The 2022 NWSL summer trade window closed on Wednesday, ushering in a roster freeze for the rest of the season and the start of the NWSL’s first free agency period.

As the league and NWSL Players Association clash over the full list of eligible free agents, Just Women’s Sports breaks down each team’s trades, waives and signings from the summer transfer window, dividing them into winning and losing categories in no particular order.

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The trade window closes at the end of the day and several other key dates are rapidly approaching.

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— NWSLPA (@nwsl_players) August 24, 2022

Winners

Houston Dash

The Dash easily top this list. In the last week, they strengthened their backline with the addition of 2021 Defender of the Year Caprice Dydasco, signed Jamaican national team forward Tiernny Wiltshire and acquired Valérie Gauvin from the North Carolina Courage. The forward has scored 17 goals in 37 appearances for the French national team and should help boost a Houston attack that Ebony Salmon has been lighting up since she joined the team via a trade on July 1. After playing sparingly for Racing Louisville this season, Salmon has scored eight goals in eight games with Houston. Despite star forward Rachel Daly leaving for Aston Villa in August, with so many new stars, it’s safe to say the Dash will be fine without her.

Kansas City Current

Cece Kizer has been a game-changer for the Current during their 11-game unbeaten streak. Since joining Kansas City at the end of May, Kizer has scored five goals, making up almost a quarter of the Current’s season total. French national team player and former Lyon midfielder Claire Lavogez has also provided a boost, scoring one goal in the three games she’s played since signing with the team on July 20. Kansas City will have to adjust to life without midfielder Victoria Pickett after trading her to Gotham FC this week, but they have a whopping $200,000 in allocation money and Gotham’s second-highest first-round 2023 draft pick or natural first-round pick to use to their advantage.

Angel City FC

Two words: Sydney Leroux. Acquiring the former U.S. women’s national team forward for a first-round 2024 draft pick and $75,000 allocation money was a big save for Angel City after losing Christen Press to a season-ending injury in June. They also just signed 2022 draft pick Claire Emslie and gained an international spot from OL Reign in exchange for $40,000 in allocation money. Goalkeeper Maia Pérez went on loan to Grand Paris Seine Ouest 92 Issy in France, where she’ll gain valuable experience as a starter while Angel City continues to play current starting keeper DiDi Haračić. Wins all around.

Portland Thorns FC

The first-place Portland Thorns have found their rhythm with the players they have, so there was no need for any major roster shake-ups. They did acquire defender Tegan McGrady from San Diego in exchange for Madison Pogarch in late July. McGrady brings experience after winning the NWSL championship with the Washington Spirit last season.

San Diego Wave FC

After picking up Pogarch from Portland, the Wave signed U.S. youth national team star Jaedyn Shaw, who had previously trained with the Spirit. The 17-year-old wasted no time showcasing her talent, scoring the game-winning goal in her NWSL debut, the only game she’s played with the Wave so far this season.

OL Reign

Like the Dash, the Reign have gone all-in on blockbuster signings this season, acquiring former NWSL MVP Kim Little, Olympic gold medalist Jordyn Huitema and star forward Tobin Heath. The team has yet to turn the additions into results as well as Houston has, but Heath’s impact should increase as she gets more minutes. Huitema has been finding her rhythm, scoring the game-winner in the Reign’s 2-1 Women’s Cup championship victory. On the downside, Little’s contract was only for the summer and the Reign traded Ally Watt, an important player off the bench, to Orlando. But OL Reign’s overall depth should keep them in contention as the playoffs approach.

Jordyn Huitema makes it 2-1! What a finish from the striker. 💥

The ball from Jimena López though. 🥶 pic.twitter.com/VFLS8rL5ok

— Attacking Third (@AttackingThird) August 21, 2022

Neutral

NJ/NY Gotham FC

Gotham would have been a winner on this list after acquiring Taylor Smith and Victoria Pickett, especially given how dominant Smith has been with her two goals and one assist this season, but Caprice Dydasco is a big loss. The team has conceded a league-worst 32 goals this season, and without one of their most consistent players on the backline, they’ll continue to have their work cut out for them.

