USWNT head coach Emma Hayes dropped ​her first roster of 2025 today, tapping 26 players for this month's week-long January camp ahead of February's SheBelieves Cup.

The camp takes place outside an official FIFA international window. Subsequently, the roster was limited to athletes who play their club soccer Stateside.

In a look to the future, Hayes invited 13 players with three or fewer caps, including six uncapped players.

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Star forwards Mallory Swanson, Trinity Rodman, and Sophia Smith — AKA Triple Espresso — were left off to continue their offseason rest and recovery efforts. Midfielder Rose Lavelle was also sidelined after a recent ankle surgery.

After missing a series of fall friendlies, defender Crystal Dunn returns to camp. She is the roster's most experienced player with 155 caps. 

This year's opening training camp will run from January 14th to 21st at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, California.

USWNT Futures Camp focuses on player development

January's lineup will train alongside a 24-player Futures Camp of young US prospects. The twin camps promote cross-collaboration and development as well as provide in-person scouting opportunities for Hayes and her staff.

"I almost feel like we've had a little bit of a lost generation that might not have had some of the exposures that some of the top nations [have]," Hayes said. "We can't wholeheartedly just rely on domestic play."

"This is really the last window where I expect that I would have seen the vast majority of the playing pool," she added.

The Futures Camp roster is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, January 8th.

Hayes talks whirlwind USWNT tenure

"I'm doing the job the other way around," Hayes said of her brief tenure. "I had 75 days then Olympics, and now I'm getting the opportunity to build the program and develop the playing pool."

Hayes officially joined the team in May 2024. Since then, the USWNT remain unbeaten, with a record of 13-0-2 across all competitions.

2024 was a big year for Hayes outside of her national team duties, too. In addition to her Olympic gold medal, the coach's sideline efforts were recognized with several major awards, including the Best FIFA Women’s Coach of the Year for 2024 and the 2024 Ballon d’Or for Women's Soccer Coach of the Year.

USWNT January camp roster by position (club; caps/goals)

GOALKEEPERS: Angelina Anderson (Angel City FC; 0), Claudia Dickey (Seattle Reign FC; 0), Mandy McGlynn (Utah Royals; 1), Casey Murphy (North Carolina Courage; 20)

DEFENDERS: Tierna Davidson (NJ/NY Gotham FC; 65/3), Crystal Dunn (NJ/NY Gotham FC; 155/25), Naomi Girma (San Diego Wave FC; 44/2), Alyssa Malonson (Bay FC; 1/0), Tara McKeown (Washington Spirit; 0/0), Jenna Nighswonger (NJ/NY Gotham FC; 18/2), Emily Sams (Orlando Pride; 2/0), Emily Sonnett (NJ/NY Gotham FC; 103/2), Ryan Williams (North Carolina Courage; 0/0)

MIDFIELDERS: Sam Coffey (Portland Thorns FC; 28/1), Savannah DeMelo (Racing Louisville FC; 7/0), Hal Hershfelt (Washington Spirit; 3/0), Nealy Martin (NJ/NY Gotham FC; 0/0), Ashley Sanchez (North Carolina Courage; 28/3), Ally Sentnor (Utah Royals; 2/0), Jaedyn Shaw (San Diego Wave FC; 21/8)

FORWARDS: Ashley Hatch (Washington Spirit; 22/5), Emma Sears (Racing Louisville FC; 3/1), Ella Stevens (NJ/NY Gotham FC; 0/0), Alyssa Thompson (Angel City FC; 13/1), Morgan Weaver (Portland Thorns FC; 2/0), Lynn Williams (Seattle Reign FC; 75/21)

US swimming icon Katie Ledecky is back on top, earning her 22nd world title with a gold medal-winning 1,500-meter freestyle performance at the 2025 World Aquatics Championships on Tuesday.

Finishing with a time of 15:26.44, Ledecky now owns 25 of the top 26 times in the event's history and holds six World Aquatics Championships titles at that distance.

"Each one has meaning, and I love every race that I've had at Worlds over the years," the 28-year-old swimming star told broadcasters following her Tuesday victory.

That 22nd title brought Ledecky's combined Worlds total to an overall 28 medals, lifting the star to second on the all-time most decorated list where she trails only retired US men's star Michael Phelps's 33 podium finishes.

Earlier in the week, the Team USA standout took bronze in the 400-meter freestyle, coming in third behind China's silver-medalist Li Bingjie and Canadian sensation Summer McIntosh, who won the race with a time of 3:56.26.

Gold medals have been hard to come by for Team USA at this year's World Championships.

Other than Ledecky's win and the 100-meter butterfly title snagged by Gretchen Walsh on Monday, the US women have struggled to claim gold medals as they push to recover from the acute gastroenteritis that hit several team members at their pre-meet training camp in Thailand.

That stomach bug inhibited multiple US swimmers from traveling with the team to the Singapore meet, and saw contenders like 100-meter butterfly Olympic gold medalist Torri Huske pull out of initial heats.

