Simply while you assume the NWSL preseason is settling forward of the brand new calendar yr, the large strikes hold coming. Kansas Metropolis Present have acquired midfielder Croix Bethune from Washington Spirit, sources inform CBS Sports activities. Washington Spirit are set to obtain a record-matching charge for Bethune. The deal is finalized although not set to be introduced till a later date.
North Carolina Braveness at present holds the document for intraleague funds ($1.25 million) after buying and selling Jaedyn Shaw to Gotham FC final yr.
Bethune is coming off a profitable two-year stint with the Washington Spirit, the place she received the 2024 NWSL Rookie of the Yr. In her first professional season, she tied Tobin Heath’s decade-old single-season help document in simply 17 video games due to a season-ending torn meniscus. She additionally received the league’s inaugural NWSL Midfielder of the Yr award. Her spectacular rookie season earned her a spot on the 2024 Olympic gold medal-winning U.S. girls’s nationwide group, and he or she’s recorded seven caps to date.
Sources additionally confirmed that the participant requested the commerce, and her former membership labored to finish the deal. Bethune obtained curiosity from different groups, although now she’ll be becoming a member of the league’s reigning NWSL Defend winners.
She typically showcases her imaginative and prescient with quick, elegant passes and is a licensed playmaker. Her transfer to Kansas Metropolis is a welcome arrival following the departure of current playmaker and purpose scorer Bia Zaneratto. The Brazilian worldwide left the membership after her contract expired and returned to Palmeiras in free company.
Bethune’s rise to prominence was something however simple. The participant has needed to bounce again from a torn meniscus that minimize her NWSL rookie season quick. In faculty, the participant tore her ACL twice, however was drafted into the NWSL after incomes two-time first-team All-American and Pac-12 Midfielder of the Yr honors with a profession that noticed her begin at Southern California and end at Georgia.
She’s proven she will bounce again and contribute and now joins Kansas Metropolis after her current camps with the U.S. girls’s nationwide group and a brief preseason stint with the Spirit.
Washington Spirit make it official
Following CBS Sports activities’ reporting that Bethune’s motion got here by the use of request, the Spirit introduced Bethune’s departure on Wednesday. Bethune’s transfer to Kansas Metropolis yielded a club-record $100k in allocation funds and $900k in switch threshold funds, the third-largest return in NWSL historical past.
“We’re grateful to Croix for her contributions over the previous two seasons. After conversations about her want to discover growth alternatives in a distinct surroundings, we have been capable of construction a deal that honored her request whereas securing important worth for our membership, making it the third-highest intra-league switch in NWSL historical past and a prime ten mark globally,” stated membership president of soccer operations Haley Carter.
“We consider each state of affairs on its particular person deserves, and on this case, the alignment of participant targets and organizational worth made sense for all events. That stated, our focus is on the gifted core now we have returning. We’re heading into 2026 wholesome, deep, and able to win.”
Claire Hutton strikes on from Kansas Metropolis Present
Kansas Metropolis Present additionally traded midfielder Claire Hutton to Bay FC on Wednesday. The Midwest membership obtained $1.1 million in intraleague switch funds for the 2025 NWSL Greatest XI honoree, who can be a member of the USWNT.
“Claire is a vital signing for us. She’s a top-quality participant who’s tight on the ball, and he or she has the mobility and bodily presence to interrupt up play,” stated Bay FC head coach Emma Coates.
“Regardless of her age she brings expertise and a robust mentality, and we consider she has the potential to turn into among the finest midfielders on the planet. Essentially the most thrilling half for us is her want to maintain getting higher, and we’re excited to assist her via the following levels of her profession and much more excited to see the affect she may have at Bay FC.”
The 20-year-old Hutton was a 2024 NWSL Rookie of the Yr finalist and leaves Kansas Metropolis Present as a rising star within the NWSL and U.S. girls’s nationwide group. Hutton signed her first skilled contract in 2024 at 17 years previous with Kansas Metropolis, the sixth participant signed beneath the league’s Underneath-18 Entry Mechanism, and he or she has since turn into an everyday membership starter with a shiny future for her new membership and her nation.
She has 13 appearances for the USWNT since her debut in 2025, and just lately, head coach Emma Hayes mentioned a management position with the midfielder, who’s the youngest participant to captain the nationwide group within the Hayes period.
