An Ode to the No Longer Current: 2026

As we’ve done the last two years (2024 & 2025), we’re going to pause the process of looking forward to what this upcoming season may bring for the Kansas City Current and their fans, and instead look back, reflecting on and appreciating the contributions of some of the recently departed players.

To many of us, this has felt like a rather uneasy offseason. For nearly all of 2025, the Current were the toast of the NWSL, racing away from the competition, setting numerous records, and earning their first major trophy: the NWSL Shield. Then, of course, came the disappointment of another early exit from the playoffs, this time to the lowest seed in front of a sold-out home crowd. That experience left a bitter taste, but the thought was that the team wouldn’t need a major overhaul to position themselves for a return to the top of the table this year. But, well, the powers that be in the team’s front office seemed to have slightly different ideas.

The first shockwave was when Vlatko Andonovski, the coach who had led them to their two best regular seasons (including the best regular season the league has ever seen), apparently decided to step away from the sidelines and into a Sporting Director role. Following this, there have been several player departures that have been surprising to say the least.

A quick glance at the Current’s official roster shows many of the names we’ve come to know and love, but digging a little deeper (as we did here) reveals some areas of concern–particularly in the attack as stars such as Chawinga and Cooper are still making their way back from injury and many of the exits have been along the forward line. As always with an article like this, there were several players we could have chosen to highlight (Nichelle Prince very nearly made it on here), but we settled on the three (plus one) that, over their time in Kansas City, likely made the biggest impacts on the field and/or seemed poised for the brightest futures moving forward.

Bia

When you arrived ahead of the 2024 season, you helped usher in the golden age of soccer for the KC Current. When you scored in the 34th minute of the season opener that year and celebrated with a Siuuu, the fans knew the team had found a star striker.

You were everything the team asked for. You were a strong, physical player who could hold up play and distribute with your back to goal. You were a technical finisher who didn’t need many looks to force your way onto the scorer’s sheet. You were unselfish as some of your best moments came in link-up play with fellow stars like Chawinga and Debinha. You were awarded NWSL assist of the week for this deft pass to Temwa.

You immediately made your mark not just on this team, but on the league, securing the NWSL Player of the Month for March/April 2024 (you netted four goals and three assists in that short span). We know that injuries robbed you of even more glory in the red and teal kits, but every time you were fit enough to lace up your boots, we knew we were going to get your best: a number 9 who hustled all over the field, not only leading the attack, but often getting back to break up potential counterattacks.

We can understand the pull of returning to your native soil, especially in the run up to Brazil hosting the first Women’s World Cup to take place in South America next year. We will cheer you on from afar and who knows, maybe the Current and Palmeiras will meet at some future competition, such as the inaugural Women’s Club World Cup. If that happens, we will brace ourselves because we are well aware of the force that is Bia Zaneratto.

Hailie 

It will be weird for us to show up to matches this year and not get to see you somewhere on the field for the Current. While you weren’t a team original, you spent most of the past five years in Kansas City, making over 100 appearances for the team, including 95 starts in all competitions for the Current. You also have been one of the most versatile players ever to suit up in the teal. When you joined the team in the trade from North Carolina, you arrived primarily as a winger and even though you transitioned fairly quickly to fullback, you were the person the team would turn to in a pinch for just about any spot on the field. Need an attacker? Mace. Need a center back? Mace. In fact, your ability to shift to the middle late last year, helped the team maintain its elite (record-setting) defense even when players like Cook, Robinson, and Ball were all dealing with injuries. You secured another NWSL Best XI second team appearance while splitting your time all across the back line.

But despite your defensive prowess, you always were one of the most exciting players running into space with the ball at your feet. You tallied five goals and eleven assists during your time here, including some of the most exciting moments this team has seen. For example, in September of 2022, the Current were squaring off against the Portland Thorns, a team KC had never scored a single goal against in the regular season to that point. The Thorns led 1-0 into second half stoppage time. And then you did this. That goal and the draw it secured provided much of the momentum that carried the team all the way to the Championship Match that season.

Even though you left KC for one of our main rivals, we harbor no grudges and we congratulate you on your engagement. It’s awesome that you two will get to suit up for the same team, though we’ll be wary of your defensive strength and pinpoint passing every time the Current and the Pride square off in the future. Hopefully, the top of the NWSL table can look much the same as it has over the past couple of years, with KC and Orlando occupying two of the top spots. It would be even better if you work your way back into the national team picture, as we would have no qualms about cheering you on while the stars and stripes adorn your chest.

