With the regular season initial rosters due next Wednesday and the regular season kicking off in a week and a half, here’s a look back at the most surprising NWSL trades of the offseason:

1. Jaedyn Shaw traded to North Carolina

Surprising because: Jaedyn Shaw has been with the Wave since July of 2022 when she signed her first professional contract at the age of 17. After the retirement of Alex Morgan in the middle of the 2024 season, it seemed like Shaw was set to be the focal point of the team’s attack—especially after becoming the first USWNT player to score in their first five starts earlier in the year—but alas, the Wave announced that the trade was requested by Shaw earlier in 2024. It’s a good move for an already stacked North Carolina roster who already have 91% of their 2024 regular season minutes played returning to the club in 2025 and now have one more weapon in their arsenal. 

2. Savy King traded to Angel City

Surprising because: King was the 2nd overall pick in the 2024 NWSL Collegiate Draft and played in 18 regular season games for Bay FC in 2024. Even though she did play the majority of her minutes in the front half of the season, when she joined Bay FC last year she signed a three-year contract, so it was a bit surprising to see her leave so soon. (Note: it has been reported that King did request the move). Angel City gains some more depth on defense—which is slightly surprising in and of itself since the team already added Alanna Kennedy and Miyabi Moriya in the offseason. 

3. Jaelin Howell goes to Gotham, while Lynn Biyendolo (née Williams) and Cassie Miller head to Seattle

Surprising because: Biyendolo battled with a lower leg injury throughout the season and still scored four games and assisted on three goals in her little over 1000 minutes for Gotham. At the time of the trade, Biyendolo was one of five forwards on the roster—since the trade the club has added five additional forwards to the roster. For Seattle, getting a proven veteran scorer on the roster adds to the depth that was added during the secondary window last season. On the other side of the trade, Howell had just arrived in Seattle late August of last year and started three of the five matches she was there. Adding Howell to the roster for Gotham is a solid move to replace the gap left by free agent midfielder Delanie Sheehan signing with Houston a few weeks prior. 

4. Alex Loera traded to Utah

Surprising because: Loera was the first player Bay FC signed and was named the captain of the northern-California based expansion side in 2024 before she tore her ACL in April shortly after the season began. It’s a great deal for the Royals as they are receiving a young but proven midfielder who hopefully is close to being removed from the SEI list. In an availability in late January, Loera stated, “hopefully around April” in response to when fans can hope to see her on the pitch.

5. Rocky Rodriguez traded to Kansas City

Surprising because: Angel City doesn’t have a lot of depth in the midfield and to trade away a player who played in almost half of the club’s regular season minutes—and started 13 of the 26 matches—without having already signed the depth to fill in that position is an interesting choice. Kansas City receives another player with national team experience to add even more depth to their already stacked roster. 



Honorable Mention (not intra-league)

San Diego Wave/USWNT defender Naomi Girma transfers to WSL side Chelsea for a reported record setting transfer fee north of $1 million. Extra surprising because after the Wave traded Shaw to North Carolina, Girma appeared to be the remaining franchise player for the club.