Preseason has begun for all 14 teams in the NWSL, and the regular season officially starts next month. That means now is a good time to take stock of each team’s busy offseason and their official preseason rosters to determine whether they’re better or worse off than last season.
Which teams’ stocks are up? And which are down? And in a couple of cases, which are holding steady heading into the 2024 regular season?
Let’s take a look.
Angel City
Stock: Down
Though the Angels are returning much of their core, Savannah McCaskill’s departure via free agency will be a huge blow to an Angel City midfield – and team – that relied on her heavily to get to the postseason last year. That, paired with Dani Weatherholt’s free agency decision to leave the Angels for the Courage, means the Angel City midfield ranks are rather thin.
There’s not a clear replacement for McCaskill or Weatherholt on the Angels’ preseason roster, with Portland’s Rocky Rodriguez the only veteran midfielder brought in during the offseason. Rodriguez battled injuries last year, though, and logged under 600 minutes for the Thorns in 2023. As a result, it’s unclear whether she’ll be making an immediate impact in March.
