Why KC Current will be missing reigning MVP Chawinga & Cooper as preseason begins
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- KC Current begin 2026 preseason missing MVP Temwa Chawinga and winger Michelle Cooper.
- Center-back Alana Cook and keeper Clare Gagne remain on the season-ending injury list.
- Current integrate newcomers and national-team callups as preseason training starts.
The Kansas City Current will step up preparations for the 2026 National Women’s Soccer League season without several key players due to injury or national team obligations.
The Current open the NWSL preseason with four players on the injury list, including two-time defending league MVP Temwa Chawinga, who did not play in KC’s final two matches of the 2025 season. A hip adductor injury sustained Oct. 18 against Houston kept the star striker out of those games, which included a playoff quarterfinal.
U.S. Women’s National Team winger Michelle Cooper is also on the injury list after dealing with a lingering foot issue. Sustained last season, the injury — like Chawinga’s — kept Cooper out of KC’s quarterfinal and season-ended defeat to NJ/NY Gotham FC.
Center-back Alana Cook is still recovering from the torn ACL, MCL and meniscus injury she suffered last May. And goalkeeper Clare Gagne is on the injured list while working her way back from a head injury that occurred during training last season.
Four Current players will join the USWNT for a January camp on Saturday. Midfielders Claire Hutton and Lo LaBonta, fullback Izzy Rodriguez and attacker Ally Sentnor will be with the national team until Jan. 27.
They will train with the national team at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, California and play two friendlies (against Paraguay Jan. 24 and Chile Jan. 27).
Veteran KC Current midfielder and offensive architect Vanessa DiBernardo remains on maternity leave.
The Current’s preseason roster also features several new players, such as veteran goalkeeper Marisa Jordan, who was acquired from the North Carolina Courage. Other newcomers are fresh out of the college game, including forward Gianna Paul arrives from Alabama, defender Laney Rouse from Virginia, defender Kolo Suliafu from Washington and forward Amelia White from Penn State.
New to the squad, too, is 16-year-old defender Meila Brewer, a Blue Valley High graduate who reclassified to play at UCLA for the 2025 season. Her decorated resume in youth soccer includes time with several U.S. youth national teams.
The Current begin the preseason on Wednesday. The team will train for two weeks in Kansas City before traveling to California to participate in the Coachella Valley Invitational, which starts Feb. 15.
KC Current 2026 preseason roster
Goalkeepers: Katie Cappelletti (Non-rostered invitee), Clare Gagne (SEI), Marisa Jordan, Lorena (INT)
Defenders: Elizabeth Ball, Ellie Bravo-Young, Meila Brewer, Alana Cook (SEI), Sydney Jones (Non-roster invitee), Gabrielle Robinson, Izzy Rodriguez, Laney Rouse, Katie Scott, Kayla Sharples, Kolo Suliafu
Midfielders: Kelsey Branson (Non-rostered invitee), Vanessa DiBernardo (ML), Claire Hutton, Lo’eau LaBonta, Rocky Rodríguez, Ally Sentnor
Forwards: Kyra Carusa (Non-rostereed training player), Temwa Chawinga (SEI), Kayla Colbert (Non-roster invitee), Michelle Cooper (SEI), Debinha, Haley Hopkins, Mary Long, Gianna Paul, Amelia White.
SEI - Season-ending injury list
ML - Maternity leave
This story was originally published January 15, 2026 at 6:00 AM.
