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USWNT roster: Which NWSL stars deserve a look?

Tatumn Milazzo has started in all 21 matches this season for the Chicago Red Stars. (Jon Durr/USA TODAY Sports)

The U.S. women’s national soccer team is in transition ahead of the 2023 World Cup.

Seven members of the 2019 team feature on the roster for the squad’s October friendlies against England and Spain, and several more could return to the lineup in the coming months from injury and pregnancy absences.

Still, the team looks markedly different than the one that last wielded the World Cup trophy. And while we would love to see Alex Morgan stick around forever, the changing of the guard will continue as veterans take their final bows and new stars step into the spotlight.

We’re even getting a glimpse of that now, as a knee injury ruled Morgan out of the upcoming European trip and created space for younger players like Alyssa Thompson and Savannah DeMelo to make their marks.

USWNT coach Vlatko Andonovski thinks highly of the NWSL as a barometer of talent. With plenty of rising stars on display as the league heads into its final weekend of the regular season, Just Women’s Sports offers a look at a few who deserve a shot on the USWNT roster.

Tatumn Milazzo – Defender, Chicago Red Stars

Milazzo is one player who has not yet earned a USWNT call-up but arguably should.

After going undrafted out of South Carolina in 2019, Milazzo earned a spot on the Red Stars’ preseason squad in 2021. First named as a supplemental roster player, Milazzo played in 14 games during the 2021 season for Chicago, starting in 10 of them.

This season, she’s been an instrumental part of the Red Stars’ defense, starting in all 21 games and playing a total of 1,861 minutes. She’s been a weapon and one of the best one-on-one defenders in the league all season long, with a 76.6 percent success rate on passes and making 68.5 percent of her tackles.

Milazzo leads the league with 47 interceptions and is tied for fifth in tackles won with 39.

There are a lot of questions about the USWNT’s defense in the lead-up to the World Cup, and Milazzo could be a versatile piece. She primarily has played at center back for the Red Stars but also has experience at right back in college.

Of course, Becky Sauerbrunn remains key down the middle of the field for the USWNT, and Tierna Davidson’s ACL tear has left Alana Cook in the other starting center-back role. Naomi Girma also has been impressive, swapping out with Sauerbrunn at times this year.

The return of Crystal Dunn from parental leave adds another layer to the piece of the defense pie. But as Milazzo continues to improve, she deserves a look from Andonovski.

Cece Kizer – Forward/Midfield, Kansas City Current

That Kizer hasn’t been called up yet is about as shocking as her trade from from Racing Louisville to the Current.

Upon her arrival in Kansas City, Kizer lit up the field for Kansas City. The club went on an 11-game unbeaten run, and Kizer has scored seven goals since her arrival in May, which puts her eighth in the league.

Teammate Lo’eau LaBonta has the same number, and together their 14 goals make up nearly half of the team’s 29 total on the season.

The Kansas City native has enjoyed being home and in doing so has helped the team that finished in last place last year clinch their first-ever playoff appearance.

But she’s not just good at scoring goals. Kizer is also skilled at setting up plays. She holds a 68.7 percent success rate on passes this season, making 24 key passes and putting up three assists. She’s directly had a hand in a third of her team’s goals.

While the USWNT’s top spots at midfield and forward appear to be locked in by the likes of Morgan, Sophia Smith, Mallory Pugh and Rose Lavelle, there have been a few players brought in for trial runs, including DeMelo and Sam Coffey in the midfield and now Thompson at forward. Kizer could be next.

Phallon Tullis-Joyce – Goalkeeper, OL Reign

Tullis-Joyce has been outstanding in net this season. Andonovski even has said she’s on his radar, along with Bella Bixby and Katie Lund.

Tullis-Joyce also has earned praise from the coaching staff in Seattle.

“She’s a huge talent. She’s got a lot of room for growth and today, she did her job,” said assistant coach Sam Laity following the team’s 2-1 win over North Carolina on Sept. 17. “She did the things that we knew she could do.

“As strange as it might seem, I think she’s actually a better goalkeeper and has more work to do. So, it’s a bit of a catch-22; the goalkeeper that doesn’t have a lot of work to do, sometimes loses their rhythm, but then when they’re called upon, they stand up and make big saves. I thought she showed some incredible character and courage today. She made some big saves for us.”

She’s earned Save of the Week honors multiple times this season, and also leads the NWSL in save percentage and ranks sixth in saves, all in her first season as the team’s starter. Tullis-Joyce has been so good, the club extended her through the 2024 season in July.

