The 2024 NWSL regular season is finally upon us. There's a new postseason format with the playoff moving to eight teams as the league expands to 14 clubs. Bay FC and Utah Royals FC are the two newest teams and long-standing clubs will need to adapt to the expanding competitive field. Plenty of clubs have made more moves and announced their final rosters since our preseason NWSL Power Rankings.
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Reigning NWSL Champions NJ/NY Gotham FC and NWSL Shield winners San Diego Wave FC will compete for the 2024 NWSL Challenge Cup on Friday. The regular season begins on Saturday so let's take a look at where teams stand:
2024 NWSL Power Rankings
| Rank | Team | Change | Analysis |
|---|---|---|---|
1. | NJ/NY Gotham FC | – | The target is on their back and with good reason. Reigning champions and went out and won free agency by landing not one but four top ten free agent targets in Crystal Dunn, Tierna Davidson, Rose Lavelle, and Emily Sonnett. Had an active preseason with players participating in the Concacaf W Gold Cup and winners of the 2024 Women's Cup played in Colombia. |
2. | San Diego Wave FC | – | The 2023 shield winners may have a chip on their shoulder after two semifinal appearances. Offseason acquisitions in Elyse Bennett and Savannah McCaskill will help boost the Wave's offense while maintaining the majority of their shield-winning roster, including the dynamic 19-year-old Gold Cup tournament best player Jaedyn Shaw. |
3. | North Carolina Courage | – | Head coach Sean Nahas and his coaching staff had his roster bought in and playoff-bound during 2023. An early postseason exit, the loss of Kerolin to an ACL injury, and the departure of Emily Fox presented question marks for the club. They found answers in offseason deals for Ashley Sanchez and free agents Bianca St. Georges and Dani Weatherholt, which means the Courage will have lost little in ferocity and attack. |
4. | Orlando Pride | – | The Pride narrowly missed out on the 2023 playoffs on a minus-one goal differential but looked poised to make a postseason run for the first time since 2017. The club reloaded the roster over the offseason with Brazilian internationals and two-time USWNT World Cup champion Morgan Gautrat. The addition of Zambia international Barba Banda could be a complete game changer for the club and the league. |
5. | Portland Thorns FC | – | With a new ownership group in place with RAJ Sports, the franchise is stepping into a new era. They still have a solid midfield core with the addition of Jesse Fleming and Golden Boot winner Sophia Smith. Bringing back team veterans on one-year deals (Meghan Klingenberg, Becky Sauerbrunn, and Christine Sinclair) while other players have contracts expiring at the end of the year could be motivation to run it back one more time. |
6. | Seattle Reign FC | +1 | The club is still in the process of navigating a team sale but recent reports and a rebrand signal the club is staying in Seattle. They were unable to re-sign Lavelle and Sonnett, but a large chunk of their 2023 NWSL runners-up roster is returning. The additions of experienced internationals Angharad James and Ji So-Yun means Laura Harvey will make sure the squad finds their way back to playoffs. |
7. | Racing Louisville FC | +3 | Newly promoted head coach Bev Yanez has players bought in and believing ahead of the regular season and that could be a game-changer for the franchise. A roster with a good balance of veteran talent, up-and-coming talent, internationals, and young prospects, Louisville may finally touch the playoff line for the first time in franchise history. |
8. | Angel City FC | -2 | The loss of Jun Endo with an ACL injury is massive and the club is taking precautions as Christen Press works her way back into form. The franchise is banking on teenage talent to lead the club into the future, and coach Becki Tweed will have a full season in front of her to try and make it all work out. If offseason acquisition Rocky Rodriguez can develop early chemistry with Madison Hammond, it'll be a sign of good things to come. |
9. | Chicago Red Stars | – | Chicago is officially in their new era with new ownership and a plethora of new faces in the mix. Re-signing Mallory Swanson was a big offseason win, but she'll need time to find her footing after a year-long absence from a patellar tendon injury. New head coach Lorne Donaldson and his squad will have few expectations on them and that could be a recipe for some surprise performances. |
10. | Washington Spirit | -2 | New head coach Jonatan Giraldez won't be on the sidelines till June which leaves some lingering questions about how the team will look in the first four months of the season, and whether or not they will sign a big-name international. USWNT winger Trinity Rodman has become a household name in her time with the Spirit, but the club is also putting their trust in several new draftees, including No. 3 pick Croix Bethune. |
11. | Kansas City Current | +2 | Head coach Vlatko Andonovski has something several new head coaches do not -- NWSL experience. He'll be tasked with getting the team back into the postseason, especially after coming off a personal disappointing World Cup stint with the USWNT. How he utilizes his international players with Debinha, Bia Zaneratto, and Nichelle Prince will be key to success on the field. |
12. | Bay FC | +2 | The Bay Area side built out their roster in a slow burn but landed several international players to put other clubs on notice. Asisat Oshoala, Deyna Castellanos, and Princess Marfo are big acquisitions and have a chance to define what exactly Bay FC football is. |
13. | Houston Dash | -2 | Fran Alonso is the fifth head coach in franchise history (since 2015) and their third full-time manager in three years. After being announced in December, Alonso got a bit of a late start in preseason and was introduced via press conference mid-February. He'll be tasked with getting exciting attacking pieces into positions to succeed with Maria Sanchez, Diana Ordonez, Michelle Alozie, and recently re-acquired CeCe Kizer. |
14. | Utah Royals FC | -2 | The expansion side got off to a quick start building their roster through free agency and trades. There are plenty of BYU alumni and players with Utah ties, with a sprinkling of NWSL veterans and internationals. What it all looks like on the pitch will depend on what first-year head coach Amy Rodriguez has planned. |
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