"We're taking it a day at a time," said Team USA head coach Greg Meehan about the impact of the illness. "Obviously, this is not how we thought the first few days of this competition would go. But I'm really proud of our team."

How to watch Ledecky at the 2025 World Aquatics Championships

The 2025 World Aquatics Championships runs through Sunday, and US star Ledecky has two events left to swim at the meet.

On Thursday, she'll compete in the 4x200-meter freestyle relay, before facing another showdown with rival McIntosh in the 800-meter freestyle on Saturday.

Preliminary heats kick off the night before at 10 PM ET, with finals seeing staggered starts beginning at 7 AM ET.

Live coverage of the meet airs on Peacock.

UEFA Women's Euro 2025 made a splash across the pond, drawing an average of 458,000 US viewers per match across FOX platforms to mark a 97% viewership increase over the 2022 edition — making this year's tournament the most-watched English-language Women's Euro on record.

Building off the 2025 competition's previously reported record-breaking numbers, Sunday's grand finale between defending champs England and 2023 World Cup winners Spain averaged 1.35 million US viewers — a 53% increase in viewership over the last Women's Euro championship match.

Even more, the broadcast ultimately peaked at 1.92 million fans tuning in, making it the most-watched English-language Women's Euro Final on record.

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The historic viewership is a major win for broadcaster FOX, who secured the women's tournament's first-ever US media deal back in May.

Initially committing to live coverage of 20 of the tournament's matches, record returns motivated the broadcast giant to quickly pivot and air all 31 matches live as part of its FOX Sports Summer of Soccer campaign.

"More and more people are tuning in to watch soccer in the US," FOX Sports commentator and UWSNT vet Carli Lloyd told The Athletic. "There's just been an incredible amount of soccer on display, which has been fantastic for the sport."

As the NWSL preps for this weekend's return from an extended summer break, No. 4 Washington Spirit star forward Trinity Rodman is also hoping to re-take the pitch for the first time since April.

Rodman is currently back training with the team, rejoining her club after undergoing extended treatment overseas for chronic back issues.

"I'd never really dealt with something like that," Rodman admitted after an open practice earlier this week. "So, for me, mentally, it was very difficult."

"[I was] trying to function through pain, and kind of gaslight myself to thinking it was fine every day, when it wasn't," she said. "I can now kind of openly say, I was in pain all the time."

Rodman also admits that stepping away was, though difficult, the right call to make for her healing.

"Obviously, it sucks being away from the team and being away from soccer in general," she added. "But I got to work on things that I wouldn't have gotten to work on if I was in the team environment all the time, so I think that was a positive."

Rodman's availability fluctuated after she earned an Olympic gold medal with the USWNT in Paris last summer, with the soccer superstar featuring in just four Spirit games this season — and none since stepping away in April.

Now functioning pain-free, Rodman's next on-pitch challenge is balancing her competitive intensity with her newly found health.

"It's really understanding my body and acknowledging [when] it's in pain," she explained. "And not pushing through things that I shouldn't."

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Rodman eyes new contract amid NWSL return

On top of navigating her return to play, Rodman is also actively negotiating with the Washington Spirit for a contract renewal.

Her current deal expires at the end of 2025, and with interest in the US standout reportedly mounting from overseas clubs, the 23-year-old could eventually field multiple offers.

Considering her lack of minutes so far this season, the star called the assumed interest "a weird situation."

"I'm trying not to stress about it or put too much pressure on it," she said of the ongoing talks. "At the end of the day, I'm worried about health first.... Everything else can come next."

Wednesday's WNBA bill puts a heavyweight battle in the spotlight, as 2024 finalists and 2025 league leaders Minnesota will host reigning champion No. 2 New York in their first face-off of the season — with the Liberty hoping to rattle both the Lynx and the standings.

"I think common sense would say that those two teams probably should have played earlier in the season," Minnesota head coach Cheryl Reeve told media this week, referencing the apparent scheduling idiosyncrasies that delayed the championship rematch.

"It doesn't feel like a Finals rematch anymore, honestly," Lynx forward Napheesa Collier echoed. "It's a new year for us. And it's been so long, it's almost August, so it's just the two top teams going against each other."

Both squads enter the clash on uncharacteristic skids, as Minnesota and New York look to avenge recent losses while other WNBA teams jockey for positioning during the league's Wednesday night slate:

• No. 3 Phoenix Mercury vs. No. 6 Indiana Fever, 7 PM ET (ESPN3): The Fever must continue to contend without injured star guard Caitlin Clark, as Indiana faces a newly healthy Mercury side striving to steal back the No. 2 spot with a win.

• No. 5 Atlanta Dream vs. No. 11 Dallas Wings, 8 PM ET (ESPN3): After a disappointing Tuesday upset loss, the will Dream close out a back-to-back against a bolstered Dallas squad fresh off a big victory over New York.

• No. 2 New York Liberty vs. No. 1 Minnesota Lynx, 8 PM ET (ESPN): With a four-game lead in the standings, the Lynx aren't in danger of giving up their perch at the top, but a strong performance from the Liberty could provide a much-needed boost to the ailing title-holders.