KC Current
KC Current begin preseason and announce roster

Believe it or not, preseason has arrived for the KC Current as teams can begin their preseason camps as early as January 15th. Not all NWSL teams have begun preseason, though. Teams can start as late as February 5, but the Current wasted no time in beginning to prepare for the 2025 season, one which midfielder Lo’eau LaBonta said in the preseason press conference that the team is hungry and ready, and they are no longer in a rebuilding year as they were in 2024.
The Current spent the offseason signing new players to replace a few core players that were a part of their success in 2024. Goalkeepers AD Franch and Almut Schult were both out of contract at the end of the 2024 season and did not re-sign with the team. The club declined options for defender Stine Ballisager, and midfielder Desiree Scott announced her intention to retire and returned to Canada. This is just to name a few, by the way. There were a few more end of season moves as the season wrapped up.
To make up for those key departures in December, the team signed Brazilian goalkeeper Lorena da Silva Leite, simply known as Lorena, to a three-year contract with an option for 2028. That same month, the Current signed midfielder Rocky RodrÃguez and acquired former Seattle Reign and U.S. Youth National Team goalkeeper Laurel Ivory. To add young players, now that the NWSL Draft no longer exists, the Current signed three collegiate players through the 2025 season: NCAA National Champion and 2024 NCAA College Cup Most Outstanding Defensive Player Clare Gagne, Duke and U.S. U-17 World Cup forward Mary Long, and U.S. U-17 World Cup defender Katie Scott, who played at Penn State.
2025 preseason roster
The team has 24 players under contract and four non-rostered invitees. The majority of the players who contributed significantly to Kansas City’s high-scoring offense return for 2025, including 2024 NWSL MVP and Golden Boot Winner Temwa Chawinga, team captain Lo’eau LaBonta, and veteran midfielder Vanessa DiBenardo.
Goalkeepers (4):
Lorena (NYR – INT), Laurel Ivory, Clare Gagne, Evan O’Steen (NRI – U-18)
Defenders (10): Alana Cook, Kayla Sharples, Hailie Mace, Gabrielle Robinson (SEI), Izzy Rodriguez, Regan Steigleder, Mallory Weber (NRI), Ellie Wheeler, Katie Scott, Meila Brewer (NRI – U-18)
Midfielders (7): Debinha, Vanessa DiBernardo, Bayley Feist, Claire Hutton, Lo’eau LaBonta, Jereko, Rocky RodrÃguez
Forwards (7): Temwa Chawinga (INT), Michelle Cooper, Alex Pfeiffer (SEI), Nichelle Prince, Bia Zaneratto (SEI – INT – NYR), Mary Long, Ava Tankersley (NRI)
Players notably absent from roster
Defender Elizabeth Ball and forward Kristen Hamilton are still both free agents and have been since the end of last season. The Current are in talks with both players, and there should be an update sometime soon-ish on their future with the club.
Nigerian forward Opeyemi Ajakaye who signed with the Current last fall sometime, but she was on loan with USL Super League’s Carolina Ascent, agreed to a mutual termination of her contract. Ajakaye can negotiate a new contract with any team in the NWSL or pursue other professional opportunities, under the new CBA signed between the NWSL and NWSLPA.
Ah, preseason. What’s next?!
The team gets to hang out and train in the winter wonderland in Kansas City before heading to Irvine, California on January 25. The Current will be in California through February 5. The team will also train in sunny and warm Florida from February 16 through March 3. Preseason matches are likely to occur during those dates, of course.
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