USWNT manager Emma Hayes announced the roster for three upcoming October friendlies against world No. 13 Iceland and No. 33 Argentina on Thursday, tapping both new and familiar faces for the No. 1 US squad. 

To provide more opportunities and to manage minutes and rest, Hayes increased the training camp to 26 players, though only 23 will dress for each friendly.

With this international window functioning as the team's Olympic gold medal victory tour, every 2024 Olympian automatically earned a roster call-up.

Of the 22 Paris Games players, 18 feature on the October roster. Missing stars Tierna Davidson, Trinity Rodman, and Croix Bethune are currently sidelined with injury, while Crystal Dunn is out with a personal commitment.

Hayes eyes USWNT's future with fresh faces

Youth is the name of the USWNT's October roster game. Just five players are at least 30 years old, three are still teenagers, and 14 have less than 20 senior team appearances. Six have yet to log time in a senior national team match.

The tactical Hayes, whose gold-medal victory was only her 10th match at the USWNT's helm, is known for planning ahead. In line with that, her choice to leverage this trio of friendlies to give potential 2027 World Cup players international experience is unsurprising.

With a "futures camp" already on the books to run concurrently with January's senior team camp, Hayes aims to identify even more top players in the USWNT's pipeline.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Just Women’s Sports (@justwomenssports)

Club play is paramount in USWNT camp invites

Hayes's recent NWSL tour is reflected in her October roster. After impressing in NWSL play this season, three players — defender Alyssa Malonson (Bay FC) and forwards Yazmeen Ryan (Gotham) and Emma Sears (Louisville) — earned their first call-ups.

"The new players coming into camp that weren't part of the Olympic roster are all players who have performed well throughout the NWSL season," Hayes commented on Thursday.

"The importance of what you're doing week in, week out, at the club level, it absolutely matters because you have to perform consistently, or you have to be in environments where you're challenging yourselves every day. That's the big message for me."

Consistently stellar NWSL performances are also why NC Courage midfielder Ashley Sanchez and her 2023 World Cup teammate Alyssa Thompson will return to camp after both failed to make the Olympic cut.

Thompson, in particular, has found her stride with Angel City in recent months. After a goal-scoring drought in the first half of the NWSL season, the 19-year-old forward has notched five goals and one assist over her last eight matches.

Ultimately, this roster — and likely, Hayes's future training camp selections — is a mining mission to find the cream of the incredibly deep US crop of talent.

"I say it privately more than I do publicly," explained the USWNT boss. "The US could quite easily put two teams out."

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Just Women’s Sports (@justwomenssports)

October's USWNT roster

• Goalkeepers: Jane Campbell (Houston Dash), Casey Murphy (NC Courage), Alyssa Naeher (Chicago Red Stars)
• Defenders: Emily Fox (Arsenal), Eva Gaetino (Paris Saint-Germain), Naomi Girma (San Diego Wave), Casey Krueger (Washington Spirit), Hailie Mace (KC Current), Alyssa Malonson (Bay FC), Jenna Nighswonger (Gotham FC), Emily Sams (Orland Pride), Emily Sonnett (Gotham FC)
• Midfielders: Korbin Albert (Paris Saint-Germain), Sam Coffey (Portland Thorns), Hal Hershfelt (Washington Spirit), Lindsey Horan (Olympique Lyon), Rose Lavelle (Gotham FC), Olivia Moultrie (Portland Thorns), Ashley Sanchez (NC Courage)
• Forwards: Yazmeen Ryan (Gotham FC), Emma Sears (Racing Louisville), Jaedyn Shaw (San Diego Wave), Sophia Smith (Portland Thorns), Mallory Swanson (Chicago Red Stars), Alyssa Thompson (Angel City), Lynn Williams (Gotham FC)

How to watch the USWNT's October friendlies

The USWNT will play twice against Iceland, first in Austin, Texas, on October 24th at 7:30 PM ET, airing on TBS.

Their second match, featuring celebrations for retiring defender Kelley O'Hara and forward Mal Swanson's 100 caps, will take place in Nashville, Tennessee, on October 27th at 5:30 PM ET. Live coverage will air on TNT.

The USWNT will close this international window in Louisville, Kentucky, against Argentina on October 30th. After honoring midfielder Rose Lavelle for her 100th USWNT appearance, the match will kick off at 7 PM ET, also on TNT.

The road to the College Cup begins this weekend, as the 2025 NCAA Division I women's soccer tournament kicks off with a stacked first-round field on Friday.

The strength of the ACC again leads the charge with three of the 64-team bracket's four top seeds hailing from the conference.

Snagging the overall No. 1 seed is Stanford, with the Cardinal outlasting fellow NCAA top-seed Notre Dame in a penalty shootout to claim their first-ever ACC tournament title last weekend.

Joining the Cardinal and Fighting Irish in the remaining No. 1 spots are the ACC's Virginia Cavaliers and the SEC-leading Vanderbilt Commodores.

