With the regular season kicking off in two weeks, here’s a look back at the most surprising NWSL trades of the offseason:

Even with the new CBA forcing player approval of trades, there was no downturn in the offseason trades and in fact there was a significant increase in the transfer fees/allocation funds  involved between clubs. 

1. Claire Hutton traded to Bay FC

Surprising because: Hutton has been pivotal in the Kansas City midfield, playing the fourth most minutes of any field player in both 2024 and 2025. Although only 20 years old, the midfielder was positioned to be one of the long-term franchise players for the Current and additionally has 13 caps for the USWNT. In 2025, she was named to the NWSL Best XI First Team and was a finalist for NWSL Midfielder of the Year.

2. Croix Bethune traded to Kansas City

Surprising because: Bethune came off a record breaking rookie season in 2024 that ended early after a torn meniscus following the summer Olympic break and returned from the SEI list ahead of the season starting. Even with only a partial season played, she still tied the league record for the most assists in a season and won NWSL Rookie of the Year. She battled with a hip injury for the first few matches of the season but still played in 20 matches for the Spirit with 16 starts. She also scored in the semifinal win over the Portland Thorns to help Washington secure a spot in its second straight championship final. She was tabbed to the NWSL Best XI Second Team at the end of the 2025 campaign. 

3. Ludmila traded to San Diego

Surprising because: Ludmila was Chicago’s leading goalscorer last year with 10 goals (nearly ⅓ of all of the Stars goals scored). She played in 24 games and started in 21. A potential argument for the trade could be that Mal Swanson is coming back from maternity leave this year, and when the two forwards were both on the pitch together at the end of 2024 there wasn’t really chemistry. However, there has not yet been a timeline for Swanson’s return to play in 2026 and so a once again rebuilding Chicago will be relying on people to step up if they don’t want the start of the 2026 season to match 2025 where they finished at the bottom of the table. 

4. Emily Sams traded to Angel City

Surprising because: Since joining the league in 2023 Sams has been a lynchpin in the Orlando defense. In her three seasons, she led the field players in minutes played all three years, and won NWSL Defender of the Year in 2024 when Orlando won both the NWSL Shield and NWSL Championship. Additionally, just a year ago, the Pride signed Sams to a new three-year extension through 2027. 

5. Narumi Miura traded to Utah

Surprising because: Narumi had three assists in her 20 games started for the Spirit last season. Miura signed a two-year contract with Washington in December 2024 as a free agent after two seasons with the Courage. Even more surprising about the move is that although the Japanese midfielder had occupied an INTL spot initially in 2025, the Utah preseason roster release informed us that Miura received a green card while with the Spirit and so her trade did not help the Spirit in their current position of too many players who occupy an INTL spot on the 2026 roster compared to the spots they have.