Retired USWNT superstar Alex Morgan hit up Alex Cooper's Call Her Daddy podcast this week, talking motherhood, soccer stardom, and the fight for equal pay.
"Fast forward to 2019, and we were owning our s—t," she said, referencing the USWNT's long fight to achieve financial equity. "We're going to win, we filed an equal pay lawsuit against US Soccer, we know that winning [the World Cup] is going to help our case, and we are the best."
"We likely won't reap the benefits of what we're fighting for, but our kids will," Morgan recalled thinking. "I hope my daughter knows nothing other than equal."
Morgan also opened up about life as a high-profile soccer celebrity, discussing how she juggled becoming a new mother while also navigating her playing career for both club and country.
"It was very difficult because there was no rules — there was no standard for moms in the NWSL, or even on the national team," she said. "I was trying to be a great mom, and I was trying to be a great soccer player, but I was also now having to write new rules and advocate for all moms in the future in soccer."
How to watch Alex Morgan on Call Her Daddy
Wednesday's Call Her Daddy episode featuring Morgan is currently available to download on all podcast platforms and can be watched on YouTube.
UConn guard Azzi Fudd wears many hats.
She’s a sharp-shooter on the court and a rising superstar off the court. She's an NCAA national champion and a top WNBA prospect. She's a graduate student at one of college basketball’s preeminent programs. And she's already one of the most famous athletes in the women’s game.
But this week she adds a new title to her growing resume: co-host of Instagram’s latest episode of Close Friends Only along with Dallas Wings rookie Paige Bueckers.
The podcast features Fudd chopping it up with Bueckers. The former UConn teammates chat about their immediate connection on and off the court, swapped style influences (Fudd is apparently a chronic clothes-stealer and listens to all of Bueckers’s Spotify playlists), who’s got the prettiest jump shot, and their favorite WNBA player. (“Probably Paige Bueckers,” Fudd answers readily.)
The two also discuss Meta Quest’s newest WNBA collaboration, a technology which gives fans a courtside view without having to leave the house.
“I was honestly shocked by how real it felt,” Fudd told Just Women’s Sports earlier this week. “Sometimes getting to a game is just unrealistic, so being able to have that as an option is incredible, and can open the game up to so many more people and fans.”
Azzi Fudd steps into the social media spotlight
Emerging from a college career previously defined by injury, Fudd and her UConn teammates finally reached their peak last April, winning the program’s 12th national championship — and its first since 2016. And while the victory checked a longtime bucket list item for the guard, she’s most grateful for her health.
“This has been my first offseason in a little while where I've been completely healthy,” she continued. “So that's been a fun change, getting to be healthy, work on some stuff, travel, relax with family — it's been great.”
Through it all, she’s certainly kept busy. If you’ve been following women’s basketball at all this summer, Fudd has been hard to miss. After the NCAA season ended, she made a high profile appearance accompanying No. 1 pick Bueckers to the 2025 WNBA Draft, going on to become a sidelines mainstay at Dallas games. She also made a splash at All-Star Weekend, and even started her own podcast, Fudd Around and Find Out.
The life of a burgeoning celebrity can be isolating, but Fudd represents a new generation of players ready to utilize social media to their advantage, both professionally and personally. There’s a light, lived-in touch to Fudd and her peers’ ability to connect with friends and family via social media channels while also maneuvering the booming cult of personality forming around the WNBA.
Fudd and Bueckers compare social media habits on 'Close Friends Only'
On Close Friends Only, Fudd and Bueckers banter about the benefits (and necessary etiquette) of labeling an Instagram story “close friends,” as well as their own social media habits.
“You post 10 times in the time it takes me to get one post up,” Fudd tells Bueckers, with her co-host copping to being the heavier Instagram user of the pair.
But beyond sharing with close friends, today’s women’s sports athletes are navigating an industry where follower counts can open sponsorship doors. And that’s clear whether players are promoting multi-million dollar brand deals or partying on a 72-hour All-Star Weekend livestream.