Meanwhile, the 2025 tournament's No. 2 seeds — Michigan State, TCU, Duke, and Georgetown — are gearing up to play spoiler, with other underdogs also lurking throughout the bracket.

Already eyeing future upsets are four-time national champions and No. 3-seed Florida State, No. 4-seed and Big Ten champion Washington, and undefeated mid-major dark horse Memphis, who enters the 2025 field as a No. 7 seed.

The ACC's on-pitch dominance also sees defending champion North Carolina in an unfamiliar position, entering the 2025 NCAA tournament unseeded after the 22-time title-winners finished seventh in the conference behind a 12-6 overall and 6-4 ACC season record.

How to watch the 2025 NCAA soccer tournament

The 2025 NCAA women's soccer tournament kicks off with 32 first-round matches across Friday and Saturday, all on ESPN+.

The action begins with unseeded Ohio State taking on No. 8-seed Georgia at 3 PM ET, live on ESPN+.

Two USWNT legends are seeing their legacies cemented, as the National Soccer Hall of Fame announced on Thursday that retired forwards Tobin Heath and Heather O'Reilly are first-ballot inductees as members of the Class of 2026.

Both Heath and O'Reilly retired as World Cup champions and Olympic medalists, winning their 2008 and 2012 Olympic golds as well as their 2015 World Cup title as teammates.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Just Women’s Sports (@justwomenssports)

The USWNT icons led all voting on the Hall of Fame's Player Ballot of 20 finalists, which only allots two to three athletes per annual class for induction.

O'Reilly snagged 47 of the 48-person selection committee's votes, with Heath earning 45 nods for inclusion.

Fellow former USWNT star Sam Mewis finished fifth on the ballot with 32 votes in her first year of eligibility, while longtime NWSL and USWNT player Amy Rodriguez came in seventh with 28 votes.

Longtime Seattle Reign defender Stephanie Cox — a 2008 Olympic gold medalist with the USWNT — also snagged votes, ranking 15th on the Class of 2026 Player Ballot.

Though they fell short of making the cut, a trio of former USWNT stars also earned votes on the 10-finalist Veteran Ballot, with longtime midfielder-turned-broadcaster Aly Wagner as well as legendary '99ers Tiffany Roberts and Lorrie Fair all snagging tallies.

The National Soccer Hall of Fame will induct Heath and O'Reilly as part of its six-person Class of 2026 in a ceremony at Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas, on May 1st.

Orlando Pride captain and Brazil legend Marta is back in the spotlight, topping the 2025 shortlist for the second-annual FIFA Marta Award — the women's goal-of-the-year prize established in her honor in 2024.

The 39-year-old attacking midfielder took home the inaugural trophy at the Best FIFA Football Awards ceremony last December, earning the title for a stellar long-range shot that helped lift Brazil over Jamaica 4-0 in a June 2024 friendly.

Marta's 2025 nomination, however, comes from an iconic goal in club play, with the FIFA Award spotlighting the Orlando game-winner against Kansas City in the 2024 NWSL semifinals — a goal that saw the Pride star force four Current players to the ground with her footwork.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Just Women’s Sports (@justwomenssports)

Marta has steep competition for this year's trophy, however, with 10 other goal nominees including a viral scorpion kick by former Tigres UANL star Lizbeth Ovalle, Seattle Reign defender Jordyn Bugg's long-range missile against the North Carolina Courage, forward Ally Sentnor's first-ever USWNT goal at the 2025 SheBelieves Cup, and more.

How to vote for the 2025 FIFA Marta Award

Holding 50% of the vote, fans can view and rank their top three goals of 2025 until voting closes on December 3rd.

Voting for the second-ever Marta Award winner is now open at FIFA.com.

South Carolina and USC are bringing fireworks to the 2025/26 NCAA basketball court this weekend, as the No. 2 Gamecocks take on the No. 8 Trojans in "The Real SC" showdown on Saturday.

Both standout programs enter the matchup undefeated in early-season play, with the Trojans touting a Top-10 win after narrowly edging out No. 10 NC State 69-68 last weekend.

"You don't know exactly what you have until you're put in these situations, which is why we schedule them," USC head coach Lindsay Gottlieb said about the upcoming clash. "And I think it's a chance for us to redefine our identity a little bit."

South Carolina's depth will likely test the new-look Trojans, as USC aims to solidify their identity with star JuJu Watkins sidelined with injury for the season.

That said, freshman Jazzy Davidson is giving the Trojans new life, with the No. 1 high school recruit co-leading the team in scoring with 17.5 points per game.

South Carolina, however, has seen early dividends from familiar faces, as sophomore Joyce Edwards leads the Gamecocks in scoring at 18.3 points per game, with high-profile transfer Ta'Niya Latson close behind with a 16.3 point average.

How to watch USC vs. South Carolina in the "The Real SC" NCAA game

No. 8 USC will welcome No. 2 South Carolina to LA's Crypto.com Arena for the inaugural "Real SC" game on Saturday.

The clash will tip off at 9 PM ET, with live coverage airing on FOX.