The problem with picking a starting goalkeeper for the U.S. women’s national team is this: There might not be a deeper or more talented position pool from which to choose.

Alyssa Naeher has held the starting spot since before the 2019 World Cup. But the 35-year-old was left off the national team roster for the last camp of 2023 in favor of giving other goalkeepers some looks. That’s not unusual and is in fact a good sign for the team, which will have the opportunity to evaluate its options as the coaching staff plans for the 2024 Olympics.

Still, Naeher’s absence does beg the question: Who is the future at goalkeeper? Just Women’s Sports is taking a look at who could be next in line.

One note: Left off this list is Aubrey Kingsbury. While the Washington Spirit starter has proved herself as a viable USWNT backup, the 32-year-old is only three years younger than Naeher. If the national team is looking for its next long-term starter, it is a little more difficult to make the argument for Kingsbury over the names on this list.

Casey Murphy

Murphy, 27, already is an experienced USWNT backup who now has one World Cup under her belt. She also has experience starting for the USWNT, having made 16 total appearances in goal, 12 of which were shutouts. She has not conceded a goal in her three starts so far in 2023.

On top of being a reliable option for the USWNT, Murphy also is the starting goalkeeper for the NWSL’s North Carolina Courage. She was among the league’s best goalkeepers in 2023, conceding just 20 goals in 20 starts and holding a 74.2 save percentage, good for seventh in the league. Her nine clean sheets in 2023 ranked first in the NWSL, her second time topping the league in clean sheets in three years.

Murphy also has some international experience, having played for Montpellier in France’s Division 1 Féminine. Murphy’s international experience, combined with her standout performance in club play, make her a compelling candidate for taking over the starting spot when Naeher eventually steps away.

Phallon Tullis-Joyce

If there is one player who could fit under the new-look USWNT squad led by new coach Emma Hayes, it’s Phallon Tullis-Joyce.

The 27-year-old departed OL Reign in 2023 for Manchester United, which is also home to World Cup Golden Glove winner Mary Earps. Earps is rumored to be departing Manchester United at the end of the Women’s Super League season, which could set up Tullis-Joyce to step into the starting spot for one of England’s best clubs.

Tullis-Joyce already is a top-notch keeper, having finished her time with OL Reign with 47 appearances, 135 saves and 15 clean sheets. She holds the club record for most clean sheets in regular season play with 13, and she ranks third on the club’s all-time regular-season saves list (110). In 2022, she ranked first in the NWSL in clean sheets (9), save percentage (81.3) and goals against per 90 (0.86). She also ranked fourth in saves and third in clean sheet percentage.

While she struggled to start the 2023 NW season relative to her 2022 performance, the move to Manchester United could prove beneficial for Tullis-Joyce and for the USWNT. Under Hayes, it’s likely that international club experience will be valued highly. After all, much has been made about the changes in the international game and how the USWNT’s players need to change with it.

A goalkeeper who has experience playing against some of the world’s best players in Europe (and keep in mind Tullis-Joyce also played professionally in France) could prove vital, especially as the 27-year-old takes this season to play under one of the best goalkeepers in the game in Earps.

Jane Campbell

The 2023 NWSL Goalkeeper of the Year, Campbell has been playing her way back into consideration for the USWNT. And she was given that chance this month, as she was named to the national team roster for the December friendlies against China.

Campbell’s NWSL season was an outstanding one for the Houston Dash, with the keeper making a league-leading 93 saves and recording eight shutouts all while boasting an astounding 0.83 goals against average in 22 games played. She also conceded the fewest goals (18), even though she ranked third in the league in shots on target faced (108).

With Campbell in net, the Dash came within one goal of the NWSL record for fewest goals conceded in a season. (The record of 17 was set by the North Carolina Courage in 2017 and matched by the Portland Thorns in 2021.)

Campbell has spent time in USWNT camp before, having bounced in and out of senior national team camp since 2013 and making her international debut in 2017. She also spent extensive time in U.S. Soccer’s youth development system. The 28-year-old has made seven international appearances, and she was on the USWNT roster for the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, where the team won bronze.

