KC Current Announce Roster Moves with Free Agency Opening Today

As of the last collective bargaining agreement between the National Women’s Soccer League and the NWSL Players Association, the rules have changed in the league. Free agency begins in the middle of the season. Today, July 1st, is the start of 2027 free agency.

It’s a concept that is foreign to many American sports fans. Free agency is during the offseason, right? And even in Major League Soccer, the league acts as a single entity and attempts to keep teams from competing with each other too often for players.

But not in the NWSL. Or pretty much the rest of world football. Instead, teams can sign pre-contracts with players six months out from the start of the next league year. At least for players set to be out of contract after this season.

That leads to players knowing they will no longer be on the team they are on, but they still have to play for the remainder of the season. That is part of the reason for the urgency of the Ally Sentnor trade. If the Kansas City Current didn’t trade Sentnor, she could sign with another team on July 1st and leave for free after the season. Instead, they flipped her for $850,000 in intra-league transfer funds less than a year after they acquired her.

That’s much better business, particularly if they couldn’t sign her to an extension. Getting something is better than getting nothing, obviously. And the Current got a lot for a player that was about to be able to walk out the door for free.

Big Names Set to Depart

With free agency open, teams around the league had to make announcements about all the players they have options on. The KC Current declined options for Vanessa DiBernardo (who remains on maternity leave) and Rocky Rodriguez.

They confirmed they are negotiating with Debinha and Elizabeth Ball, who both have mutual options (meaning the team and player must agree to trigger the option). Debinha, when healthy, has been one of the best players in NWSL history. Ball is incredibly underrated and has consistently been one of the better CBs on the Current’s roster.

Midfielder Bayley Feist, GK Clare Gagne and CB Kolo Suliafu are all 2027 free agents and can sign pre-contracts along with the aforementioned players.

All seven of these players remain on the roster for the 2026 season, it’s only their 2027 status that is in doubt.

The KC Current also announced they extended the loan of Flora Marta Lacho to remain with HB Køge Women through the end of the 2026 season. Last week, the club announced the signing of goalkeeper Kaylin Williams-Mosier from KC Current II to a short-term deal that is set to expire at the end of this month.

Something not formally announced, that certainly happened a while back, was the removal of Mary Long from the D45 list. She tore her ACL in December but is working towards a very quick recovery. She is occupying a roster spot, though the option to put her on the Season Ending Injury list remains if the team wants to add another player.

Alana Cook, who was injured nearly a year ago, remains on the SEI with the ability to come off the list.

Even without adding back Cook, or the short-term deal for Williams-Mosier expiring, the team can still make additions. The secondary transfer window opens on July 14th and runs through September 7th. With the money from the Sentnor trade and a midfield still missing Claire Hutton, it seems likely the KC Current will make more moves.