USWNT Stock Up, Stock Down: Who Impressed Most in the NWSL in 2026?

Welcome back to your weekly feature from Sports Illustrated that analyzes the women’s soccer weekend from a U.S. women’s national team perspective.

The 2026 National Women’s Soccer League regular season is in the books. After 240 matches, Gotham FC topped the standings and were crowned Shield champions for the first time in their history.

But here on ‘Stock Up, Stock Down,’ we drill down on the game within the game. The competition between U.S. players and how they are battling it out to be on Emma Hayes’s roster for the upcoming World Cup qualifiers in November and beyond.

After 30 matchdays of looking back at the weekend’s action, now feels like the perfect time to zoom out and look at who the USWNT hopefuls are who made the biggest statements over the course of the season. As well as those who have fallen in favor over the last nine months. Let’s take a look at how players’ stock rose and fell over the course of 2026.

Stock Up

Kennedy Wesley

Quietly one of the most consistent stars of 2026, the San Diego Wave centerback is the epitome of cool in the backline and has seamlessly made the leap from solid NWSL starter to elite-level defender.

Wesley played every minute of the Wave’s season, helping them to a second-place finish and just three points behind regular season champions Gotham. The Wave ranked third in the league for defense (31 goals conceded). The 25-year-old also hit a career high for goals, with two.

With an almost 89% pass completion rate and 58 passes per game, much of what makes Wesley world-class is her ability to keep the tempo from the back and stay on the ball. That is what will keep Hayes calling her up. Since making her debut in October 2025, she now has nine caps and a single goal for the USWNT. With Emily Sonnett going down with an ACL injury, Wesley’s opportunities have never been greater.

Ashley Sanchez

The 2026 Golden Boot winner has been arguably the biggest player story of the season. Ashley Sanchez’s USWNT looked to be in the past before a historic 2026, when she became the first American to score 20 goals in a single season, equaling Malawian Temwa Chawinga’s league record.

Unfortunately, Sanchez and the NC Courage couldn’t make the playoffs, finishing ninth and four points below the line. That overall team performance could hurt her MVP credentials. But her national team prospects have been cemented. The forward scored in the 2-2 against Spain and didn’t look out of place when Hayes brought her back into the squad for the first time in two years in October.

Croix Bethune

After a couple of years riddled with fitness issues, Croix Bethune put together the most durable season of her career to date, making 26 appearances (1,992 minutes) with the KC Current, scoring four goals and making a record-breaking 11 assists. Her ability to create in quickfire transitional moments, setting free the likes of Temwa Chawinga and Michelle Cooper, has been a joy to watch in 2026.

While her top performances in the league haven’t yet translated into more minutes on the USWNT— just 107 this calendar year—Bethune did score her first international goal against Chile back in January. As the Current finished a respectable fourth, the 25-year-old playmaker has solidified her position as one of the NWSL’s premier midfield maestros.

Trinity Byars

While all the other breakout American players could have been labeled as USWNT bubble players a year ago, Trinity Byars has been the surprise package of 2026. In her first full season in the NWSL (she sat out the majority of 2025 as she recovered from an ACL injury), the second-year striker out of the University of Texas has exploded into life with 11 goals from just 15 starts (23 appearances, 1,339 minutes). Next season, there’s a chance she is one of the most clinical goalscorers in the NWSL.

Byars has been superb in one-on-one attacks, mixing excellent shot selection with composure under pressure. She earned her first USWNT call-up in October for the Spain friendlies, and although she didn’t see the field, Hayes has been effusive when it comes to Byars’s future with the squad.

Stock Down

Mandy McGlynn

Despite making the playoffs for the first time in Utah Royals history, goalkeeper Mandy McGlynn’s personal performance levels dipped slightly in 2026. Her goals prevented numbers have gone from 2.6 to 0.8, with save percentage also having a dip, albeit a smaller one, 68% to 64%.

McGlynn’s spot as the third-choice goalkeeper on the USWNT seems up in the air. She is more confident with her feet compared to some others out there, but the emergence of Jordan Silkowitz, who has been a better shot-stopper this season, has put McGlynn on the outside looking in for the USWNT heading into 2027.

Jameese Joseph

Another Utah Royal, albeit one who only recently made the move to Salt Lake City in September, after a terrible year with the last-placed Chicago Stars. Forward Jameese Joseph managed just one goal in 19 matches for Chicago, and then played seven times without finding the back of the net for Utah.

At 24, Joseph is still a young striker and has been celebrated for her attitude and studiousness. She competes hard, runs the channels and is a threat in the high press. Both on the national team and for Utah, there’s a debate about whether her best position is central or in the wide areas. Whichever it is, regaining her confidence and cutting edge is her best path back to the USWNT.

Joseph made her USWNT debut at the end of 2025, scored a goal and starred for her country through the beginning of 2026 and the SheBelieves Cup, before then losing her place on the squad in the summer.

Avery Patterson

Houston Dash defender Avery Patterson is yet to lose her spot on the USWNT. In fact, she was a starter in the first of the two recent friendlies against Spain and has had six appearances across 2026. While the Dash continue to struggle in the NWSL, 10th in 2025 and now 12th in 2026, Patterson remains a bright spark for the meandering Texas team.

Part of what makes Patterson such an appealing player is her two-footedness. Hayes has been keen to keep her involved as one of the first rotation options on either defensive flank. While Patterson’s form has only dipped slightly from the heights of 2025, it is the increased competition from the likes of Gisele Thompson that could shape where she sits on the depth chart.

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