“I’m not the best poster,” Fudd admitted. “I do want to make my Instagram a little more casual. [There are] some great pictures in my camera roll that aren’t professional photographer-taken, done up like some Instagrams look.”
“I want it to be very much who Azzi Fudd is, and not just the great side,” she said of her online presence, describing herself as a lowkey person who wants to intuitively let people in on the real highs and lows of life.
But for someone who also calls herself a bad texter, Fudd’s grounded approach to social media does help her keep up with connections despite her packed calendar.
“I love talking on the phone, but who does that these days?” she laughed. “Being able to keep in touch, whether it's a teammate you played with a year ago or from middle school, just getting to get those updates through Instagram is amazing.”
From hard-launching Pazzi to special shared moments
Social media can be a powerful career builder, but young stars also have to figure out how to protect their peace amidst a firestorm of commentary, access, and speculation.
Fudd is no stranger to the dynamics of keeping private moments private while still finding ways to live their public lives authentically. She and Bueckers have threaded that needle with precision, with Bueckers only recently calling Fudd her girlfriend during July’s WNBA All-Star Weekend after months of soft-launch hints.
“I'm definitely someone who tends to keep more private,” Fudd said, noting that the impulse to document everything on social media can take away from staying present. “I don't mind sharing, but just naturally I'm more of a ‘share less’ person.”
Despite her inclinations, the duo has remained a remarkably open book. Fudd and Bueckers are easygoing about the fandom they’ve inspired, from laughing about watching their own fan edits on TikTok to sharing selfies containing clues about their relationship. As Fudd told JWS, she doesn’t think so much about the public’s response — she just enjoys capturing the little things.
“There’s so many special moments, whether you're sharing for other people or just for yourself,” she explained. “Your favorite meal, or your favorite sunset — things that make me happy and I get excited about.”
Azzi locks in ahead of final UConn season
Fudd is approaching her final college season, preparing to step up as UConn pushes for a repeat title. But if the 22-year-old is feeling pressure to stretch herself too thin these days, she isn’t letting it show.
She’s been in the gym, staying healthy and gearing up to take on an even larger role at UConn now that former on-court centerpiece Bueckers has flown the college coop.
She’s focusing on a routine social media followers don’t often get to see: rehab and recovery, eating and sleeping right, getting shots up, and hitting the weight room.
“I'm keeping the main thing basketball,” she said. “Without basketball, without putting in the time in the gym, making sure I’m getting my stuff done, I wouldn’t have all these opportunities.”
“I’m always taking care of [basketball] first,” she continued. “And then getting to enjoy all those things that come with it.”
And she won’t be alone when she heads back to Storrs this fall. The Huskies are returning a number of key national title run contributors, this time taking the court with Fudd leading the way from day one.
“Embracing that vocal leadership role is something I'm working on,” she said “Doing anything and everything I can to make sure that I'm helping my team, putting them in the best position to win and have a great season.”
As for social media, fans can be sure that wherever the season takes Fudd, they’ll be along for the ride.
Indiana Fever superstar Caitlin Clark is feeling the pressure, joining retired WNBA legend Sue Bird on last Friday's podcast to discuss the impact of her recent spat of injuries on league attendance and viewership.
"That's definitely been hard," Clark told Bird about having to ride the bench. "I'm going to go to every road game no matter what, whether I'm playing or not. It's hard because obviously I do feel this responsibility of being out there and playing."
"I sign autographs for way longer when I'm hurt than when I'm active," Clark told Bird, referencing her outsized popularity. "That's never something I wish for, but I still want to make as much time as I can for people."
In total, Clark has missed 19 of the No. 5 Fever's 32 regular-season games — plus this year's Indianapolis-based All-Star Game — as she manages three separate muscle injuries.
Before her injuries, Indiana's 2025 season opener pit Clark against fellow WNBA sophomore Angel Reese and the Chicago Sky earned what is still this year's highest viewership, with 2.7 million people tuning in on May 17th.
Since then, all three rematches have seen the regional rivals face off without one or both of their popular 2024 draft picks.
