On Friday, two clubs announced additions: The San Diego Wave have signed UCLA defender Quincy McMahon, and the Portland Thorns have acquired Brazilian center-back Daiane via a transfer from CR Flamengo.
Additionally, the Washington Spirit have retained goalkeeper Kaylie Collins for the 2025 season.
In team news, the North Carolina Courage’s front office is without a Chief Soccer Officer after the departure of Curt Johnson.
Also, Gotham FC have announced a “Gotham FC Alliance” program for youth clubs which will involve player identification and development opportunities in order “to create a professional player pathway”.
San Diego Wave: UCLA defender Quincy McMahon signed
The second collegiate player signed in the NWSL’s post-draft era is defender Quincy McMahon, who recently finished up her senior year with the UCLA Bruins. On Friday (press release), the San Diego Wave announced the signing of McMahon to a three-year contract.
As a sophomore, McMahon won a national championship with UCLA in 2022. Over her four seasons, she played 86 matches and scored 8 goals while tallying 26 assists.
Primarily utilized as a left outside-back (2022 news article) while at UCLA, she was also deployed as a forward (UCLABruins.com).
McMahon, who has a 2002 birth year (according to the 2024 USWNT media guide), has attended several United States youth national team camps, mostly during late 2019 and early 2020 at the U-20, U-19, and U-18 levels, along with one U-23 camp in 2023. On U.S. Soccer rosters, McMahon was listed as a defender as well as a forward.
The first current collegiate player signed in the post-draft era, forward Trinity Byars of Texas, was also signed by the Wave.
Portland Thorns: Brazilian defender Daiane acquired via transfer
In a transfer announced on Friday, the Portland Thorns have acquired 27-year-old center-back Daiane from CR Flamengo for an undisclosed fee. Daiane’s contract with the Thorns runs through the 2026 NWSL season. (press release)
Prior to her time with Flamengo, the 5’10” Daiane spent five years in Europe, including stints at Paris Saint-Germain, Real Madrid, and Madrid CFF. During the 2020-2021 season, Daiane underwent three separate knee surgeries (Globo).
Daiane has at least 17 senior international caps for her native Brazil and was a member of its squad for the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup. (2019 WWC players list)
Washington Spirit: Goalkeeper Kaylie Collins re-signed
On Friday, the Spirit announced that goalkeeper Kaylie Collins has been signed to a one-year contract for the 2025 NWSL season (press release)
The 5’10” Collins joined the Spirit as a training player in June after being waived by the Orlando Pride in April (Pride press release). Originally signed as a National Team Replacement player by the Spirit, Collins was upgraded to a full contract in August.
From September 2023 to April 2024, Collins was on loan to the Western Sydney Wanderers of Australia’s A-League, where she played 11 matches (Wanderers press release). Ahead of her loan, the Pride signed Collins to a one-year contract for the 2024 NWSL season (September 2023 press release).
Collins has one NWSL regular season appearance: A 2023 Orlando Pride match versus Gotham. In 2024, she was on the gameday roster for two regular season matches and two Summer Cup matches. (NWSL game log)
Collins was originally drafted by the Orlando Pride in 2021 after playing four seasons of NCAA soccer for Southern California (player profile). As a redshirt sophomore, Collins was named the Pac-12 Goalkeeper of the Year.
North Carolina Courage: Chief Soccer Officer Curt Johnson departs “to pursue other opportunities”
On Wednesday (press release), the Courage announced the departure of Chief Soccer Officer Curt Johnson. Johnson had been with the Courage since the franchise’s relocation from Western New York after the 2016 NWSL season.
Gotham FC: Club announces “Gotham FC Alliance” for youth clubs
On Friday, in a short press release with few details, the club announced the launch of its “Gotham FC Alliance” program. From the release:
NJ/NY Gotham FC today announced the launch of Gotham FC Alliance, in which Gotham FC will team up with clubs in the local market and beyond to identify top youth talent and provide development opportunities to create a professional player pathway.
Through the Alliance, Gotham FC will provide coaching education and development, as well as player identification opportunities to member clubs, with the goal of creating a clear and structured pathway to professional opportunities with Gotham FC
The release has quotes from Yael Averbuch West mentioning “want[ing] to take an active role in supporting youth clubs” and at “a grassroots level”.
Gotham FC has already hosted at least one event under the “Gotham FC Alliance” moniker, a 5v5 tournament called the “Gotham FC Alliance Cup”, which was held the first weekend of December at the Soccer Coliseum in Teaneck, New Jersey (SoccerColiseum.com schedule, archived version, Instagram photos from event).
Due to the lack of details, it remains to be seen whether this “Alliance” program is a serious attempt at developing a hybrid academy system, something much more superficial (e.g. where youth clubs pay Gotham FC for the privilege of being part of the “Alliance” with few tangible benefits outside of marketing for the youth club), or something somewhere in between.
Some NWSL clubs, such as the Portland Thorns (academy website) and North Carolina Courage (academy website) have branded youth academies and even U-23 teams that compete in the USL’s W League (e.g. the Courage and Racing Louisville) or the WPSL (Portland Thorns II). However, no NWSL club has an European-style integrated development pyramid (which, for starters, would require a senior reserve team that was active from the spring through autumn).
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