Orlando Pride

The Pride had a rollercoaster of a summer. While Sydney Leroux, Amy Turner and Angharad James were big, unexpected losses, Orlando also acquired some serious talent. Ally Watt from OL Reign and Haley Hanson from the Dash bring leadership and winning experience that will be important for the young squad. The Pride will hardly miss the second-round pick in the 2023 NWSL Draft and $75,000 in allocation money they gave the Dash in exchange for Hanson because they already have a wealth of draft picks. Thais Reiss and Haley Bugeja are two other young additions with loads of talent.

Losers

Chicago Red Stars

The Red Stars are getting left behind. They dominated the first half of the year to stay near the top of the standings, but as other teams started making moves to boost their rosters, Chicago remained stagnant. Sarah Luebbert returning to the Red Stars from a one-year loan with Club América in Liga MX Femenil has been the biggest change.

North Carolina Courage

From an outside perspective, it appears that head coach Sean Nahas didn’t realize the amount of talent his team had coming into the season. Taylor Smith and Jorian Baucom were waived after hardly getting any playing time with the Courage, but since leaving North Carolina, Smith has scored two goals for Gotham. The Courage also traded Valérie Gauvin, one of the top players in France, to Houston before she got a minute of playing time.

Racing Louisville FC

Louisville lost a big talent when they traded Ebony Salmon to Houston in exchange for $150,000 in allocation money in 2022, with an additional $25,000 in 2023. While head coach Kim Björkegren kept Salmon on the bench, she’s scored eight goals and moved into fourth on the list of scoring leaders since leaving Louisville. The team also traded star forward Cece Kizer and defender Addisyn Merrick to Kansas City and sent Tobin Heath’s rights to OL Reign. On the bright side for Louisville, defender Satara Murray has been a consistent starter after they signed her to a two-year deal.

Washington Spirit

The defending NWSL champions are near the bottom of the league standings and dealing with internal turmoil after head coach Kris Ward was fired following an incident at practice. While they haven’t been far off from winning games since appearing in the Challenge Cup final in May, the Spirit clearly need a spark and they didn’t make any moves before the trade deadline.

Jessa Braun is a contributing writer at Just Women’s Sports covering the NWSL and USWNT. Follow her on Twitter @jessabraun.

The NWSL is expanding its footprint across ESPN, with the broadcaster signing on to carry 16 additional regular-season games in both the 2026 and 2027 seasons, upping the platform's total to 33 matches per year.

ESPN will also introduce a season-long "Match of the Week" centerpiece series, as well as live coverage of NWSL Decision Day, when eight concurrent matches will close out the season on the same day. 

"The NWSL showcases some of the best athletes in the world," ESPN EVP of programming and acquisitions Rosalyn Durant said in a press release. "We are proud to increase our commitment on ABC and ESPN, and to further elevate women's sports and the athlete stories."

This media rights extension builds on the league's ongoing blockbuster four-year, $240 million TV deal with ESPN, adding inventory for the final two seasons of the November 2023 agreement.

The deal expansion comes in light of the league's significant growth this season, with the NWSL seeing gains across both attendance and viewership, including a 72% year-over-year ratings rise on ESPN.

"This supplemental agreement underscores the growing demand for women's soccer and ensures our players and clubs receive the visibility they deserve on some of the most prominent sports platforms," said NWSL commissioner Jessica Berman in a statement.

The 2025 WNBA season is over for Chicago Sky forward Angel Reese, but the 23-year-old star is still making headlines, with Reebok set to drop her signature Angel Reese 1 sneakers on Thursday.

The Angel Reese 1 is a cornerstone of Reebok's re-entry into the basketball market, with the sportswear giant engineering the signature shoe for on-court performance by including features like responsive cushioning and added upper support.

