Emma Hayes’ first task as head coach of the United States women’s national team was getting that soccer juggernaut back on the Olympic podium. With Paris 2024 gold medals hanging around their necks, now the fun can really begin.
Without an Olympic Games or World Cup, 2025 is a year for the wider player pool to try out for Hayes’ rotation. SheBelieves Cup is one such prime opportunity. The USWNT plays a trio of matches against high-caliber opposition who also featured in France last summer — Colombia (today, 8:00 p.m. Eastern), Australia (Feb. 23, 5:00 p.m. Eastern) and Japan (Feb. 27, 10:30 p.m. Eastern).
“It gives me the chance to see the likes of these players against the players who have been a little bit more established,” Hayes said after naming her squad. “I want to do it in a competition setting. Now is the time for us to take the risks and build the larger playing pool with bigger and better experiences.”
Of the 23 players, 10 enter the camp with four senior international caps or fewer. It’s a dramatic overhaul compared to the team that won Olympic gold in August. Key figures such as Naomi Girma, Rose Lavelle, Trinity Rodman, Mallory Swanson and Sophia Wilson are all extending their NWSL preseason recovery programs instead of joining up.
Here are the relative newcomers Hayes will be assessing with an eye toward future national team camps.
All metrics provided by TruMedia via StatsBomb (Opta) data. Rankings among players with at least 900 minutes played unless otherwise stated. Ages and international cap totals as of February 20, 2025.
Mandy McGlynn, 26, goalkeeper (Utah Royals)
Former No. 1 goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher saved her finest work for her final year, backstopping the USWNT to win the CONCACAF W Gold Cup and the Olympics before retiring from international play in November. For the first time in nearly three decades, there’s an open competition for the program’s hallowed 1 shirt, following the reigns of Briana Scurry, Hope Solo and Naeher.
McGlynn, who has appeared only once before for the U.S, joins longtime backup Jane Campbell on the squad. However, she has a profile that fits Hayes’ system to a considerable extent.
She was tested early and often in 2024, facing the third-most shots of any NWSL goalkeeper. Despite the deluge, her 7.21 goals prevented total (comparing her goals conceded with each on-target attempt’s post-shot expected goals) trailed only Gotham FC’s NWSL goalkeeper of the year, Ann-Katrin Berger, and Washington Spirit’s Aubrey Kingsbury, who backstopped their teams to the semifinals and final, respectively.
McGlynn is comfortable leaving the box to stifle an opponent’s build-up. While many goalkeepers will scamper to either side of the box to clear the ball, the considerable number of defensive actions at the edge of the midfield third suggests she could help the USWNT keep a higher defensive line knowing that she’s capable of mop-up work.
Throw in some decent cross-stopping metrics and above-average passing acumen from long range and McGlynn projects to stay in the succession plan conversation.
Tara McKeown, 25, defender (Washington Spirit)
While Girma and Tierna Davidson were a vital center back partnership in the Olympics, the fact both are left-footed leaves some room for competition to find a better balance in possession. Though she hasn’t made an appearance for the U.S. at senior level, McKeown is coming off a fine 2024, helping the Spirit get to the NWSL Championship game.
McKeown is a proactive defender, ranking eighth among minutes-qualified NWSL center backs with 4.03 true tackles per 1,000 touches and ninth with a 75.3% true tackle win rate. True tackles are the total tackles, challenges lost and fouls when attempting a tackle. The win rate is the real kicker, showing that far more often than not, she makes an impact when going into a challenge.
She also benefits from Washington’s system, with former Barcelona women’s manager Jonatan Giráldez asking his defenders to help guide the team’s possession. McKeown is used to looking for low-risk passes that keep the ball from changing hands, a vital trait in the modern game.
Emily Sams, 25, defender (Orlando Pride)
The only player on this watchlist who was part of the 2024 Olympic squad, doing so as an alternate. Sams, another right-footed center back, was then the defensive bedrock of Orlando’s title-winning season. She makes an often thankless role look smooth, much like Girma, a testament to her expert game-reading that gets her into position to prevent opponents doing something rather than reacting to their initiative.
Girma and Davidson are both experts at breaking lines with their passes, but Sams performed even better when distributing a pass at least 35 yards. She completed 54.5% of her long pass attempts, the second-best rate in the NWSL (behind veteran Abby Erceg), and a 4.5% advantage over both Olympic starters. That’s a requisite skill for the U.S. which often rewards Rodman’s runs beyond the backline.
Gisele Thompson, 19, defender (Angel City FC)
Thompson had an impressive rookie season in 2024. Naturally right-footed, Angel City gave her a couple of shifts on the wing but ultimately decided she fit best at full back. The majority of her season was played at left back, but a handful of deployments on the right hints at the kind of positional versatility Hayes looks for when building a squad.
Thompson’s mentality at full back is to retain possession, logging the lowest rate of upfield passes of any player at her position as she instead looked to recirculate. When she did get into the final third, however, she wreaked havoc. Her 84.2% pass completion in the attacking third wasn’t just the best among NWSL full backs who logged as many minutes in the role, it was over 10% higher than the second-ranked player.
If she and elder sister Alyssa see the field together, they will be the first siblings to play for the USWNT concurrently since Sam and Kristie Mewis. Still, Gisele’s place in the pool is fully warranted on merit, separate from 20-year-old Angel City forward Alyssa’s own rising stock.