Despite star absences, however, ratings are up across all WNBA teams, with national networks averaging 794,000 viewers per game through July — a 21% increase over 2024's full-season average.
Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham became the latest WNBA player on the mic this week, as the outspoken athlete launched a new podcast on sports media personality Colin Cowherd's The Volume network.
Entitled "Show Me Something" in reference to the two hosts' Missouri roots, the podcast features the seven-year WNBA veteran as well as her former high school classmate and current Summer House reality star West Wilson.
"We're definitely going to hit on the WNBA, a huge topic in sports right now, and then Bravo, clearly, but pop culture, food, fashion, travel... we really do talk about anything," Cunningham said about the variety of topics she'll be discussing with her childhood friend on their podcast. "Our love language is, like, s—t-talking."
The media move follows several recent endorsement deals for Cunningham, as she continues to capitalize on the social media bump she experienced following a June 17th dust-up with Connecticut Sun players.
In this week's first episode, the 2025 Fever addition did not hold back, immediately digging into the ongoing discourse surrounding superstar teammate Caitlin Clark.
"There's really good, well-known people in our league. I'm not discrediting them," Cunningham said. "But when people try to argue that [Clark's] not the face of our league, or if our league would be where we're at without her, you’re dumb as s—t. You’re literally dumb as f—k."
Retired three-time WNBA champ Candace Parker weighed in on the current state of the league this week, making waves on her newly launched podcast Post Moves alongside fellow host and current Indiana Fever center Aliyah Boston.
With CBA negotiations in full swing, Parker called this year's All-Star Game a missed opportunity for the players, although 2025 All-Star Boston challenged that perspective.
"You all cannot come out there with those shirts of 'Pay Us What You Owe Us' and then do that in the All-Star Game," Parker said, referencing the midseason matchup's lack of competitive edge.
"An All-Star Game, when we have another game in two days, I think that it's okay to go out there, hoop, and have some fun," Boston countered.
Parker later sounded off on her recent viral moment ranking Chicago Sky star Angel Reese as "C tier" during a Complex Sports interview.
"Are you taking Angel above Paige [Bueckers]? Are you taking Angel above Arike [Ogunbowale], are you taking Angel above Sabrina [Ionescu] or Kelsey [Plum] or Caitlin [Clark] or A'ja [Wilson] or Napheesa [Collier] or Breanna [Stewart]?" Parker asked. "No. That does not make her a bad player."
"Do I think [Reese] could be up there? Yes.... Is she there now? No. And this is in no way, shape, or form hating," she said while calling out the need for objective criticism in the WNBA.
How to listen to Parker and Boston on "Post Moves"
Parker and Boston's new podcast Post Moves will drop a new episode across all major podcast platforms — including Spotify, Apple, and YouTube — every Wednesday.
Just Women’s Sports is heading to WNBA All-Star Weekend with its most ambitious event presence yet.
JWS will tip off a multi-faceted WNBA All-Star activation in partnership with Famous Footwear on Saturday July 19th from 2 PM to 6 PM, located at 110 South Pennsylvania Street, Indianapolis.
JWS’ partnership with Famous Footwear includes a multi-part activation designed to merge back-to-school excitement with All-Star energy.
"Between the Lines" live taping headlines WNBA All-Star event
The activation will also feature a live recording of Between the Lines with Lisa Leslie.
The exclusive taping brings WNBA stars Napheesa Collier, Rhyne Howard, Kelsey Mitchell, and Lexie Hull to the stage. Subsequently, these basketball icons will highlight the WNBA’s evolution and cultural resonance, while JWS captures the best moments across its social platforms.
“WNBA All-Star has become the crown jewel of the women’s sports calendar. We’re thrilled to be showing up in a major way across the entire weekend,” said Just Women’s Sports CEO Haley Rosen.
“This is a chance to celebrate and accelerate the strides the W has made in recent years as it’s cemented itself in the cultural landscape.”
