The U.S. women’s national team is abruptly moving into a new cycle, as it tries to shrug off a disappointing World Cup campaign and bounce back at the 2024 Olympic Games. The team has yet to name an official successor to head coach Vlatko Andonovski, and all assumptions about the USWNT player pool are off while the team resets.

A number of players on the World Cup roster this summer didn’t get the opportunities they perhaps deserved, but that doesn’t mean the future isn’t still bright for the four-time World Cup champions. So, what comes next for the USWNT’s bench players?

Let’s take a look at how they are currently contributing to their club teams, and why they’re still in the mix for permanent USWNT roster spots.

Ashley Sanchez, M, Washington Spirit

Sanchez explained to the media upon her World Cup return that she was a bit surprised by her role at the tournament. “Let’s just say the role [I was told I would fill] was not what I played,” she told the Washington Post after returning to the Spirit.

Sanchez is a player who can exploit space as both an attacker and a playmaker and isn’t afraid to take shots on goal. She made that clear with a ripper of a goal just 40 seconds into her first game back with Washington. Under Andonovski, Sanchez was frequently asked to sit on the backline of the USWNT’s opponent and as an additional attacker rather than a traditional midfielder. The finishing pressures placed on the player in that role have never suited Sanchez, who thrives when she has the freedom to collaborate with teammates like Trinity Rodman. As the U.S. works out its midfield shape, allowing Sanchez to create her own space will be paramount.

Alana Cook, D, OL Reign

Cook had one of the USWNT’s strangest World Cup experiences. After carrying the most minutes of any U.S. field player in 2022, she never saw the field at the World Cup, abruptly dropped in place of Julie Ertz at center-back. She’s since returned to a starting role at OL Reign, as she further develops her club partnership with Sam Hiatt.

Cook is a talented player who has struggled with the timing of the game at the international level. The Reign are currently battling for NWSL playoff position, sitting just above the playoff line and five points away from the top of the league table. The team is also on a two-game regular season losing streak heading into September, with an urgency to shore up their formation in defensive transition. Cook is now in the difficult position of needing to step up for her team at home without having gained the playing experience of a World Cup.

Alyssa Thompson, F, Angel City

Alyssa Thompson didn’t feature much for the U.S. during the World Cup, but she perhaps returned to a better situation at the club level than the one she left. Angel City is undefeated in nine games under interim manager Becki Tweed, rising in the NWSL standings and pushing for the club’s first-ever playoff berth.

Thompson has seen some of her scoring responsibilities lessened by the Angel City midfield and the team’s newfound tenacity on set pieces. She continues to stretch defenses with her speed and positioning, while benefiting from a team no longer dependent on getting her the ball on the dribble to have a shot at creating quality chances. The best-case scenario for Thompson is that she continues to grow in her rookie season without the weight of a playoff spot on her shoulders, and so far Angel City is succeeding.

Emily Sonnett, D/M, OL Reign

Emily Sonnett played the part of a World Cup hero in the USWNT’s Round of 16 matchup against Sweden. The 29-year-old has mostly excelled as a center-back at the professional level but also has experience at defensive midfield. After short stints at outside back for the U.S., Sonnett rediscovered her No. 6 roots when Andonovski turned to her unexpectedly to partner with Andi Sullivan and help shore up the team’s shaky formation in the knockout stage.

She has since returned to a Reign team that is firmly set on Cook and Hiatt as their center-backs, and she will likely continue to develop as a defensive midfielder as the Reign jockey for playoff position. Sonnett filled in for an injured Quinn in the early stages of OL Reign’s 2023 regular season, using her natural ability to command space from the midfield. She most recently paired with Quinn in a double-pivot shape, showing the respect she has earned as a midfielder in a very short period of time.

Sofia Huerta, D, OL Reign

Sofia Huerta didn’t see much of the field during the 2023 World Cup, as Andonovski took a conservative approach to his defense. The Reign defender is one of the most reliable contributors in the NWSL, bringing quality on the ball in attacking areas and the ability to drop crosses into the box on a dime. She likely doesn’t need further development as a player nor a confidence boost to be in the mix for the USWNT in 2024. She’ll always be a fair option for a USWNT call-up, depending on how the new coach wants the team to play.