Claire Hutton, 19, midfielder (Kansas City Current)
Hutton leapt straight from high school to the pros, signing with the Current in December 2023 after previously committing to the University of North Carolina. She proved this wasn’t just a play for the future, immediately earning a starting role at NWSL level under former USWNT head coach Vlatko Andonovski. Hutton made the lineup for 21 of the Current’s 28 matches, including both playoff games.
Not only was she one of the most proactive midfielders in making challenges, Hutton was among the league’s most successful aggressors. She was also proactive in cutting passing lanes, and tough to get past. She couldn’t have made a stronger first impression by doing the more thankless aspects of midfield work impeccably well.
Last year saw the emergence of a few defensive midfielders who should stick in Hayes’ plans, including Sam Coffey, Hal Hershfelt and Korbin Albert. Hutton is just getting started, but don’t be surprised if she lands on more senior USWNT squads in the months and years to come.
Lily Yohannes, 17, midfielder (Ajax)
The youngest member of this squad may arguably be the program’s brightest rising star.
Yohannes broke out in a big way in 2024, turning some precocious performances for Amsterdam-based Ajax into a dual-national plotline as the United States and the Netherlands vied for her talents. The Springfield, Virginia-born midfielder opted to represent the U.S., making her debut in the pre-Olympics warm-up games. She got her first international goal 10 minutes after coming on, a calmly slotted finish that made her the third-youngest goalscorer in program history — all before she turned 17.
The trick when managing young players with upside this considerable is making sure they aren’t overextended before they are ready for a professional’s full workload. Ajax seems to have been doing that quite well, keeping Yohannes involved often while increasing her share of minutes in her second season. She can play as a deep-lying technician or in a more free-roaming role and has eight goals and seven assists in 2,320 Eredivisie minutes over her two seasons with Ajax.
Yohannes’ profile is very different from the other nine players on this list. She is the kind of prospect who could be at the heart of the USWNT’s success for over a decade to come and is among the most exciting players of any age to participate in this year’s SheBelieves Cup.
Michelle Cooper, 22, winger (Kansas City Current)
Another USWNT rookie, Cooper showed her ability to defend along the front line last season, ranking ninth among wingers and attacking midfielders by winning 50.3% of her duels. She was also quick to pounce on loose balls in her vicinity, while her true tackle win rate ranked sixth among 34 qualified players.
Cooper isn’t just here to defend, however — not by a long shot. While she’s understandably still refining her end-product in terms of shooting and creating chances, she helped the Current progress upfield on her dribble. That acumen also kept defenses honest, positioning an opponent in her channel and freeing up space in the center and left flanks for 2024 NWSL MVP Temwa Chawinga.
Yazmeen Ryan, 25, midfielder/forward (Houston Dash)
After her versatility helped Gotham FC become NWSL champions in 2023 (having also won it in 2022 with Portland Thorns), Ryan was a staple of their failed title defense, most often starting at right wing or in central midfield. An offseason trade to Houston can help her rise from a supplemental figure on one team to a star for another.
Ryan had the second-most chances created while playing as a winger, trailing only Rodman among all NWSL players. She’s able to dish during the run of play and while taking set pieces, a useful trait as Hayes looks for her team’s dead-ball specialists beyond Lavelle. Ryan also placed 42.5% of her 40 shots on target, suggesting that more goals could come in 2025 and beyond.
Considering her positional versatility, well-rounded skill set and four previous appearances for the U.S., a couple of star turns for the USWNT should keep her in Hayes’ plans for the foreseeable future.
Emma Sears, 23, winger (Racing Louisville)
In future books about how to make a strong first impression, authors would be wise to cite the work of Sears.
A rookie in 2024, the winger’s interplay with Louisville landed her on one of Hayes’ post-Olympics squads, earning a debut in October and two further appearances. She made the most of the chance, becoming the fourth player to score a goal and get an assist in her USWNT debut.
Sears attempted 85 dribbles in her first season in NWSL, trailing only international stars Racheal Kundananji, Rodman and Chawinga among NWSL wingers. Her movement on the ball is similarly breakneck to each of that aforementioned trio, while 36% of her carries advanced the ball at least five yards closer to goal, which was tops among NWSL wingers and attacking midfielders. Her average carry traveled 8.9 yards, second-best in the league behind Barbra Banda.
Sears created ample scoring chances for herself and her teammates after carrying the ball at least five meters, with two of her five NWSL goals coming after such a run. That sort of on-ball ingenuity in the final third is a rare skill, one that should keep her on the rise.
Ally Sentnor, 21, forward (Utah Royals)
The final first overall pick of the NWSL’s draft era, Sentnor was immediately thrust into leading-attacker status in expansion team Utah’s debut season. However, her breakthrough came on the international stage in the Under-20 Women’s World Cup in the fall, captaining the U.S. to bronze medals. She was named U.S. Soccer’s Young Female Player of the Year in January.
Sentnor is incredibly proactive in the final third, which was sorely needed in Utah. While her team got off to a slow start, she kept them in games with prolific shooting volume and bountiful chance creation. She also shoots from range — 62% of her shots came from outside the box last season, trailing only Savannah DeMelo among attacking midfielders and forwards.
This SheBelieves Cup will be among the first chances to see Sentnor play as one of several capable attackers rather than being her team’s headliner.
How she acclimates under those corresponding changes will go a long way toward projecting her fit under Hayes.
(Top photos: Imagn Images and Getty Images)