Famous Footwear Shoe Tunnel lands in Indianapolis
The star-studded activation features player interviews, exclusive giveaways, fan contests, and more. It is also free and open to all WNBA fans. Visitors will be greeted by a Famous Footwear Shoe Tunnel — and the first 50 fans will be given a gift-card to Famous Footwear for their back-to-school needs.
WNBA legend Lisa Leslie and her son recently visited a Famous Footwear store to shop sneakers and talk all things style, school, and sport. The behind-the-scenes content will roll out as part of a broader back-to-school campaign later this month.
“As big fans of women’s sports ourselves, and knowing how much it means to our customers, we are thrilled to partner with JWS for All-Star Weekend,” said Holly Campbell, senior vice president of marketing at Famous Footwear.
“This activation provides a unique opportunity for us to engage with other sports fans directly fostering connections and creating fun memories during such an exciting time for the league.”
Welcome to another episode of Sports Are Fun!
Every week on Sports Are Fun! presented by Amazon Business, co-hosts soccer legend Kelley O'Hara, sports journalist Greydy Diaz, and JWS intern BJ serve up their hottest takes on the biggest women's sports headlines.
This week, retired NWSL great Merritt Mathias joined the Sports Are Fun! team once again. And while there was plenty of soccer and basketball talk throughout the episode, US tennis Coco Gauff and her 2025 French Open win took center stage.
"First and foremost, Coco Gauff," said O'Hara, setting the scene. "What an absolute victory for her — wins the French Open, beats Sabalenka. And she's talked about this win, how she has manifested this and the amount of mental visualization that she's put into it. youI'm curious, do you guys manifest?"
"Of course!" Mathias said with a laugh. "If you're not manifesting, what are you doing?"
"I really think we saw an incredible display of her mental toughness, her resilience, her composure, in that match," said Diaz. "And I'm just so proud of her. She's the first American since Serena Williams to win it in 10 years."
"I love the manifesting part. I love that she shares all of what she's willing to do in order to be great," added Mathias. "If you're a young girl wanting to play tennis, to see that there is so much that goes into being great other than just the practice... It's cool to do that. You should lean into that."
Alongside the French Open finalists, Sports Are Fun! also tackled the USWNT’s emerging core, Texas's Women's College World Series win, the NWSL standings, US Women taking home the grand prize at TST, and more.
'Sports Are Fun!' goes all in on the Gauff-Sabalenka rivalry
According to the Sports Are Fun! crew, the budding rivalry between Coco Gauff and Aryna Sabalenka is just what the tennis world needs.
"Before we go to our next little topic, I think we have to talk about the post-game press conference," Mathias interjected. "Sabalenka basically comes off of losing this championship match. It's well fought. But over the course of the match, she has a lot of errors — I think it was 70."
"Obviously tensions are high — she started to unravel, we all saw the spiral happen on the court," she continued. "So she goes into this postgame presser and is asked a question about the match, and she's basically like, 'I don't believe Coco Gauff played well or had an incredible game, I think I struggled and had a lot of errors.'"
"Both of those things can be true," O'Hara said. "If you didn't have a great match but Coco did have a good match, you can say both. But she was not."
"You should be gracious in defeat, right?" she continued. "And it is very difficult as an athlete at times. I've seen many people, myself included, say things post-match that I wish I could take back."
"10,000%," agreed Mathias. "But I think this is also what the tennis world always wanted Maria Sharapova and Serena Williams to be, which was never that — Maria Sharapova was never stepping even close to Serena Williams. This though? This is epic. This is like Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer on the women's side."
"Yeah," O'Hara agreed. "We now have our two athletes that are going to go head-to-head, expected to be in the finals."
"And one bit of a head case, so it makes it even better," laughed Mathias.
About 'Sports Are Fun!' with Kelley O'Hara
'Sports Are Fun!' is a show that’ll remind you why you fell in love with women's sports in the first place.
Join World Cup champ, Olympic gold medalist, and aspiring barista Kelley O'Hara as she sits down with sports journalist Greydy Diaz and a revolving cast of co-hosts and friends. Together, they're talking the biggest, funnest, and most need-to-know stories in the world of women’s sports.
