Houston Dash head coach James Clarkson was surprised when midfielder Gabby Kessler (formerly Seiler) announced her retirement on Monday.

In a media call Tuesday, as teams opened preseason across the NWSL, Clarkson described the situation as “out of the blue.”

“My head is still spinning to be honest,” he said. “Shocked but can only wish her the best. I hope she’s happy and has a really successful life past soccer.”

The loss of Kessler, who joined the Dash in a trade from the Portland Thorns before the 2021 season, adds to the stinging absence of U.S. women’s national team center midfielder Kristie Mewis. The 30-year-old was selected by San Diego Wave FC in the 2022 expansion draft in December and then immediately traded to NJ/NY Gotham FC.

Evidently, the Dash need to rebuild their midfield, and Clarkson has his hopes set on recent signings María Sánchez and Marisa Viggiano filling that role.

“Bringing in some of the players that we have brought in ideally gives us a different feel, a different look,” he said.

Back in the league of her dreams.

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— Houston Dash (@HoustonDash) January 6, 2022

Having previously spent a month with Houston on loan in June 2021, Sánchez signed a two-year deal with the Dash earlier in January. She arrived from UANL Tigres in Liga MX Femenil, where she scored five goals in three games as Tigres reached the Liga MX final in late December.

Sánchez, who’s also scored five goals in 29 appearances with the Mexican national team, will be an important piece on the left side for Houston.

“That is a major signing for us,” said Clarkson. “I think that is going to continue to help us create goals, score goals and give us a real opportunity of winning.”

“I mean, hopefully I can just do my part,” Sánchez said. “Obviously, I was brought in, looked at for a reason. So hopefully I can just do my part offensively. I know defensively as well, but hopefully be able to get some assists and goals in and participate offensively in what the team needs me to do.” 

On Friday, the Dash announced they had acquired Viggiano from the Orlando Pride in exchange for defender Megan Montefusco (formerly Oyster), $30,000 in allocation money and their natural third-round pick in the 2023 NWSL Draft.

Entering her fourth season in the NWSL, Viggiano is coming off 21 appearances and 14 starts with the Pride in 2021.

“We would have been really light at midfield, so getting Viggiano has been massive for us,” said Clarkson.

Finishing in seventh place with a record of 9-10-5, Houston missed out on the playoffs in 2021, a year after they won the 2020 Challenge Cup and placed second in the Fall Series.  The Dash will need to figure out a plan for their defense if they want to return to the playoffs. Last year, the team let in as many goals as they scored — which is a lot considering Houston was among the top-three scoring teams with 31 goals.

Clarkson said the key to reaching success this season is for players to develop individually, and then collectively, to put “a winning, exciting team on the field.”

It also helps to have a core of three 2020 Olympic gold medalists in Canadians Allysha Chapman (defense), Sophie Schmidt (midfield) and Nichelle Prince (forward). England national team star Rachel Daly was third in the league in scoring last year with nine goals, but did not report to the first day of preseason on Tuesday.

Joining Prince and Daly in the attacking third will be Paulina Gramaglia, on loan from UAI Urquiza for the 2022 season.

“She’s got huge potential,” Clarkson said of the 18-year-old. “We saw some moments of some real quality today. She had a fantastic assist and had a great little run where there was a nutmeg and smashed one off the crossbar. So there’s some good stuff there, and hopefully we can continue to evolve it, push it. Hopefully we can see some big things from this year.”

The Dash are relying heavily on transfers this season. The team is in the process of bringing in two more — one who won’t arrive until the summer and another who will ideally be ready to play before that.

Houston aims to have 22 players on the main roster and four development players. 

“We’ve got the vast majority of the roster sorted,” Clarkson said. “We’ve still got some spaces that we plan to fill over the next couple of weeks.”

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

USWNT and Chelsea FC star Catarina Macario inked a 10-year, $10 million contract with Nike on Tuesday, securing one of the most lucrative sponsorship deals in the women's game.

Macario started her pro career as an Adidas athlete, but swapped brands after battling back from a long-term knee injury to win a domestic treble with WSL side Chelsea this year.

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The Brazilian-born US national is also starring in Nike's "Scary Good" ad campaign, a series of short films that "pay homage to the horror and satire of late-night television with a cast of the game's most dominant attackers."

Other soccer stars joining Macario in the sportswear giant's short film series are Spain's two-time Ballon d'Or winner Alexia Putellas and winger Salma Paralluelo, Brazil's Kerolin, and Germany's Giulia Gwinn, as well as Macario's Chelsea teammate, Australian national Sam Kerr.

"Nike has always been a part of my journey — from Surf to Stanford, to the USWNT and now Chelsea FC," Macario said in Tuesday's press release.

"Now, to be officially with the brand feels incredible. Not only because I get to join a team of football legends that have influenced my style of play since the beginning, but because I believe Nike represents the fearless spirit I try to bring with me every time I step on the pitch."

Women's soccer is blowing up on the sponsorship front, with payouts jumping from Norwegian superstar Ada Hegerberg's $1.1 Nike deal in 2020 to this week's blockbuster Macario signing.

How to watch Macario in her "Scary Good" Nike film

Catarina Macario's "Scary Good" film — dubbed "The Cold-Blooded Clinic" — will drop on July 16th on Nike Football's YouTube channel.

Two-time WNBA champion DeWanna Bonner is coming home, rejoining the Phoenix Mercury after parting ways with the Indiana Fever late last month.

