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.

Angel City officially cut the ribbon on their new training facility on Tuesday, showing off their expanded performance center as NWSL preseason gets underway.

The nine-acre Thousand Oaks site boasts 1.5 full-sized pitches and 50,000 square feet of indoor space, making it the league's largest NWSL-specific practice ground.

The center also houses a 5,400-square-foot gym, multiple locker rooms, medical offices, an outdoor lounge, an onsite content studio, a children's playroom, and rehab, hydrotherapy, and nutrition areas.

Having practiced at Cal Lutheran University since the expansion franchise's 2022 debut, ACFC later relocated across campus to the former home of the NFL's LA Rams. They then transformed the site into their record-setting performance center after completing a multi-million dollar remodel.

"Today we get to celebrate an extraordinary milestone for Angel City. Our new performance center reflects our commitment to the future of ACFC to its sustained excellence, and to providing our players with the best possible environment to train, to recover, and to thrive," said ACFC controlling owner Willow Bay in a statement. "My husband Bob Iger and I know how important it is, and how essential it is to ensure that our players have everything they need to be successful both on and off the pitch. This state-of-the-art performance center, let's be clear — it sets the bar, but it really should be the norm."

An unmatched tool for the new NWSL recruitment era

Offering a record-setting performance center to Angel City players could have the unexpected benefit of attracting and retaining future talent for LA.

With the abolishment of NWSL college and expansion drafts and the requirement to gain player permission for all trades taking effect under the league's new CBA, clubs now face a new era of athlete recruitment.

Rather than benefitting from the previous and arguably more passive system, NWSL franchises must now take a decidedly more active approach to roster-building by wooing potential players and impressing those currently on their squads. Adding top-tier facilities is a major way to sweeten the deal, giving Angel City a potential leg up over other clubs.

"This facility, when people have been here and seen this, I don't know how you're going to want to leave," incoming Angel City sporting director Mark Parsons told reporters at yesterday's unveiling event.

"My job has just got much, much more easy with this facility," Parsons continued. "This is unlike nowhere else. I’m excited to be a part of an organization that cares that much. But I’m also excited that my skill set just got a bit easier, because everyone’s going to want to be here."

USWNT star Naomi Girma will reportedly become the first women's soccer player to garner a transfer fee of over $1 million, as the decorated young center back narrows her overseas suitors down to WSL side Chelsea FC.

The 24-year-old defender is currently under contract with the San Diego Wave until 2026, and reported to the NWSL club's first day of preseason training as expected on Tuesday.

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While Girma's contract is still in negotiations, San Diego and the UK titans have agreed upon the deal's $1.1 million terms — by far the highest sum in the history of pro women's football. The previous record is held by Rachael Kundananji, for whom Bay FC shelled out $860,000 to Spain's Madrid CFF to roster the Zambian forward in February 2024.

Chelsea, who currently stands unbeaten in the WSL halfway through the league's 2024/25 season, is keen to bolster their back line after losing star Canadian center back Kadeisha Buchanan to an ACL injury last November.

France's Olympique Lyonnais also threw their hat in the the million-dollar ring for Girma, only to fall out of contention alongside Chelsea rival Arsenal.

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San Diego's Wave of roster turnovers

Assuming the transfer goes through, Girma will be one of several high-profile players exiting the 2023 NWSL Shield-winning San Diego club ahead of the 2025 season. Girma joins the NC Courage-bound attacker Jaedyn Shaw in making a SoCal departure.

In response, the Wave has been actively filling roster spots, signing 17-year-old defender Trinity Armstrong off of her 2024 College Cup-winning freshman season with UNC last week before adding seasoned goalkeeper and free agent Didi Haračić as well as Nigerian midfielder Favour Emmanuel on Monday. 

Inking Armstrong to a three-year deal seems particularly strategic in the wake of Girma's likely departure. It signals that the Wave are again looking to young defensive talent to replace the 2022 NWSL Draft No. 1 pick.

Ultimately, a transfer fee of this magnitude solidifies Girma's reputation as one of the world's top defenders. While still accounting for less than 1% of spending in the men's game, her historic fee is further proof that the global women's market is growing at breakneck speeds.