As a player in which the USWNT already has invested time, if Campbell continues the trend she started in 2023, she could find her way not just back onto the national team but into the starting spot.

Claudia Dickey

At just 23 years old, Claudia Dickey very well may be the goalkeeper of the future for the USWNT. A former UNC Tar Heel who was the 20th overall pick in the 2022 NWSL draft, Dickey took over the OL Reign starting spot from Phallon Tullis-Joyce during the 2023 Challenge Cup. She made three starts in the Challenge Cup, recording 12 saves and not allowing a single goal.

She then started in the remaining six games of the season as Tullis-Joyce departed for Manchester United. In the playoffs, she helped lead the team to an appearance in the NWSL championship final, setting the club record for shutouts in the NWSL playoffs with two. She also became just the fifth NWSL goalkeeper to earn a shutout in her postseason debut.

“My thing with her is just how much she’s improved since taking over the Reign starting job midseason, and she’s particularly fearless coming off her line,” Just Women’s Sports writer Claire Watkins says. “So I like her intangibles. She’s young, so the rest can be coached.”

While Dickey is inexperienced, she’s shown bright spots with a club that boasted big USWNT names such as Megan Rapinoe, Rose Lavelle and Emily Sonnett. While still young, she will continue to develop under head coach Laura Harvey after signing a contract extension through 2025. By the time that the 2027 World Cup rolls around, she could at the very least warrant a look for the backup position – if not the starting spot.

RAJ Sports, owners of the NWSL's Portland Thorns and Portland's incoming 2026 WNBA expansion franchise, broke ground on their historic dual-sport training center on Wednesday, as the 12-acre $150 million facility begins to take shape.

The performance center will support both Portland squads, becoming the first-ever training complex to house a professional women's soccer club and a pro women's basketball team under singular ownership.

View this post on Instagram

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

Led by Lisa Bhathal Merage as well as her brother, Alex Bhathal, RAJ Sports is the sports investment arm of the Bhathal family, who shifted into team ownership on the heels of their longtime family swimwear business.

Bhathal Merage, in particular, is taking charge in ensuring the new facility is pushing the needle for women's sports.

"We don't look at our investments as philanthropy at all," said Bhathal Merage. "It's about moving things forward."

"I've been involved in hand selecting every finish, carpet, tile to make it through the female lens of how we interact, how we look at things, what we want to see," she explained.

"I think this performance center will be changing the dynamic for women's sports for generations to come," added Bhathal Merage. "Our view is to collaborate, involve the community and really lift up everybody by that collaboration."

The Bhathal family are also eager to reveal their incoming WNBA team's name, telling reporters that they’ve "literally compiled every single comment from every single person into a massive spreadsheet and rank them in order of how popular they were."

"We're waiting for final league approval," said Bhathal Merage. "Hopefully within the next two, maximum three months, we'll be able to unveil everything."

Before the Athletes Unlimited Softball League (AUSL) takes the field for its inaugural season on June 7th, the pro venture is gearing up by announcing the player pool for its first-ever college draft on May 3rd.

Taking an unconventional approach to revealing the debut collegiate draft class, AUSL began handing out "golden tickets" to join the league on April 13th, showing up at NCAA games across the country to dispense invitations one at a time.

12 NCAA players to turn pro with AUSL

To date, six of the draft's 12 total players have received their golden tickets, with No. 14 Virginia Tech's Emma Lemley — a pitcher who's tossed four no-hitters so far this season — earning the historic first invite.

Joining Lemley in snagging a golden ticket to the AUSL are fellow pitchers Devyn Netz — No. 13 Arizona's two-way workhorse — and No. 2 Texas A&M southpaw Emiley Kennedy.

Also making the professional leap to AUSL are a trio of field players: No. 18 Duke shortstop and the Blue Devils' career home run leader Ana Gold, No. 6 Florida's two-time All-American left fielder Korbe Otis, and No. 9 Arkansas first baseman Bri Ellis — the NCAA's leading slugger this season.

