KC Current adds player with Kansas City ties ahead of this weekend’s NWSL opener

The Kansas City Current women’s pro soccer team is just days away from its season opener at CPKC Stadium.

And the club’s roster continues to grow.

The Current announced on Wednesday a trade to acquire forward Penelope Hocking, Bay FC’s top scorer during the National Women’s Soccer League’s 2025 season. Kansas City is sending $350,000 in intra-league transfer funds in exchange.

“I’m extremely excited to be joining the Kansas City Current,” Hocking said in a Current news release. “This is a club with high expectations and high standards, and I’m excited to bring my energy, compete every day, and help the team win trophies.”

Hocking was drafted by the Chicago Red Stars (now Stars) in 2023. She scored seven goals in a little over 2,000 minutes across her first NWSL season. She was acquired by Bay FC in the summer transfer window of 2024 and scored six goals in 18 games in 2025.

“We are very excited to welcome Penelope to Kansas City,” KC general manager Ryan Dell in the team’s news release. “Penelope’s aptitude for scoring goals from anywhere on the field, combined with her ability to create chances for those around her, will only strengthen our attack. Above all, she is a great person and teammate who will positively impact our club on and off the pitch.”

Hocking, an Anaheim native, played for four years at USC. She scored 54 goals in 72 appearances, which, at the end of her time in L.A., was 12th-most in Pac-12 history and most in school history. She was a first-team All-American in 2020.

She transferred to Penn State for an extra year of NCAA eligibility in 2022, scoring seven goals and providing 11 assists.

She also represented the U.S. Youth National team at the 2018 U-20 Women’s World Cup.

A KC connection

Hocking is the daughter of Denny Hocking, a name Royals fans might recognize as a player from the mid-1990s through 2005.

Denny finished his 13-year major-league career with the Royals in 2025. He played for the Minnesota Twins from 1993 to 2003.

Ironically, Penelope and her fraternal twin sister, Iliana, were the first twins born to a Twins player. Iliana also played soccer and competed at Arizona.

Penelope and Iliana were the first sisters selected in the same NWSL Draft in 2024. Penelope was selected seventh overall by Chicago; Iliana went in the fourth round to NJ/NY Gotham FC.

The more the merrier

The Current also added Irish international striker Kyra Carusa on loan late last week.

Carusa was signed this offseason by HB Køge Women but has been loaned to the Current through June 30. She was the Ireland Senior Women’s International Player of the Year in 2025 and spent the last three NWSL seasons with the San Diego Wave.

She joined the Current this pre-season as a non-rostered training player.

In addition, the Current signed goalkeeper Katie Cappelletti to a short-term contract. Claire Gagne is still on the season-ending injury list for a concussion she sustained in late 2025.

KC Current 2026 roster

Goalkeepers: Katie Cappelletti, Clare Gagne (SEI), Marisa Jordan, Lorena (INT).

Defenders: Elizabeth Ball, Ellie Bravo-Young, Meila Brewer, Alana Cook (SEI), Gabrielle Robinson, Izzy Rodriguez, Laney Rouse, Katie Scott, Kayla Sharples, Kolo Suliafu.

Midfielders: Croix Bethune, Debinha, Vanessa DiBernardo (ML), Bayley Feist, Lo’eau LaBonta, Rocky Rodríguez, Ally Sentnor.

Forwards: Kyra Carusa, Temwa Chawinga (SEI), Michelle Cooper (SEI), Penelope Hocking, Haley Hopkins, Mary Long (D45), Gianna Paul, Amelia White.

• INT — international
• ML — maternity leave
• SEI — season-ending Injury
• D — 45-day injury list

Daniel Sperry covers soccer for The Star. He can be reached at sperry.danielkc@gmail.com.

This story was originally published March 11, 2026 at 2:50 PM.