The NWSL offseason is in full swing and teams are already making moves. With the new year rapidly approaching, general managers are already looking ahead to next season, taking meetings and calls. As the holidays might slow down some signings, it's the perfect time to take a look back on some of the deals made in 2024 and see how things played out for NWSL executives.
The concept of sports executive culture is still relatively new to women's professional sports and definitely uncharted waters for NWSL. So with that, it's time to hand out some end-of-year grades to clubs and their general managers:
Angel City FC
In the build-up to 2024, Angela Hucles Mangano signed exciting young players in Kennedy Fuller, Gisele Thompson, and Casey Phair, almost signaling a youth movement for the club after a stand-out 2023 performance by 19-year-old Alyssa Thompson. They also drafted Madison Curry out of Princeton and had a successful rookie season, but she ultimately left the team via free agency.
The club acquired forward and 2023 Rookie of the Year finalist Messiah Bright and tried to plug the holes in their midfield with a league veteran with a trade for Costa Rica international Rocky Rodriguez, though the newly signed players were used only sporadically by head coach Becki Tweed. Hucles Mangano made a deal just weeks into the season that sent defender Paige Neilsen to Houston and midfielder Amandine Henry to Utah for allocation money and intra-league funds and later brought English international Kelley Zelem into the mix.
Perhaps the biggest headline around Angel City's executives was when they were fined $200,000, and docked three points, with Hucles Mangano and CEO Juile Urman being suspended for five side deals made with players that were not disclosed to the league.
Unfortunately, the team that was built didn't quite gel together and they never looked poised for another shot at the playoffs in 2024, and Hucles Mangano was recently hired by Houston Dash as president of operations.
Grade: D+
Bay FC
There's a certain amount of pressure that comes with leading an expansion franchise. For Bay FC, they are graded as a group project. Former general manager Lucy Rushton was hired to the role ahead of the club's inaugural season and was a key player in getting multiple internationals into the league with Asisat Oshoala and Deyna Castellanos. She also holds the record, at the moment, for the largest transfer fee in women's soccer when she managed to secure a deal for Zambian attacker Racheal Kundinanji.
Rushton was strategic during Bay FC's drafts, selecting 19-year-old Savy King, and during the expansion event selected future starters Alyssa Malonson, Tess Boade, and Katelyn Rowland. Eventually, Rushton departed from the team just midseason after just 14 games, and technical director Matt Potter was tacked with steering the club through the rest of the season. Potter helped facilitate a trade for defender Abby Dahlkemper during the August deadline, and the club went on to clinch a playoff spot in their first season.
Grade: B
BOS Nation FC
The expansion franchise won't join the league till 2026, and they've got more pressing matters like the ballooning costs of their stadium project, but they're trying to get ahead of roster building by hiring a general manager. The club recently named Domènec Guasch to the position and he joins Boston from FC Barcelona.
He spent 13 years with Barcelona and joins NWSL after two years of head management for women's football where he was responsible for recruiting and contract negotiations. He's got the most recognizable soccer brand on his resume but he's being hired to build a team from scratch in an entirely different league.
It's one thing to keep adding marquee pieces to a juggernaut squad after they've won multiple titles, it's a completely different beast to sell the world's biggest names on a project that's somewhat incomplete, and that's exactly the grade they're getting for now.
Grade: Incomplete
Chicago Stars FC
The franchise and Rick Feuz got off to a later start in 2024 as the club had multiple needs on their hiring list ahead of the 2024 season. The Stars hired a club president, needed a new head coach, and had to re-sign Mallory Swanson before they eventually got to the general manager position. The organization is graded a bit as a group project, as former German international Babett Peter has been an assistant general manager with the club since 2022. She and coach Lorne Donaldson traded for defender Sam Staab and drafted prospects Leilani Nesbeth and Jameese Joseph.
The club benefitted from a fresh start with Donaldson and outstanding post-injury play by Swanson and did just enough to squeeze into playoffs after a last-place finish in 2023. Feuz's moves were move visible later in the season, when he signed Canadian international Julia Grosso, though the midfielder needed some extra time to get acclimated to NWSL play. He also brought Moroccan international Rosella Ayane on a loan that ended up going nowhere. The Tottenham forward featured in 45 minutes over the second half of the season.
Perhaps the biggest and best move of the season was the acquisition of Brazilian international Ludmila, whose season was cut short due to a red card she sustained for a hair-pulling foul.
Grade: C+
Houston Dash
Perhaps no other club has more "make a bunch of moves because of the haters" energy than Houston. After giving a then-record contract to winger Maria Sanchez, the former franchise player requested a trade just two months into the season. Sanchez's departure was one of many different movements for the Dash in 2024. The club eventually parted ways with estranged coach Fran Alonso, who Alex Singer hired ahead of the preseason but did not join the club till just before the regular season due to visa issues. He eventually took personal leave midseason and never returned.
It was a long, strange, series of moves and departures by the former GM, and eventually, the franchise announced her termination at the start of the Olympic tournament. Still, before her eventual dismissal, Singer did get two key defensive pieces for the Dash with Brazilian international Tarciane and league veteran Paige Neilsen, which will save the grade from a complete F. In the meantime, interim general manager Erik Ustruck is tasked with resigning local players and landing a head coach for the long haul.