Lynn Williams, F, Gotham FC

Lynn Williams’ vulnerability as part of the USWNT player pool has never made much sense. Her understanding of the team’s defensive pressing triggers are better than almost any other available player. She can fit into both wide and central spaces, and she can thrive in high-volume shooting schemes and in taking key chances without controlling possession.

Williams is a legitimate NWSL Golden Boot and MVP candidate in her first season with Gotham. The forward should be a valued part of the USWNT’s plans going forward, rather than held at arm’s length by the program, as she has been in the past.

Kristie Mewis, M, Gotham FC

Kristie Mewis has always shown flashes of sophistication at the international level that she’s never had significant time to develop. Mewis is known as a galvanizing locker room presence and a versatile midfielder who can slot into a number of roles as a substitute. She also brings quality on set-piece delivery, and yet hasn’t been given many of those opportunities nor been relied upon to hone one particular position.

Mewis was a starting midfielder for what was arguably the USWNT’s best win in 2023, a 1-0 victory over Japan at the SheBelieves Cup. She was able to combat Japan’s quick-trigger possession approach with her defensive positioning to keep them off the scoresheet. Mewis’ prowess in that moment only takes on greater weight after the World Cup, where Japan was one of the best teams before losing to Sweden in the quarterfinals, and should be considered in future USWNT evaluation.

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

Notre Dame standout Olivia Miles will forgo the 2025 WNBA Draft, instead opting to stay in the NCAA for her final year of college eligibility. But she reportedly will not for the Fighting Irish.

Miles is set to enter the transfer portal, posted ESPN’s Shams Chariana on Monday, moving on from Notre Dame after back-to-back Sweet 16 exits.

"Notre Dame's Olivia Miles — the projected No. 2 pick in the WNBA draft this month — will forgo the draft and enter NCAA's transfer portal, sources tell ESPN," the journalist posted on X. "The 22-year-old top prospect makes unprecedented decision to use her one year remaining of college instead of the draft."

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Miles shakes up the 2025 WNBA draft

Miles will certainly have her choice of top-ranked NCAA programs. But the projected No. 2 draft pick’s decision also has major implications on both the 2025 WNBA Draft and the 2026 draft lottery.

The junior started all 34 games this season for Notre Dame. She averaged a career-high 15.4 points per game while maintaining 48.3% effectiveness from the field.

"I love college. I think I've outgrown it a little bit, though, so that makes my decision tougher to stay. It's comfortable, a place where you have security," the star guard told ESPN after Saturday's loss.

With UConn’s Paige Bueckers sitting comfortably at No. 1, expected Top 5 pro recruits USC’s Kiki Iriafen, South Carolina’s Te-Hina Paopao, and fellow Irish Sonia Citron could all see a rankings boost.

As South Carolina women's basketball returns to the Final Four, the 2024 NCAA champions’ March Madness journey hasn’t exactly mirrored last year’s dominance. But their resilience has kept them very much in contention.

The Gamecocks bounced back from third-quarter deficits in their last two tournament games, relying on tight defense and smart positional rotations to wear opponents down.

“It is that type of year, that for us, there’s not any blowouts,” head coach Dawn Staley said after her team’s Elite Eight win over Duke. “We have to grind for every single win that we can get.”

South Carolina taps into depth after WNBA departures

After losing center Kamilla Cardoso to the 2024 WNBA Draft, the Gamecocks harnessed their depth, relying on strict minute restrictions to disrupt game flow and launch second-half runs.

Sophomore standout MiLaysia Fulwiley has popped off the bench, complementing leading scorer Joyce Edwards and inside show-runner Chloe Kitts.

One of the team’s key veteran leaders, senior Te-Hina PaoPao has been a grounding force as the only player averaging 25+ minutes per game.