From on-court drama to off-field shenanigans, to candid (and silly) chats with the most important personalities in the space, this show screams "Sports Are Fun!"
Subscribe to Just Women's Sports on YouTube to never miss an episode.
In this week's episode of The Late Sub, host Claire Watkins dives into the individuals who put together standout performances for the USWNT in the team's recent pair of friendlies, from a big update in the goalkeeping race to the squad's multi-layered midfield project.
Watkins also breaks down the missed opportunities amid the USWNT's 3-0 win over China PR and 4-0 victory against Jamaica, as the year of head coach Emma Hayes's great roster experiment crosses the six-month mark.
Diving straight into the players who impressed, Watkins first calls out US captain Lindsey Heaps, applauding her performances while also noting that she "[wishes] maybe [Heaps] was used more situationally than kind of all the time."
"Heaps has so much to give this team, but it is probably against teams like this where they're sitting back a little bit more," explains Watkins. "I don't love her against a press. I don't love her against a super athletic, physical midfield, but in these games, she really shines."
Shifting to the ongoing search to crown retired goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher's replacement, Watkins dubs Manchester United net-minder Phallon Tullis-Joyce — who started both USWNT friendlies — the overall frontrunner.
"Tullis-Joyce honestly reminds me a lot of Alyssa Naeher in her first couple years with the USWNT," says Watkins. "She's calm, she's organized, she's a good shot-stopper. She's a great communicator."
Young talent make strong cases for USWNT roster inclusion
Watkins also sings the praises of several young talents whose performances over the last week will make them hard to drop, including "obvious" choices like forward Alyssa Thompson and attacker Catarina Macario, as well as strike Ally Sentnor and teen midfielder Lily Yohannes.
Callling Yohannes "the freaking truth," Watkins notes that "you're seeing glimpses of what could become truly world-class play against the top teams in the world in a couple of years."
Making a slightly quieter, but no less impactful, case, argues Watkins, is winger Michelle Cooper.
Cooper's consistent refining and improvement have Watkins comparing her progress to star Trinity Rodman's USWNT evolution, saying that top passing is "how [Rodman] worked her way into the team before starting to take more shots. I think Cooper can follow that same game plan."
Missed opportunities leave some players scrambling
Pivoting to the missed opportunities arising from the two friendlies, Watkins calls the center-back pairings "lackluster," celebrating the return of star Naomi Girma and her rock-solid play as well as veteran Emily Sonnett's versatility while critiquing Hayes's decision to not test much depth at the position.
"It just feels like a wasted opportunity with so many other center back injuries," Watkins explains, referencing season-ending injuries to players like Tierna Davidson.
Along with what Watkins calls "rough" set pieces, she notes that less rotation and late subs were a missed opportunity to adequately test fresh faces or build chemistry with other players.
Noting that performances like forward Lynn Biyendolo's Jamaica match, in which she scored a brace off the bench, are "the gold standard," Watkins also questions Hayes's own criticism about the level of play dropping off when athletes aren't given enough minutes to find their feet and make an impact.
Citing talent like defender Emily Sams and midfielders Lo'eau LaBonta and Olivia Moultrie, Watkins posits that the sub patterns "just didn't quite have the focus that I'm sure Hayes was looking for."
"I worry that the players that kind of got dumped into games late never really had a chance, which is this happens at times when they're starting to ramp up," she says.
Overall, Hayes seems to be more obviously honing in on her starting core.
"We're starting to see players get multiple starts.... Those are the players to take seriously as the future of this program," notes Watkins.
"Hayes is being very purposeful with what she wants to see from her starters and what she wants to see from her bench. And there is an increasing gap between those two groups," says Watkins. "So the competition rises next international break."
About 'The Late Sub' with Claire Watkins
The Late Sub with Claire Watkins brings you the latest news and freshest takes on the USWNT, NWSL, and all things women's soccer. Special guest appearances featuring the biggest names in women’s sports make TLS a must-listen for every soccer fan.