Grade: D
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Kansas City Current
Another franchise that will be graded as a group. The club began the season with general manager Camille Levin Ashton and alongside new head coach and sporting director Vlatko Andonovski, an influx of international talent with Malawian attacker Temwa Chawinga and Brazilian international Bia Zaneratto. Chawinga went on to win the 2024 NWSL MVP and Golden Boot, and Zaneratto had immediate chemistry with Chawinga before injury kept her out of the season post-Olympics. Levin Ashton resigned from her role in May before taking the general manager position with San Diego Wave FC.
Interim Caitlin Carducci kept the Current in elite status during the second half of the season with major defensive pickups. Goalkeeper Almuth Schult and defenders Alana Cook and Kayla Sharples immediately shifted the Current's tactics and aided the team down the stretch of the season through the quarterfinals. Kansas City have since promoted Carducci and already looks primed for another playoff run in 2025.
Grade: A+
NJ/NY Gotham FC
Not enough can be said about Gotham's efforts to rule free agency into the 2024 regular season. General manager Yael Averbuch West signed not one but four U.S. women's national team starters, dubbed as the "class of 2024" with Rose Lavelle, Emily Sonnett, Tierna Davidson, and Crystal Dunn.
Adding forward Ella Stevens to the mix was a real game-changer for the roster. Perhaps viewed as attacking depth at one point, Stevens had a breakout season and became a huge scoring threat for the team during stretches of injury absences to Lynn Williams or Midge Purce. Adding goalkeeper Ann Katrin Berger was a major asset and she went on to win NWSL Goalkeeper of the Year.
Despite the strong signings, the club came up short of winning any titles out of 2024, and an extended excused absence by Dunn has led to speculation on whether or not she will remain with Gotham in 2025.
Grade: A-
Orlando Pride
General manager Haley Carter will be the first to say she didn't do it alone, but we're still going to give her the honor of a high grade. Hired by Orlando in 2023, the Pride head into the holiday season as reigning NWSL Shield winners and NWSL Championship title holders.
A big piece of the success puzzle came earlier this year when the franchise acquired Zambian international Barbra Banda on a record-setting transfer fee for the league at the time. Banda went on to become a finalist for the 2024 NWSL MVP, was the club's leading goal scorer, and recently earned African Player of the Year honors.
Over the regular season, the squad matched, set, and broke league records, including longest unbeaten streak and winning streak, and they have already locked up some key players for 2025. Outstanding marks for an unforgettable year.
Grade: A+
Portland Thorns FC
The Thorns got off to one of their worst regular season starts in franchise history, and there was quick pressure placed on former head coach Mike Norris and general manager Karina LeBlanc. The heat cranked up when the general manager promoted Norris to a sporting director role, and tabbed assistant coach Rob Gale as interim.
After a string of wins, Gale was promoted to the official head coach ahead of the Olympics, only for the club to go on a seven-game winless streak with six losses the following the international break. Despite the troubles, the Thorns reached the playoffs as a sixth seed, and LeBlanc managed to re-sign Sophia Smith through 2025 with an option for 2026 while extending Morgan Weaver, and adding Alexa Spaanstra into the mix.
Grade: C+
Racing Louisville FC
This franchise just can't get out of its own way. With four consecutive ninth-place finishes since their arrival as an expansion franchise in 2021, the 2024 regular season had shades of promise before some midseason moves raised some question marks.
General manager Ryan Dell rolled the dice on some midseason moves to finally get Louisville over the playoff line but things just didn't pan out and in the process traded former team captain Jaelin Howell and a future piece in forward Reilyn Turner. The club now has some experienced forwards with Bethany Balcer and Janine Beckie, and head coach Bev Yanez to try and move forward in 2025. Dell and the franchise parted ways at the end of the season.
Grade: C-
Seattle Reign FC
One of the multiple clubs that had to deal with franchise sales in 2024, there weren't very many resources for general manager Leslie Galimore to work with over the season. The departures of Emily Sonnett and Rose Lavelle to free agency were major blows, and the retirement of Megan Rapinoe was felt on and off the pitch.
Still, some exciting moves were made that brought in Howell from Louisville, Haitian international Nerilia Mondesir, and 18-year-old prospect Emeri Adames. The club now has new ownership and an entire offseason to try and gear up for 2025.
Grade: C+
Utah Royals FC
Utah provided us with the former example of expansion franchises past. Unlike Bay FC, (or even Angel City or Wave FC) the Royals struggled to generate any significant strides toward a playoff spot. Like other expansion franchises before them, it was a pattern of: get into the league, survive, build again.
That's where general manager Kelly Cousins is currently with the Royals. The Utah side can remain hopeful in their selection of top prospect Ally Sentnor, who had a breakout year with Utah and the U-20 USWNT, and they managed to string together wins in the second half of the season and promoted interim Jimmy Coenraets to head coach. It's not enough, but maybe 2025 will bring some surprises.
Grade: D+
Washington Spirit
General manager Mark Krikorian delivered for the Spirit in multiple categories this year. He nailed a head coaching hire in Jonatan Giraldez from FC Barcelona and won the 2024 NWSL Draft when he selected 2024 Rookie and Midfielder of the Year Croix Bethune, and Hal Hershfelt, among others. He also made a splash in free agency by signing league veteran and USWNT defender Casey Krueger.
Adding internationals Leicy Santos and Rosemonde Kouassi were just more upgrades in the march towards a runners-up finish in the 2024 NWSL Championship.
Grade: A
