The San Diego Wave have signed 18-year-old forward Jaedyn Shaw to a new multi-year contract through the 2026 season. Similar to new deals for goalkeeper Kailen Sheridan and defender Naomi Girma, San Diego offered Shaw the NWSL’s maximum three-year extension, with an additional option year that has already been mutually exercised.

“At just 18, Jaedyn has proven to be one of the best in the league, and we’re excited to help her develop both on and off the field,” Wave head coach Casey Stoney said in a team release. “Her vision and ability on the ball is some of the best I’ve seen in the game and she’s yet to even hit her ceiling.

“This contract is well-deserved for Jaedyn and absolutely thrilled to have her here in San Diego.”

For Shaw, the extension reflects just how much San Diego has become home. The teenager joined the Wave in the middle of the 2022 season, after waiting for a now-defunct discovery process tailored toward players under the age of 18. Upon her arrival as a 17-year-old, she immediately began contributing, scoring just 28 minutes into her professional debut.

“Being in the city and the environment, I feel like I just have fun and it’s something that I can enjoy whether or not I’m playing well necessarily,” Shaw tells Just Women’s Sports.

This season, Shaw has taken on an even greater role, slotting in on the wings and as an underlying playmaker depending on the opposition. In 15 games played, she has scored four goals (trailing only Alex Morgan) and registered one assist for San Diego.

JAEDYN SHAW IS THE TRUTH 😱pic.twitter.com/SRJ7F1LwcL

— San Diego Wave FC (@sandiegowavefc) March 26, 2023

Joining the Wave last year presented more than a few unknowns for the teenager, not least of which was her move to California.

“Coming from Texas, you’re not the biggest fan of California in general,” she says with a laugh. “So I kind of had a little bit of stereotypical things in my mind when I moved here. But when I got here I was like, ‘Oh my god, the people are so nice. The city is amazing.’’

Shaw is a big fan of the beach (though not of sand, she admits). She also has the benefit of her family making a home for itself in the city and providing a support system that allows her to focus on developing as a soccer player.

That foundation is the base upon which Shaw has continued to push herself, and it’s no surprise that a player willing to make the jump to the professional level at 17 is open about her desire to play soccer on the biggest stages.

“I feel like for me, a lot of it is just getting on the national team,” she says. “I feel like I have had that goal in the back of my mind for a while now, and seeing them giving chances to younger players, I feel like I’m just right there. And I just need to continue to play how I know how, and I’ll get my chance soon enough.”

Shaw has already found success at the USWNT youth levels, earning U.S. Soccer Young Female Player of the Year honors in 2022. To compete for a spot on the senior team in the foreseeable future, Shaw knows she needs to embrace high standards while not losing the aspects of her game that make her so special. She has honed that balanced approach within the Wave’s competitive environment.

“I grew up with coaches that were hard on me, and my mom is hard on me,” she says. “And that’s something that I think just helps me grow. Not necessarily that Casey is hard on me, but I just think that her standards set the bar, and allow me to come into training and, yes, make mistakes, but also be in an environment where I can grow and learn and be my best self every day.”

Shaw is a competitor, who jokes she’d be out on the field practicing two or three times a day if the training staff would allow her. She has both a desire to learn from those around her and a clear, confident sense of self, as she aspires to become part of the legacy of the USWNT’s creative attackers.

“I want to be the only Jaedyn Shaw, of course. I don’t want to emulate anyone play by play,” she says. “I just am really blessed to be able to play with players like Kailen and [Sofia Jakobsson] and Alex [Morgan] … They’re someone that I, yes, learn things from, but I also compete with them daily, and it’s something that I truly enjoy.”

With top international players away at the Word Cup, Shaw has felt herself step into more of a vocal leadership role, setting the stage for her next steps as a professional. She’s also been catching World Cup matches on TV when she can.

The Wave have hit a bit of a rough patch with those players away, dropping three straight Challenge Cup matches and sitting sixth in the regular season standings.

But with adversity comes growth, Shaw says.

“Just kind of throwing age out the window and stepping up to whatever role I am put into, or I put myself into,” she says. “I feel like when things aren’t going your way, you need somebody to step up to be a leader, whether it’s vocally or just making things happen on the field.”

She’ll be making things happen in San Diego for years to come. For now, the goal is to bring an NWSL championship to the city at home — “Of course, I want to be NWSL champion like, hello!” she says — with Snapdragon Stadium the host of this year’s championship game.

“With Snapdragon, there’s always a big crowd. And if it’s a smaller crowd, they are loud,” she says. “So I feel like this championship is going to be absolutely insane.”

Claire Watkins is a Staff Writer at Just Women’s Sports. Follow her on Twitter @ScoutRipley.

USWNT stalwart Alex Morgan will miss at least one week of NWSL action after suffering a left ankle knock in her last club appearance, Wave manager Casey Stoney said on Thursday.

Morgan was helped off the field after rolling her ankle in the later stages of the Wave’s 1-0 loss to the Orlando Pride last weekend, despite the San Diego side being out of available substitutes.

“She's got an ankle injury and she's out for this weekend, and then it'll be week by week from there,” Stoney said, confirming that Morgan’s been ruled out for Saturday’s showdown with NWSL newcomer Bay FC.

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Depending on its severity, Morgan’s ankle issue might have larger ramifications than missing a few weeks of NSWL play. Morgan was added to the team's Gold Cup roster after an ACL injury sidelined young striker Mia Fishel, and she's since made a number of USWNT starts in the team's Gold Cup and SheBelieves wins. A long-term injury could potentially derail the center forward’s Olympic plans.