Follow Claire on X/Twitter @ScoutRipley and subscribe to the Just Women's Sports newsletter for more.
Subscribe to The Late Sub to never miss an episode.
Welcome to another episode of Sports Are Fun!
Every week on Sports Are Fun! presented by Amazon Business, co-hosts soccer legend Kelley O'Hara, sports journalist Greydy Diaz, and JWS intern BJ serve up their hottest takes on the biggest women's sports headlines.
This week, the Sports Are Fun! team is joined on the couch by hit women's soccer-focused social media and podcast duo Alanna Locast and Shannon Fay of SoccerGrlProbs to talk — what else? — the state of head coach Emma Hayes's ever-evolving USWNT.
Firstly, they get to work hashing out the US national team's 3-0 win over China PR — and which USWNT player they think has a shot to make the 2027 World Cup roster.
"We're going to start with women's national team winning 3-0 against China on Saturday," O'Hara introduces. "They won with goals from Cat Macario, Sam Coffey, and Lindsey Heaps — not
Horan, I'm starting to get that right."
"It's not a major tournament year, so this is just a friendly," she continues. "I'm curious if anybody has initial thoughts from this game?"
"It's very fun to see the unpredictability watching them play," says Locast. "We've seen the style that the US plays and you expect where certain players are going to be. I'm watching, and the creativity and just how unpredictable they are, I would not want to mark those three forwards."
"I agree," says O'Hara. "It's very clear that Emma is laying the foundation in a way that everybody understands what their total shape should look like at any point during the game, not just where they specifically should be. Which I think is a really important part of the evolution of the team."
"It's fun to watch. The player pool is so deep now," echos Fay. "I know she wants to have an idea on the team by June, so what's going to happen? I don't know."
Along with the recently USWNT friendlies, the Sports Are Fun! crew also tackles NCAA softball's Women's College World Series, US stars dominated the French Open, the recent Grand Slam Track event, and so much more.
Intern BJ digs up a spicy Pride month throwback
Before the Sports Are Fun! regulars get into all things USWNT, however, intern BJ gifts everyone a very special throwback social media clip in honor of LGBTQ+ Pride month.
"You guys, I want to say happy Pride month," BJ says to the group. "Specifically happy Pride month to Kelley, because a listener DM'd me yesterday and shared a fun little memory of Abby Wambach and Sydney Leroux on the US national team a couple years ago..."
"This wasn't a couple years ago!" says O'Hara, squirming. "This was 10 years ago."
"You know what? I was being generous," quipped BJ. "But it's y'all checking a coach of another team."
"Wooow, Kelley," laughs Diaz.
happy pride month yall 🌈 pic.twitter.com/EZiBMJs387
— r✨ (@21jflem) June 1, 2025
"For those who are listening, it's a series of gifs of Abby, Kelley, and Sydney Leroux. And the coach walks by and they're like, 'She's kind of hot,'" BJ says as the crew cracks up. "They're full, like, dogs are barking."
"Oh my God," laughs O'Hara. "I've seen this before pop up on the socials. And I didn't remember this happening, but then when it came up again, obviously this did happen. And I do think that is what we were saying. I'd need to call Abby to confirm."
"You don't need to call anyone, because your lips are saying exactly those words," says Locast.
About 'Sports Are Fun!' with Kelley O'Hara
'Sports Are Fun!' is a show that’ll remind you why you fell in love with women's sports in the first place.
Join World Cup champ, Olympic gold medalist, and aspiring barista Kelley O'Hara as she sits down with sports journalist Greydy Diaz and a revolving cast of co-hosts and friends. Together, they're talking the biggest, funnest, and most need-to-know stories in the world of women’s sports.
From on-court drama to off-field shenanigans, to candid (and silly) chats with the most important personalities in the space, this show screams "Sports Are Fun!"
Subscribe to Just Women's Sports on YouTube to never miss an episode.
In this week's episode of The Late Sub, host Claire Watkins discusses the importance of the current international window for the USWNT and digs into the players who did and did not make head coach Emma Hayes's latest 24-athlete roster.