Those six NCAA stars, along with six more to receive their elite draft invites, will join one of AUSL's four debut teams — the Volts, Bandits, Blaze, and Talons.

Beginning with the Volts, teams will select from the 12-player collegiate pool across three draft rounds, with NCAA athletes rounding out each squad's 16-player roster.

Each team is already stacked with pro veterans, with the league's inaugural January draft distributing former Women's College World Series superstars like overall No. 1 pick Lexi Kilfoyl and fellow pitcher Montana Fouts, as well as second baseman Tiare Jennings, third baseman Jessi Warren, utility player Maya Brady, and shortstop Sis Bates, across the four AUSL rosters.

How to watch the AUSL College Draft

The first-ever AUSL College Draft will being at 9 PM ET on May 3rd, with live coverage on ESPNU.

NWSL teams continue to attract big-name investors, with a few new ownership shake-ups making headlines in recent weeks.

Former USWNT World Cup champion and two-time Olympic gold medalist Lauren Holiday and her husband, two-time NBA champ Jrue Holiday, bought into the North Carolina Courage this week, becoming NWSL investors via the couple's Holiday Family Trust.

Retiring from pro soccer in 2015, Holiday will be an active owner with the Courage, serving as an advisor, ambassador, and consultant on the operations side.

"I'm an investor in North Carolina, but I think I have invaluable insight being as I was part of the league when it was in its inaugural season," the two-time NWSL champion and 2013 league MVP told ESPN.

View this post on Instagram

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

NWSL draws more investors as league grows

As club valuations skyrocket, money has flowed into the NWSL through high-profile investments — and even outright sales.

Earlier this month, former Utah Jazz owners the Miller family purchased the Utah Royals, as well as MLS club Real Salt Lake, from short-term owner David Blitzer in a deal weighing in at a reported $600 million.

Last September, Angel City sold for a record $250 million, while the expansion fee for Denver's incoming NWSL team reportedly tops $110 million.

With further expansion looming and NWSL commissioner Jessica Berman recently saying she sees the league growing to as many as 32 teams, expect transactions to keep building as more investors look to buy into the game.

Clay season is in full swing, as the world's top tennis talents hit the court at the 2025 Madrid Open this week, seeking strong performances on the tricky surface before contending in the French Open next month — the clay court's Grand Slam.

The second round of the 2025 Madrid Open kicked off early Thursday morning, with much of the sport's Top 25 hunting the WTA 1000 event's title.

Leading the field is clay specialist Iga Świątek, as the world No. 2 player will look to defend her 2024 Madrid trophy and stir up momentum for the month ahead.

Despite ceding her No. 1 ranking to Aryna Sabalenka late last year, Świątek is nearly impossible to beat on clay, with four French Open championships already under her belt.

The 23-year-old, however, is coming off a quarterfinal upset loss to eventual champion No. 18 Jeļena Ostapenko at last week's 2025 Stuttgart Open — a clay-court tournament Świątek's won twice.

That said, Świątek is off to strong start in Madrid, where she defeated No. 72 Alexandra Eala 4-6, 6-4, 6-2 on Thursday — enacting revenge on the teen Philippines phenom after Eala defeated her in the 2025 Miami Open final last month.

Gauff seeks 2025 season turnaround on clay

Along with Świątek, other players to watch this week include US favorites No. 3 Jessica Pegula, No. 4 Coco Gauff, and No. 5 Madison Keys.

Keys and Gauff will begin their 2025 Madrid Open runs on Thursday, while Pegula will start serving in the second wave of the tournament's round of 64 on Friday.

Gauff has seen past success on clay, reaching the French Open final back in 2022 — to face eventual champion Świątek.

The 21-year-old star, however, is in the midst of a particularly frustrating 2025 run, having yet to advance past the quarterfinals of any competition since winning the 2024 WTA Finals.

"I've started to believe that you can just turn it around any week. And just as quickly as you can go on a tear, you can also lose," Gauff said this week.

How to watch the 2025 Madrid Open

The 2025 Madrid Open runs through Saturday, May 3rd. Continuing live coverage will air on the Tennis Channel.