? Let's get to it.
50. Makenna Morris, FW, Washington Spirit
49. Reilyn Turner, FW, Portland Thorns FC
48. Jane Campbell, GK, Houston Dash
47. Alana Cook, DF, Kansas City Current
A summer transfer to Kansas City was exactly what she and the Current needed for a run to the semifinals. Her newfound form at center back could revive her USWNT career, too.
46. Riley Jackson, MF, North Carolina Courage
45. Kennedy Fuller, MF, Angel City FC
44. Morgan Weaver, FW, Portland Thorns FC
43. Ryan Williams, DF, North Carolina Courage
42. Abby Dahlkemper, DF, Bay FC
The World Cup winner endured a tough stretch of injuries in recent years, but her midseason move to Bay FC showed she's still a top center back.
41. Kerry Abello, DF, Orlando Pride
40. Lo'eau LaBonta, MF, Kansas City Current
39. Gisele Thompson, DF, Angel City FC
38. Kylie Strom, DF, Orlando Pride
Strom might have been overshadowed by Emily Sams, but the center back was equally integral to Orlando's league-leading defense. She, among others on this list, are likely past the age to be in Hayes' plans, but her season is worth recognizing.
37. Jaelin Howell, MF, Seattle Reign FC
36. Mandy Haught, GK, Utah Royals FC
2:01
USWNT players pay tribute to retiring Alyssa Naeher
Tierna Davidson and Emily Fox say they will miss USWNT goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher after the 36-year-old announced her retirement from the game.
35. Ella Stevens, FW, NJ/NY Gotham FC
34. Ally Watt, FW/MF, Orlando Pride
33. Michelle Cooper, FW, Kansas City Current
Did any player improve their stock more this season? Cooper quietly did the work among a cast of stars in Kansas City.
32. Taylor Flint, MF, Racing Louisville FC
31. Hailie Mace, DF, Kansas City Current
30. Ally Sentnor, FW, Utah Royals FC
29. Claire Hutton, MF, Kansas City Current
Hutton might be the USWNT's holding midfielder by the next World Cup. Without a doubt, she should get a look in January's big combined camp.
28. Tara McKeown, DF, Washington Spirit
27. Casey Murphy, GK, North Carolina Courage
Our first goalkeeper on the list is the de facto new No. 1 after the recent announcement that two-time World Cup-winner Alyssa Naeher will retire from international duty at the end of the year. Murphy has been the backup for two years now; is she the answer for 2027?
26. Hal Hershfelt, MF, Washington Spirit
25. Emma Sears, FW, Racing Louisville FC
24. Ashley Sanchez, MF, North Carolina Courage
0:59
Krieger predicts 'huge' USWNT future for Lily Yohannes
Speaking in September, Ali Krieger was full of praise for 17-year-old Lily Yohannes and predicted she'll have a bright future.
23. Lily Yohannes, MF, Ajax
Yohannes recently committed to the USWNT after fielding interest from the Netherlands, and she could be the future of the Americans' midfield. She already scored 10 minutes into her debut in June, and she has the type of creative vision Hayes loves.
22. Yazmeen Ryan, FW, NJ/NY Gotham FC
21. Vanessa DiBernardo, MF, Kansas City Current
20. Jenna Nighswonger, DF, NJ/NY Gotham FC
19. Korbin Albert, MF, Paris Saint-Germain
18. Catarina Macario, FW, Chelsea
Macario is still only slowly working her way back from injury. On paper, she's a top-five talent and has long been considered a potential generational talent; however, years of knee issues have prevented her from debuting in a World Cup or Olympics. A healthy Macario moves way up this list.
17. Alyssa Thompson, FW, Angel City FC
16. Lynn Williams, FW, NJ/NY Gotham FC
15. Crystal Dunn, DF, NJ/NY Gotham FC
Dunn missed the final few months of the NWSL with an excused absence that remains unexplained, but she reminded everyone again at the Olympics that even as she excels in more advanced positions during league play, she can be a world-class shutdown fullback.