Defense is key to Gamecocks victory

For the Gamecocks to become back-to-back champs, they’ll have to lean hard on their time-honored calling card: defense.

"Look, I mean, at this point it's not going to look pretty. Okay? It's not," Staley said after South Carolina narrowly escaped Sweet 16 opponent Duke. "There are stretches in each game that is not going to look pretty… Some of it's not going to look as smoothly as us coaches and players envision or how you practice, but you certainly have to get down and play the kind of game that's presented in front of you, and we'll do that."

“If we’re not scoring a whole lot of points, then we gotta up our defense,” she continued. “If we’re scoring a lot of points, we gotta up our defense.”

The USWNT announced their final match of the summer’s three-game international window yesterday, with the team set to take on northern neighbors Canada in Washington, DC on July 2nd.

The friendly rounds out a bill that also includes two previously announced clashes with the Republic of Ireland scheduled for June 26th (Commerce City, Colorado) and 29th (Cincinnati, Ohio).

Canada coach Casey Stoney has an edge on the US

With much of Europe focused on the 2025 Euros, July’s bout with Canada will mark the North American nations’ 67th meet-up — but the first under Canada’s new boss.

Coach Casey Stoney arrived in Canada after parting ways with the San Diego Wave last June, her two years of NWSL experience providing extra familiarity with many USWNT stars.

Stoney previously led WSL side Manchester United for four seasons, giving her further insight into current USWNT manager — and ex-Chelsea head coach — Emma Hayes’s style.

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USWNT faces Brazil without injured defender Tierna Davidson

Yesterday, the US posted a major roster change ahead of this month’s friendlies against Brazil, with Gotham center-back Tierna Davidson officially sidelined due to a knee injury suffered last weekend.

Davidson will be replaced by 19-year-old Angel City defender Gisele Thompson, who earned her first two senior caps during February’s SheBelieves Cup.

While Hayes’s USWNT is all about fierce competition and roster experimentation, mounting injuries could force the team into thinner lineups than expected — and up the competition across the board.

No. 1 seed Texas and No. 2 seed UConn punched their tickets to Tampa last night, joining No. 1 seeds UCLA and South Carolina in the Final Four after two tight matchups closed out the NCAA tournament’s fourth round.

Texas got the best of in-state foe TCU 58-47, behind a game-high 18-point performance from SEC Player of the Year Madison Booker.

UConn then handled USC 78-64, holding off the JuJu Watkins-less Trojans as superstar guard Paige Bueckers followed up her career-high 40-point Sweet 16 performance by dropping 31 points on the night.

"We're just so grateful, but we know like the journey isn't done," Bueckers said after the game. "We want our story to continue as long as possible, and we have business to finish."

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Texas books first Final Four appearance since 2003

After four Elite Eight appearances in five years, the Longhorns finally punched their ticket to the Final Four — their first time back since 2003 — behind a tenacious defense that forced 21 TCU turnovers.

“Anybody that watched that game today, when they turned the TV off, they had to go, ‘Wow, that freaking team plays their ass off,’” Texas head coach Vic Schaefer said after the game.

"I'm having fun with it now," Booker told reporters. "March Madness — you’re supposed to have fun."

"I’m so proud of myself and proud of my team to get to this moment," Harmon said after registering 13 points against TCU.

"Rori Harmon is still that girl," echoed Booker.

Bueckers leads UConn to the NCAA Final Four

The Huskies are headed to their fourth Final Four in the last five years. They advanced on a balanced scoring strategy that saw three different players put double-digit points on the board.

In addition to Bueckers’s 30-piece, freshman phenom Sarah Strong ran the frontcourt. Strong paired 22 points with 17 rebounds and four assists for her fifth postseason double-double. Additionally, Princeton transfer Kaitlyn Chen bolstered the backcourt with 15 points of her own.

"There's Disneyland, there's Disney World and then there's UConn World," Auriemma said. "These are fantasy numbers that make no sense. You couldn't predict this and you couldn't script this at all."

All four remaining teams have the potential to win a national championship. Now it’s a matter of who can deliver when the going gets tough.