Hailie, as someone who has been the consummate professional and the embodiment of KC Current soccer (since even before the team got its name), we thank you for your time, your passion, your attitude, and your successes while here in Kansas City. You will be missed.

Alex 

This one really hurts. You are one of the most exciting young players we have ever seen. Yes, unfortunately, much of your time in Kansas City was defined by the ACL injury that kept you sidelined for a full year, but we knew better than to write you off. It seemed like your star was just going to continue getting brighter and brighter as you grew into this team and this league.

It’s well documented that you were just 15 years old when you signed a professional contract with the Current, making you one of the youngest pros ever. You then became the league’s youngest goal scorer when you found the back of the net in your debut.

You were someone the fans always rallied around and you gave the love right back, often staying later than anyone else signing autographs for the kids who dreamed of one day following in your footsteps. It’s almost impossible for most of us to imagine what life is like as a professional athlete, let alone one who would otherwise still be walking through high school hallways on the way to gym class. And yet, you seemed built for this. The lights never seemed too bright for you. And even when tragedy struck in the form of a season-ending injury, you persevered and came back as strong as ever.

It really seemed like we were getting a taste of what the future of this team was going to look like in the World Sevens tournament last December. Between you and Ellie (Wheeler) Bravo-Young, the Current still had a lot of firepower, even minus the likes of Chawinga, Cooper, Debinha, etc. There is a flair to your style of play that, even when it doesn’t result in a goal, is simply fun to watch.

But, well, we’ll now be watching from afar. And we are the worse for it. Your departure is the one that still feels most shocking. We likely won’t ever know what went into that process/decision, but you will be missed. It will be especially hard for us to see you lining up in the navy blue of the Bay FC kits. We will still be cheering for you, even as we will be lamenting what could have been if things had worked out for you to stay longer in Kansas City. Go easy on us next fall when the Current and Bay clash twice in a month. We won’t be at all surprised if you have a breakout season and end up becoming a senior national team regular. Maybe, somewhere down the line, there might be a return to KC in your future (hey, we can dream). After all, you’re still so young.

Kristen (honorable mention inclusion)

Before we let you ride off into the (Pitchside Coffee) sunset, we want to give you your dues. Before the Kansas City attack featured MVP Temwa Chawinga, it boasted Hat-trick Hammy. You established the club record in 2022 by scoring 13 goals across all competitions and you are still the only player in league history to ever notch a hat-trick in the Challenge Cup. You’re one of those athletes that makes other players look lazy thanks to your inexhaustible hustle all over the pitch. Your joy for the game has never been in doubt.

You arrived in the Midwest (in the same trade that netted Hailie) in the middle of the Current’s inaugural season and you quickly established yourself as a fan favorite. Your first goal for the team, less than a month after joining, proved to be the winner against Racing Louisville–only the second ever victory for KC. The 13 goals you scored the following year proved vital to a team that would surprise the league by making it all the way to the Championship Match. You continued to be the Current’s primary scoring threat over the next couple of years until injuries started to slow you down.

The 2024 season seemed like it was going to be more of the same for you as you joined Bia and Alex on the scorer’s sheet in the season opening win.

However, that season would prove to be the beginning of the end for you. You still made several appearances, and even nabbed a spot on the league’s Best XI for July of 2024, but your play time seemed to dwindle, and injuries started to creep in. Despite that, you were on the field in the season’s most important moments, during the conclusion of the semifinal match in Orlando.

There was some question heading into that offseason whether you’d be back, but you did re-sign and we were excited. Of course, though, you never actually saw the field in 2025 and so it wasn’t a surprise when you announced your retirement a few months ago. Regardless of the frustration of sitting on the sidelines all year, you did get to celebrate one more trophy–your 8th major NWSL title (between your time in New York, North Carolina, and KC).

You did provide us with an unexpected coda when you donned the Current crest one more time as part of the World 7s squad in December. While that ultimately wasn’t a success for the team, it was awesome for your fans to see you racing up and down the field one final time.

If and when the KC Current create a team hall of fame, we have no doubt you’ll be one of the first inductees. We thank you for your time and wish you a very happy retirement.