14. Emily Fox, DF, Arsenal
13. Emily Sonnett, DF, NJ/NY Gotham FC
12. Tierna Davidson, DF, NJ/NY Gotham FC
11. Casey Krueger, DF, Washington Spirit
10. Rose Lavelle, MF, NJ/NY Gotham FC
She's no longer the only creative playmaker in the pool, but Lavelle is still a rare player with unrivaled vision. Any doubters should watch the no-look through ball she played for Gotham's goal in the recent NWSL semifinal as further evidence.
9. Lindsey Horan, MF, Olympique Lyonnais
The USWNT captain remains a fixture in midfield. There were difficult moments at the Olympics for the midfield at large, but Horan is off to an incredible start to the season with Lyon.
2:26
Hayes: USWNT job helped me get my mojo back
Emma Hayes explains how the move to international management has improved her wellbeing away from the pitch.
8. Emily Sams, DF, Orlando Pride
Defenders, rise up! That's right. The key member of the NWSL Championship-winning Orlando Pride's defense (that phrase really is still sinking in) helped show that there is good defending in this league, which could rarely be said in recent years.
7. Sam Coffey, MF, Portland Thorns FC
This team spent two years trying to figure out how to replace Julie Ertz as the rock and glue in holding midfield, only for Ertz to come back from near retirement for the 2023 World Cup (to play center back, in the end). All along, Coffey was the answer in waiting. She'll have competition to make this spot her own for the long term, but right now, she's following in the trend of important defensive midfielders.
6. Croix Bethune, MF, Washington Spirit
A rookie this high? And after an injury ended her year in late August? Yes, without a doubt.
Bethune's story is one of the best in the league in 2024. Her 10 assists tied Tobin Heath's single-season NWSL record, and Bethune did that in only 17 games. There are shades of Heath's creative, audacious game in Bethune when she is on the ball.
5. Jaedyn Shaw, FW, San Diego Wave FC
The future of the USWNT will revolve around Shaw. The only questions are: How and where will she be deployed? She's best used as a No. 10, and she can certainly play as a No. 9, but the competition for those spots is so strong that Shaw is often shoehorned into a wide role.
The last international window was a reminder that the U.S. tics to a different beat with Shaw in central areas. The same was true at the SheBelieves Cup and Gold Cup earlier this year.
4. Mallory Swanson, FW, Chicago Red Stars
Swanson bagged the gold medal-winning goal to beat Brazil in August to seal the USWNT's fifth Olympic triumph, capping off a comeback journey that removed her from 2023 World Cup contention at the peak of her career. Swanson is a dynamic winger who can also tuck inside as the No. 10. She is the rare player who seems to be faster with the ball at her feet, and she has the vision to be an elite playmaker who combines with Rodman and Sophia Smith to complete the self-proclaimed "Triple Espresso."
3. Trinity Rodman, FW, Washington Spirit
No player in the U.S. pool has more of a "wow factor" than Rodman, who is so good with the ball at her feet that defenders usually can't stop what they already know to be coming. (The "Trin Spin" move just keeps on delivering.) Rodman enjoyed her best year yet as a pro, logging eight goals and six assists to help the Spirit reach a second NWSL Championship in four seasons. She's only 22 years old and could become one of the elite U.S. forwards in a long history of success at the position.
2. Sophia Smith, FW, Portland Thorns FC
If you need to change a game, call Sophia Smith. The Thorns continued to do so in 2024 even during rough stretches of team form. Smith is a player who can turn a game without warning, combining her elite speed with a deceptively wide range of finishing capabilities. She is one of the last players a defender wants to see dribbling at them.
1. Naomi Girma, DF, San Diego Wave FC
She's the best center back in the world and the first name on the team sheet for the United States. If you've paid attention and listened to Hayes, Girma is almost certainly the team's future captain as well. She rarely puts a foot wrong in her defending and she's equal parts cerebral (for positioning and decision-making) and athletic (for getting the job done). Her club season was more of a footnote due to San Diego's tumultuous year, but Girma proved again at the Olympics why she is in a class of her own.