Watkins begins with those not invited to this week's senior team camp, with Hayes using the concurrent U23 camp as a "minor league" for athletes who "need a little bit more development or need to be in a different training situation or have different leadership structures."
Watkins specifically digs into the placement of midfielder Korbin Albert and forwards Jaedyn Shaw and Mia Fishel with the U23 squad, as well as the overall omission of goalkeeper Jane Campbell.
Honing in on Albert, Watkins calls her U23 spot a demotion, saying "It's wild to me that someone who started the [2024] Olympic gold-medal match for the USWNT is now playing for the U23s when the senior team is in session."
"I think we're stuck in this question of, 'is she good enough or is she not?'" explains Watkins, noting that "Albert isn't giving [Hayes] those all-around performances that validate that roster spot when there are other players that could be given a look."
In contrast, Watkins backs Hayes's decisions to place the versatile Shaw and Fishel — who's still regaining form from a 2024 ACL tear — with the youth team.
Calling her "the player truly out in the cold here," Watkins worries that 30-year-old Campbell might be facing an "always the bridesmaid, never the bride of the US goalkeeper cycle," with Hayes opting for a largely untested trio of Mandy McGlynn, Phallon Tullis-Joyce, and Claudia Dickey as she continues seeking retired star Alyssa Naeher's replacement.
Top NWSL play fuels USWNT roster call-ups
The uncapped Dickey, says Watkins, is one of the players reaping the benefits of Hayes's developmental roster movements.
"She is statistically one of the highest performing goalkeepers in the NWSL this season," notes Watkins about the Seattle Reign starter. "The numbers do not lie. She is one of the best pure shot-stoppers in the league this year, if not the best."
Also snagging a shot at the senior team thanks to stellar NWSL play are Orlando Pride standout and "Swiss Army knife defender" Kerry Abello, Portland Thorns midfielder Olivia Moultrie, and Kansas City Current captain Lo'eau LaBonta.
LaBonta, who headlined this USWNT roster by earning her first-ever call-up at age 32, is a versatile midfielder with, according to Watkins, a "really, really strong" mentality as well as a "wonderful locker room presence."
Citing Hayes's previous comments about the age of certain players causing her to seek younger athletes, Watkins wonders if LaBonta's call-up isn't simply a long-overdue reward for years of top professional play, and instead, perhaps, a sign that Hayes is "learning that you need a little bit of both [youth and experience]."
"I think [LaBonta's] going to make herself hard to drop," states Watkins. "With 2027 only two years away, I'm not betting against LaBonta. She's going into this camp looking for more call-ups. This is not just a 'job well done' situation for her."
Finally, Watkins mentions that many younger players, like Kansas City's Michelle Cooper and Claire Hutton, and Utah's Ally Sentnor, are back in the mix "because they're playing too well for the U23s. They've been put into senior team camp and they've swam — they have not sunk."
Summer friendlies serve as senior team try-outs
The stakes are high for the 24 athletes in this USWNT camp, with small windows to impress Hayes while facing two tough opponents in the upcoming days: May 31st's clash with China PR and a June 3rd date with Jamaica's Reggae Girlz.
"Who's going to be able to elevate their game even if they don't have a ton of experience?," asks Watkins. "It's up to the senior call-ups to make those players that are in the U23s harder to call back in. And those players in the U23s are going to probably have to show new sides of themselves to get back into the fold."
"This is the Emma Hayes system. And I cannot wait to say who says, 'Nope. This is not just a pat on the back. You're not dropping me.'"
About 'The Late Sub' with Claire Watkins
The Late Sub with Claire Watkins brings you the latest news and freshest takes on the USWNT, NWSL, and all things women's soccer. Special guest appearances featuring the biggest names in women’s sports make TLS a must-listen for every soccer fan.
Follow Claire on X/Twitter @ScoutRipley and subscribe to the Just Women's Sports newsletter for more.
Subscribe to The Late Sub to never miss an episode.