With her return timeline uncertain, it's possible the injury could also impact Morgan's ability to participate in new head coach Emma Hayes' first U.S. friendlies in June and July.

Morgan's injury concerns aren't uncommon in the U.S. player pool, but add a sense of urgency as Hayes eyes the NWSL for top-performing players in the upcoming weeks. Gotham's Tierna Davidson and Rose Lavelle have also been dealing with injuries: Lavelle has yet to appear for Gotham, while Davidson exited last weekend's match early with a hamstring injury.

Gotham has yet to issue an update concerning Davidson's status.

This week, legendary Brazilian superstar Marta announced that she’ll retire from the national team at the end of 2024.

In an interview with CNN Esportes published Thursday, the iconic footballer confirmed that she would be hanging up her boots regardless of whether or not she ends up making Brazil's 18-player roster for the 2024 Paris Olympics. 

“If I go to the Olympics, I will enjoy every moment, because regardless of whether I go to the Olympics or not, this is my last year with the national team,” she said. “There is no longer Marta in the national team as an athlete from 2025 onwards.”

Marta will retire as a giant of the women's game, having appeared in five Olympics and multiple World Cups. When discussing her retirement, she stressed confidence in the rising generation of Brazilian players, noting that she was, “very calm about this, because I see with great optimism this development that we are having in relation to young athletes." 

The statement echoes back to a plea she made during the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup after Brazil lost to France 2-1 in the Round of 16. “It's wanting more. It's training more. It's taking care of yourself more. It's being ready to play 90 plus 30 minutes. This is what I ask of the girls,” she said then, addressing the young players following in her footsteps. 

In 2023, she signaled a farewell to World Cup competition with the same sentiment, telling media, “We ask the new generation to continue where we left off.”

If selected for the 2024 Olympic team, Marta has a shot at extending her own consecutive-scoring record with the ability to score in an unbelievable sixth-straight Olympic Games. She currently stands as Brazil’s top goalscorer, racking up 116 career goals in 175 matches, as well as the leading goalscorer in any World Cup, women’s or men’s, with 17 to her name. 

Marta will continue to play for the NWSL’s Orlando Pride through at least the end of 2024. The longtime forward and club captain has already contributed to multiple goals this season.

U.S. Soccer announced Tuesday that the USWNT will play their last home game on July 16th in the lead-up to the 2024 Summer Olympic Games in Paris.

The 2024 Send-Off Match against Costa Rica will take place at Washington, DC’s Audi Field — home to both the Washington Spirit and DC United — at 7:30 p.m. ET on Tuesday, July 16th. The friendly rounds out a four-game Olympic run-up campaign under incoming head coach Emma Hayes’ side, with the last two set to feature the finalized 2024 U.S. Olympic Women’s Soccer Team roster.

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Hayes will appear on the USWNT sideline for the first time this June, helming the team as they embark on a two-game series against Korea Republic hosted by Dick’s Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City, Colorado on June 1st followed by Allianz Stadium in St. Paul, Minnesota on June 4th. 

The team is then scheduled to meet a talented Mexico squad on July 13th at Gotham FC’s Red Bull Arena in Harrison, New Jersey, where the Olympic-bound lineup will attempt to rewrite February’s shocking 2-0 loss to El Tri Femenil in the group stages of this year’s Concacaf W Gold Cup. And while clear roster favorites have emerged from both of this year’s Gold Cup and SheBelives Cup rosters, a spate of recent and recurring injuries means making it to the Olympics is still largely anyone’s game.

Broadcast and streaming channels for the USWNT's final July 16th friendly at Audi Field include TNT, truTV, Universo, Max, and Peacock.

The USA Basketball Women's National Team is still considering Caitlin Clark for a spot on the Paris Olympics squad, says selection committee chair Jennifer Rizzotti. 

On Monday, Rizzotti told the AP that the committee will be evaluating the college phenom’s Olympic prospects by keeping a close eye on her first few weeks of WNBA play with Indiana.

The move is somewhat unconventional. While Clark was invited to participate in the 14-player national team training camp held earlier this month — the last camp before Team USA’s roster drops — she was unable to attend due to it coinciding with Iowa’s trip to the NCAA Women’s Final Four.

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Judging by the immense talent spread throughout the league in what might be their most hyped season to date, competition for a piece of the Olympic pie could be fiercer than ever before.

"You always want to introduce new players into the pool whether it's for now or the future," said Rizzotti. "We stick to our principles of talent, obviously, positional fit, loyalty and experience. It's got to be a combination of an entire body of work. It's still not going to be fair to some people."

Of course, Clark isn’t the first rookie the committee has made exceptions for. Coming off an exceptional college season that saw her averaging 19.4 points, 8.7 rebounds, and 4 assists per game for UConn, Breanna Stewart was tapped to represent the U.S. at the 2016 Olympics in Brazil less than two weeks after being drafted No. 1 overall by the Seattle Storm. Eight years prior, fellow No. 1 pick Candace Parker punched her ticket to the 2008 Games in Beijing just two weeks after making her first appearance for the L.A. Sparks.

In the lead-up to Paris’ Opening Ceremony on July 26th, USA Basketball Women’s National Team is scheduled to play a pair of exhibition games. They'll first go up against the WNBA's finest at the July 20th WNBA All-Star Game in Phoenix before facing Germany in London on July 23rd.

While an official roster announcement date hasn’t yet been issued, players won’t find out if they’ve made this year’s Olympic cut until at least June 1st.