While the goalie lineup has remained relatively consistent under Andonovski, the NWSL’s pool is deep. Both Alyssa Naeher and Casey Murphy spent time in net at the Concacaf W Championship, and each got a start in the team’s September friendlies against Nigeria. But Tullis-Joyce deserves her shot.

USC’s McKenzie Forbes: From Gap Year to the NCAA Tournament

As part of our 1-v-1 video series, USC’s India Otto sat down to interview her teammate McKenzie Forbes. 

Here are five things to know from our conversation with the graduate transfer from Folsom, California.

#1 Inspired by USC’s Head Coach, Lindsay Gottlieb, McKenzie wants to be a basketball coach or work in the front office in the future.

When weighing in on what makes a good coach, McKenzie said x’s and o’s are important but “Coaching is a lot of relationship managing and people managing. I think you have to be a good people person and be able to build those relationships, but also in that same breath, you can’t be afraid to have people dislike you in moments. I think that’s a big part of leadership.”

#2 McKenzie says the trajectory of her career changed when she made the decision to transfer from Cal to Harvard.

 In order to transfer, she was forced to take a gap year and spend a lot of time in the gym. “I completely transformed my body and, going into the Harvard season, felt like I was a completely different player. Going to Harvard and playing in a more mid-major conference, I had the ball in my hands a lot more than I might have if I transferred to another Power 5. It really developed other parts of my game.”

#3 How does McKenzie think USC will do in the Women’s College Basketball Tournament?

“I’m not going to give a typical interview answer. I want a Final Four. We have that potential and capability. Like why not? Why not us? I think we have all the pieces.”

#4 Her older brother, Marcus, was her biggest mentor growing up.

“He was basically my trainer from Elementary school on until he went to college.”

#5 Fun facts about Forbes:

She can juggle and she was the quarterback of her Pop Warner football team. “I was slow but I could throw it!”

Watch the full conversation on the Just Women’s Sports YouTube channel.

Christen Press back training with Angel City FC

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - OCTOBER 15: Christen Press #23 of Angel City FC waves to fans following a game between the Portland Thorns and Angel City FC at BMO Stadium on October 15, 2023 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Katharine Lotze/Getty Images)

Christen Press continues to inch her way back to a return, having returned to training with her club team Angel City. 

Angel City FC coach Becki Tweed said on Wednesday that Press is back with the team full-time as she continues to make her way back from an ACL injury. While she’s still working on rehab, her being back with the team gives staff a better picture of her progress. 

"Christen [Press] is back with us full time which is amazing,” she said. “Having her in and around the team every day, continuing to work hard on rehab ... she's in a space where being in with the team is really important to her and her progression as well.”

The status update comes days after Press posted videos to social media that featured her doing lateral movement in cleats on grass. 

“Look out world she’s on the move !” Press captioned it. 

Press has been sidelined with an ACL injury since 2022, which caused her to miss the 2023 World Cup. She’s since had four separate surgeries to help repair her ACL.

Press told The Athletic a month ago that she’s been “relentless” in her optimism with her recovery despite it being a “slow process.”

“I have a bit of relentless optimism,” she told The Athletic. “I never, ever doubted that I would make it back on any of the timelines I’ve been on."

"Every single time I’ve heard, ‘You have to have surgery,’ I’m completely shocked,” she said. “When somebody asks me how it’s going, I’m like, ‘It’s going great. And it was going great every time. So I don’t know what to tell you anymore!’”

Sophia Smith re-signs with Portland on record deal

(Troy Wayrynen-USA TODAY Sports)

Sophia Smith is now the NWSL’s highest-paid player. 

The Portland Thorns announced on Wednesday that they have signed Smith to a new contract through the 2025 season, with an option for 2026. While the terms of the deal were not disclosed, the team did reveal that Smith is now the highest-paid player in the league on an annual basis.

It’s the latest in what has been a series of record-breaking contracts in the NWSL offseason. 

Chicago Red Stars forward Mallory Swanson, Bay FC forward Racheal Kundananji, and Orlando Pride forward Barbra Banda all signed multi-year deals worth between $2 million and $2.5 million in total. While Smith’s contract is shorter and not worth as much over the long-term, the annual worth is higher. 

“We are over the moon to have Soph commit again to the Thorns. She is a proven, world-class talent and one that we are excited to have contribute to the team’s continued success,” said head coach Mike Norris in a statement. “We look forward to working with her in a Thorns jersey as she continues to shine as one of the top strikers in the world.”

In just four seasons in the NWSL, Smith has led the Thorns to five trophies – including the 2022 NWSL championship – while winning league and championship MVP in 2022. In 61 appearances with Portland, she has 34 goals – including a brace to start this season against Kansas City. 