Inspired by the brand's classic Mobius line, the shoes will hit the shelves in three colorways — an iridescent white "Diamond Dust," a bold pink "Mebounds," and a black and white "Receipts Ready" — with Reese's personal logo incorporated into the design.

Reese first signed with Reebok as an NIL athlete at LSU in 2023, a little over six months after winning the NCAA championship with the Tigers.

This week's rollout follows the July sneak peek of the signature sneakers worn by Reese on the cover of NBA 2K26's WNBA Edition.

"This isn't just a shoe, it's my style, my story, and my stamp on the game," Reese said in Reebok's press release. "I wanted to design a basketball shoe that elevates performance, innovation, style, and creative expression, all at once."

"Reebok and I built something that's true to who I am, and I hope it pushes others to stand in their power too."

How to buy the Angel Reese 1 Reebok sneakers

All three colorways of the Angel Reese 1 sneakers will be available for a retail price of $120 beginning at 10 AM ET on Thursday at Reebok.com as well as in select stores.

No. 5 New York Liberty star Breanna Stewart isn't letting Sunday's left knee knock take her off the 2025 WNBA Playoffs court, with the forward planning to compete in Game 2 against the No. 4 Phoenix Mercury on Wednesday night.

An emotional Stewart finished Game 1 on the bench, going down with a knee injury in overtime of the Liberty's 76-69 upset win over the Mercury on Sunday.

"What I felt in that moment scared me more than anything," Stewart told reporters on Wednesday morning.

A Monday MRI revealed a sprained MCL, and though the two-time WNBA MVP did not practice on Tuesday, she participated in the team's Wednesday shootaround and said her pain had diminished to a three out of 10.

"[As long as] I don't wake up from my nap and feel like s—t," said Stewart, "I'm willing to take that [chance of re-injury] because I want to be out with my team, and they told me that structurally everything looks OK."

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Even when the game-day status for Stewart was still unknown, New York Liberty head coach Sandy Brondello promised that the defending champions would give their star "as much time as we can."

"We know what's at stake," Brondello told reporters on Tuesday. "We don't want to go back to Phoenix [for Game 3], but they're going to come in hungry."

Stewart echoed that sentiment on Wednesday morning, saying "We want to finish it here. Not having to go back to Phoenix is our main priority."

How to watch the Phoenix Mercury vs. New York Liberty in Game 2

No. 5 New York will look to oust No. 4 Phoenix from the 2025 WNBA Playoffs with a first-round sweep on Wednesday night, when the Liberty host the Mercury for Game 2 at 8 PM ET.

The matchup will air live on ESPN.

Star sprinter Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone is reaching new heights, setting a new US record for the 400-meter race in the event's Tuesday semifinals at the 2025 World Athletics Championships in Tokyo.

The four-time Olympic gold medalist finished the flat event in 48.29 seconds, shaving more than 0.40 seconds off the previous US record of 48.70 seconds set by track legend Sanya Richards-Ross in 2006.

Both her personal best and the fastest time in the world for that event this year, McLaughlin-Levrone's performance also makes her the seventh-fastest woman of all time in the 400-meter dash — elevating expectations that she could challenge the long-standing world record of 47.60 seconds, set by then-East German sprinter Marita Koch in 1985.

Known for her dominance in the 400-meter hurdles, the 26-year-old made the decision to focus on the flat 400-meter event ahead of this year's competition. 

"I definitely wasn't expecting that time," she said afterwards. "It just shows the fitness is there. I'm excited for the finals and grateful to have taken down a record by an amazing woman."

How to watch McLaughlin-Levrone in the 400-meter final

McLaughlin-Levrone will take aim at the 2025 World Athletics Championships' 400-meter podium — and, perhaps, another record time — during the event's final on Thursday.

The US star will race against 2024 Olympic champion Marileidy Paulino and silver medalist Salwa Eid Naser when the final begins at 9:24 AM ET.

Live coverage will air on USA Network.