Bia is Back! KC Current Announce End of Season Moves

Earlier today, the Kansas City Current, and the rest of the NWSL, announced their end of season roster moves. The KC Current didn’t actually have much to announce. They confirmed what we had long known, that they had triggered the 2025 contract options for Bia Zaneratto and Regan Steigleder.

In addition to bringing back those two, the team announced they declined the options for defenders Sophie Braun and Stine Ballisager Pedersen and let the loan expire for midfielder Hildah Magaia. The team also confirmed the retirement of Desiree Scott.

KC did not have answers on players who were out of contract and already free to sign elsewhere, or with Kansas City again. That list includes Almuth Schult, AD Franch, Elizabeth Ball, Kristen Hamilton, Mallory Weber and Katie Fraine. They are all free agents.

A New Signing

Also, buried in the announcement, was another move we were aware of but only became official today. The KC Current have signed Nigerian forward Opeyemi Ajakaye. She’s just 18-years-old (19 on December 30th) and we learned about her signing when her name popped up as being on loan from KC in a press release from the USL Super League’s Carolina Ascent FC.

Ajakaye will remain with Carolina through the end of 2024 and presumably join KC for preseason.

Back in 2022, she earned a bronze medal at the U-17 World Cup with Nigeria, taking and scoring the winning penalty kick. According to Carolina, “before coming to the states, Ajakaye also spent stints with club teams Madrid CFF, a Spanish women’s soccer club that currently plays in Liga F, and FC Robo Queens, member of the Nigerian Women’s Football League.”

Breaking Down the Moves

It can be tough to know what is a good or bad move since there is a lack of transparency in the National Women’s Soccer League around pay. With that in mind, here are some quick thoughts on each move.

Bia Zaneratto

When news had leaked out weeks ago of Bia’s option being picked up, it felt like a no brainer. Bia was a force when she was healthy. She plays the center forward position unlike anyone else on this roster. Her hold up play is second to none and she’s quite the scoring threat as well. Adding her to the already potent offense just makes sense.

Regan Steigleder

Steigleder is a backup fullback, and sometimes center back, who is likely on an inexpensive contract. She didn’t play much in league play (three appearances, one start, 72 minutes) but is valuable depth across the backline. She played more in non-league competition and her positional diversity surely goes a long way on this roster.

Hildah Magaia

We just didn’t get a chance to know the “breadwinner” during her short loan from Mazatlán in Liga MX femenil. She only made six league appearances for 50 minutes. The team decided not to pick up her purchase option, so she’ll head back to Mexico.

Stine Ballisager

By far the biggest contributor of the players who had options declined. She played in 18 league games with 11 starts for 1,067 minutes. The Danish center back was a regular starter after Gabby Robinson went down with an injury, until the summer when Vlatko Andonovski added Kayla Sharples and Alana Cook. Presumably those additions, plus her being a starter for Denmark, means she’d like to start for her club team. Moving on probably makes sense for both sides of this equation.

Update: This story initially said mutual options could be triggered by either the team or the player, but they must be triggered by BOTH the team and the player. That way a player can’t be forced to stay if they don’t want to. In this case, the release clearly says “the club” declined the option.

Sophia Braun

The only player on this list to not appear in a game for Kansas City this year. Braun spent the last few months on loan with the Spokane Zephyr of the USL SL. She’s also a regular starter for the Argentina national team. Presumably the team saw enough in practice to know they want to go another direction.

Questions remain of the six free agents if any of them will return. Daniel Sperry of the KC Star asked new General Manager Caitlin Carducci about the goalkeeper spot in particular and she was non-committal on the team’s out of contract keepers.

Asked her about GK position (given there are none under contract going into next season) and whether or not the team is still looking to bring back AD Franch or Almuth Schult. Says they're looking at anyone and everyone, both with those two and externally. #KCBaby

— Daniel Sperry (@danielsperrykc.bsky.social) 2024-12-10T18:13:02.262Z

Update 7:14PM: Sperry has clarified, as the person who asked the question, it may not be non-committal as much as they haven’t gotten anyone signed yet.

I don't think it's them NOT committing to Schult, as much as it is them acknowledging they're desperate to add in that position in general (given zero keeps). Trust me, if she wants to come back, she'll be back.

— Daniel Sperry (@danielsperrykc.bsky.social) 2024-12-10T23:46:48.473Z

Outside of the questions at GK, the rest of the Starting XI seems set and any additions will have to fight for a starting spot or be valuable depth. If the team can bring in another starter, which Vlatko seemingly implied they’ve cleared some cap space, they will be an absolute menace to deal with in 2025. Even if they don’t, they are a contender.

The KC Soccer Journal will bring you more on the offseason as it unfolds. The next trade window opens on Friday at 8:00 AM CST.