She’s also a member of the USWNT, having scored 16 goals in 44 international appearances.  Set to become a free agent at the end of this season, she told ESPN she “thought of all the options” but ultimately Portland felt like the right decision.

"There is no place like Portland," Smith said in a small roundtable interview that included ESPN. "I don't believe there's an environment like Portland to play in and it's a city that's so special to me and a city that I feel like I've grown up in almost and become who I am."

She also told ESPN that the team’s new ownership “changes everything.” The club is now led by the Bhathal family, who bought the club after Merritt Paulson was forced to sell it following his part in the NWSL’s abuse scandal. 

"Since I've been here there has been a lot of things going on with this club -- a lot of not-great things going on with this club -- and I have just been waiting for some stability and some reassurance that this club is headed in the right direction, and the Bhathal family coming in is doing exactly that, if not more,” Smith said. 

"Their vision for this club is so exciting, and you can just tell how passionate they are about making this what it should be and continuing to push the standard in women's soccer globally.”

Caitlin Clark offered $5 million to compete in Ice Cube’s league

IOWA CITY, IOWA- MARCH 25: Guard Caitlin Clark #22 of the Iowa Hawkeyes celebrates as time runs out in the second half against the West Virginia Mountaineers during their second round match-up in the 2024 NCAA Division 1 Women's Basketball Championship at Carver-Hawkeye Arena on March 25, 2024 in Iowa City, Iowa. (Photo by Matthew Holst/Getty Images)

Caitlin Clark has been offered $5 million to play in Ice Cube's Big3 league, he confirmed on social media Wednesday after the offer leaked.

"We intended the offer to remain private while Caitlin Clark plays for the championship," Ice Cube wrote on social media. "But I won't deny what's now already out there: BIG3 made a historic offer to Caitlin Clark. Why wouldn't we? Caitlin is a generational athlete who can achieve tremendous success in the BIG3."

While there has yet to be a women's player in the league, both Nancy Lieberman and Lisa Leslie have been part of the league as coaches and won championships.

"The skeptics laughed when we made Nancy Lieberman the first female coach of a men's pro team, and she won the championship in her first year," Ice Cube continued. "Then Lisa Leslie won it all in year two. With our offer, Caitlin Clark can make history and break down even more barriers for women athletes."

Ice Cube, whose name is O’Shea Jackson, says that the offer was made with the intention that Clark be able to compete in the WNBA “offseason.” Clark is largely expected to be the No. 1 overall pick in the WNBA draft in April. But it’s unclear how the scheduling of the two leagues would work. 

The 2024 Big3 season is set to tip off on June 15, with 10 games spanning through mid-August. The WNBA regular season, meanwhile, begins on May 14 and ends on Sept. 19.

On “The Pat McAfee Show” on Wednesday, Jackson said that the league has yet to hear back from Clark. 

“We just need an answer, as soon as they are ready to give it to us,” he said. “It’s always 50-50 till we get a no. At the end of the day, it’s a generous offer.”

The offer – as well as the confusion on Jackson’s part about the timing of the WNBA season – caused some current WNBA players to react. 

"It's funny cause I be seeing his son at W games.. they don't talk?" wrote former No. 1 pick Rhyne Howard

"So no other women's basketball player has came to mind in the last 7 years?" wrote Lexie Brown, adding that she'd support if Ice Cube wanted to build a women's iteration of the league. She later discussed it on the Gils Arena Show, noting that his reasoning of wanting to “uplift and support WNBA players and women athletes” is a “cop out.”

Kalani Brown, meanwhile, told Clark to "take that money" and start a women's Big3.

WNBA salaries has been a talking point in recent months as more collegiate stars declare for the league. WNBA stars have often made more money playing abroad than they have in the WNBA. Clark is expected to be the No. 1 pick in the WNBA draft on April 15, with a rookie salary of $76,535 for lottery draft picks (Nos. 1-4) that rises to $97,582 by her fourth season. But she also has an NIL valuation of almost $3.5 million.

Diana Taurasi famously skipped the 2015 WNBA season at the request of her Russian club, who paid her more to sit out than she would have made in the W. Her contract with the club was reportedly near $1.5 million per year.

Jackson also seemed to suggest that his league could be an alternative to going abroad

“America’s women athletes should not be forced to spend their off seasons playing in often dismal and dubious foreign countries just to make ends meet,” he wrote. Although it’s unclear whether or not the rapper intends to make offers to additional WNBA players. 

While the league does hold prioritization rules in its CBA, those typically apply only to players playing in overseas leagues. It’s unclear whether or not that would prevent Clark’s participation in the Big3 league.

WNBA players that don’t want to go overseas currently have the option of playing in Athletes Unlimited, which competes in the WNBA offseason.

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