The NWSL released its full 2025 schedule on Wednesday morning, locking in 190 league contests across all competitions.

The 2025 Challenge Cup will set the stage on Friday, March 7th with a 2024 NWSL Championship rematch between the title-winning Orlando Pride and runners-up Washington Spirit.

One week later, the official 2025 NWSL Kickoff weekend will see all 14 teams in action as the 182-game regular season gets underway. Each club will play a total of 26 regular-season matches, split equally between home and away contests, before the league's eight top teams will battle through seven playoff games in November.

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A mid-summer break begins in late June with a CBA-mandated week-off. The pause extends one month through July to allow for international play. That's when certain national team players will compete for their countries in confederation tournaments while clubs will be free to schedule friendlies. No additional NWSL tournaments will occur during that window.

In one minor adjustment from the league's earlier calendar announcement, the 2025 regular season will be played over 26 weeks (rather than 25) to mitigate the need for midweek games.

The shift also accommodates for the return of Decision Day, which is making a comeback for the first time since 2023. In the popular format, all teams will compete simultaneously to close out the regular season on Sunday, November 2nd.

Moves up season excitement

With playoff positioning often coming down to the wire, capping the regular season with a Decision Day can dramatically up the stakes and increase excitement for the impending playoffs.

In another move to capitalize on fandom enthusiasm, the NWSL has added a dedicated rivalry weekend to its 2025 calendar. From August 8th through 10th, old feuds like the Portland Thorns and Seattle Reign's Cascadia Clash will share the spotlight with newer grudges like Angel City and San Diego's SoCal Classic.

How to watch the 2025 NWSL season

Entering the second year of the league's blockbuster broadcast deal, 160 total games will air across Prime Video, ION, ESPN, and CBS platforms this season, with the remaining 30 matches streaming on NWSL+. International distribution is still in negotiations.

Starting the NWSL's 2025 action is the Challenge Cup between Orlando and Washington, which begins at 8 PM ET on Friday, March 7th, streaming live on Prime Video.

Two concurrent matches will kick off the 2025 regular season at 8 PM ET on Friday, March 14th: Houston will face Washington on NWSL+, while Orlando takes on the newly branded Chicago Stars FC on Prime Video.

South Carolina boss Dawn Staley became the highest-paid coach in women's college basketball history on Friday, when the three-time national champion inked a contract extension worth over $25 million to remain with the Gamecocks.

At an annual salary of $4 million — plus a $500,000 signing bonus and a yearly $250,000 escalator — the deal locks in Staley through the 2029/30 season.

A significant bump from her previous $3.2 million annual payday, the new contract sees Staley leapfrog over UConn legend Geno Auriemma and LSU's Kim Mulkey to top the league in compensation.

Calling her "a once-in-a-generation coach," athletic director Jeremiah Donati noted that Staley "has elevated the sport of women's basketball on the national level and here on campus, and I am excited that she will be representing our University for many years to come."

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Locking in a South Carolina legend

Since taking the helm in 2008, Staley has led South Carolina to 630 wins, 16 SEC titles, and 12 straight NCAA tournament appearances including five Final Fours and three national championships.

After taking South Carolina to an 128-4 record since her previous contract extension in 2021, this new agreement all but squashes any rumors about the coach's departure.

Despite a clause releasing Staley from an early departure penalties should she exit for a WNBA or NBA job, the legendary college leader has no intentions to leave Columbia.

"I will never leave here to go take another college job," Staley told reporters after the No. 2 Gamecocks' Sunday win over then-No. 13 Oklahoma. "[And] I don't have a passion for the next level. I don't. I would've been gone."

As the Hall of Famer continues setting the on-court NCAA standard in her 17th season with South Carolina, Staley's record-breaking contract both reflects the sport's overall rising stock and pushes for even more investment in the game.

Pledging to prove the impact of supporting both her and the game itself, Staley committed "to continuing to be an example of how an investment in women’s basketball is one that will pay off for everyone."