Bonner is back with the team that originally drafted her as the fifth overall pick in 2009, inking a slightly above-minimum prorated veteran contract for the remainder of the 2025 season.

"It's home. I know I'm going to get the love and the support," Bonner said, reuniting with fiancée Alyssa Thomas on the second-place WNBA squad.

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After spending her first 10 seasons with the Mercury, Phoenix traded Bonner to the Sun in February 2020.

The six-time All-Star forward spent five seasons alongside Thomas in Connecticut, helping the Sun to at least the WNBA semifinals in each of those years.

The Fever then signed Bonner as a free agent ahead of the 2025 season, with the 37-year-old later departing the team for personal reasons after just nine games with Indiana.

Bonner missed five games before the the Fever officially waived her on June 25th, as the renewed free agent reportedly eyed a move back to Phoenix.

"We couldn't be more excited to have DeWanna back in a Mercury uniform," Phoenix GM Nick U'Ren said in a statement. "She is a true winner, leader and one of the most talented and versatile players in our game."

Indiana star Caitlin Clark is officially back in action, making her return to the court in Wednesday's Fever clash with Golden State to mark her first WNBA minutes since June 24th.

While the No. 6 Valkyries took the 80-61 win on Wednesday, Clark was able to log 25 minutes as well as put up 10 points, six assists, and five rebounds in her return from injury.

Prior to this season, the 2024 WNBA Rookie of the Year had not missed a game since her sophomore year of high school in 2017.

Wednesday's return capped a five-game stretch with Clark out with a groin strain — the most recent knock to the WNBA sophomore after a quad strain sidelined her for two weeks earlier this season.

"It's obviously hard sitting out and watching for a few weeks, so I'm excited to get out there," the guard told reporters on Tuesday.

While Indiana's loss did not impact their No. 7 spot on the league table, Wednesday's other major matchups could have deeper implications for the WNBA standings:

• No. 1 Minnesota Lynx vs. No. 2 Phoenix Mercury, 3:30 PM ET (WNBA League Pass): The WNBA's top two teams will square off Wednesday afternoon, as a steady Lynx team meets a rejuvenated Mercury hot off a revenge win over Dallas on Monday.

• No. 11 Dallas Wings vs. No. 12 Chicago Sky, 8 PM ET (WNBA League Pass): Young phenoms duke it out as the Sky honor 2021 WNBA champ and new retiree Allie Quigley — and hope to avenge Tuesday’s close loss to Washington by downing the Wings.

The 2025 WNBA All-Star teams are set, as captains Napheesa Collier and Caitlin Clark drafted the 20 other honored players into their final rosters live on ESPN on Tuesday night.

The draft began with the two captains selecting from the eight-player pool of fan-voted starters, before Clark and Collier each chose six athletes from the group of 12 All-Star reserves.

Both the Minnesota forward and the Indiana guard prioritized selecting their WNBA teammates, with Collier successfully grabbing Lynx guard Courtney Williams as one of her reserves while Clark's first picks in each category were fellow Fever players in starter Aliyah Boston and reserve player Kelsey Mitchell.

Collier also decided to keep her fellow UConn Huskies close, tapping alums Breanna Stewart and Paige Bueckers for her starting lineup — though she failed to pull off a trade for third alum Gabby Williams.

"I tried 😭 they didn't show that part lol," the Lynx star posted to X after the draft, referencing her attempt to roster Williams.

While Collier's strategy was to snag current and former teammates, as well as players with whom she has Unrivaled or collegiate ties, Clark approached the draft with less of a plan.

"I'm going on vibes. I'm picking whatever comes to mind. We're just having fun," joked Clark, promising "my team is going to be fun."

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All-Star draft's lone trade sees head coach swap

Despite a handful of trade offers, the only swap of the Tuesday draft didn't end up involving players at all, as the All-Star leaders agreed to switch head coaches.

Coaching assignments follow fan votes and team records, with the top All-Star vote-getter paired with the coach of the league's No. 1 team, while the No. 2 team coach leads the squad captained by the player who garnered the second-most votes.

As such, Minnesota head coach Cheryl Reeve was initially assigned to Team Clark, with Collier's squad led by New York boss Sandy Brondello.

Following both Collier's strategy of prior connections and, perhaps, Clark's emphasis on vibes, the pair agreed to switch sideline leaders, keeping the Lynx lineup together and sending the reigning WNBA champion to helm Clark's crew.

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The 2025 WNBA All-Star Game rosters

Team Clark:

• Starters: Aliyah Boston (Indiana), Sabrina Ionescu (New York), A'ja Wilson (Las Vegas), Satou Sabally (Phoenix)
• Reserves: Kelsey Mitchell (Indiana), Gabby Williams (Seattle), Sonia Citron (Washington), Kiki Iriafen (Washington), Jackie Young (Las Vegas), Kayla Thornton (Golden State)
• Head coach: Sandy Brondello (New York)

Team Collier:

• Starters: Breanna Stewart (New York), Allisha Gray (Atlanta), Nneka Ogwumike (Seattle), Paige Bueckers (Dallas)
• Reserves: Courtney Williams (Minnesota), Skylar Diggins (Seattle), Angel Reese (Chicago), Alyssa Thomas (Phoenix), Kelsey Plum (LA), Rhyne Howard (Atlanta)
• Head coach: Cheryl Reeve (Minnesota)

How to watch the 2025 WNBA All-Star Game

Team Collier and Team Clark will square off in the 2025 WNBA All-Star Game in Indianapolis at 8:30 PM ET on July 19th.

Live coverage of the game will air on ABC.