Trinity Rodman returns to the USWNT, Emma Hayes continues to work around notable absences
Trinity Rodman has returned to the U.S. women's national team roster for the first time since winning gold at the 2024 Olympics in Paris.
Head coach Emma Hayes named her 24-player roster, and two training players, on Tuesday for the team's upcoming friendlies against Brazil. While the deep dive into player evaluation has continued, there is slightly less turnover in this roster compared to others with 19 players returning from the SheBelieves Cup.
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The only field player on this roster without a national team cap is Houston Dash defender Avery Patterson, earning her first senior team call-up. After being listed as a training player for SheBelieves Cup, Manchester United goalkeeper Phallon Tullis-Joyce made the full roster for April and may get the chance for her first cap.
There are also multiple notable absences. Center-back Naomi Girma is still out after she left her Chelsea debut match injured earlier this month. Last week, Chelsea head coach Sonia Bompastor continued to confirm Girma was out but did not share a firm timetable for her return at club level.
Rose Lavelle continues to recover after ankle surgery in the offseason, and Mallory Swanson's return remains uncertain. She has missed the first two weeks of the NWSL season with no further update provided by the Chicago Stars since March 12. The final third of Triple Espresso, Sophia Wilson, announced her pregnancy earlier this month.
Two players will join the camp as training players, with Mia Fishel joining the environment for the first time since she tore her anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) ahead of the Concacaf W Gold Cup in February 2024. Hayes also tapped Angel City FC goalkeeper Angelina Anderson as a training player, marking her return following a call-up to the January camp.
'This roster has Olympians returning, less experienced players continuing to try to prove themselves, a few uncapped players and some players who have seen and done it all. The mix of players along with two games against a dynamic Brazil team who we last saw in the gold medal game means this event will be a lot of fun,' Hayes said in U.S. Soccer's press release. 'All of the players know they have to earn every roster spot, every starting spot and every minute they get as a finisher off the bench.'
Goalkeepers (3): Jane Campbell (Houston Dash), Mandy McGlynn (Utah Royals), Phallon Tullis-Joyce (Manchester United)
Defenders (8): Alana Cook (KC Current), Tierna Davidson (Gotham FC), Crystal Dunn (Paris Saint-Germain), Emily Fox (Arsenal), Tara McKeown (Washington Spirit), Avery Patterson (Houston Dash), Emily Sams (Orlando Pride), Emily Sonnett (Gotham FC)
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Midfielders (6): Korbin Albert (Paris Saint-Germain), Sam Coffey (Portland Thorns FC), Lindsey Heaps (Lyon), Claire Hutton (KC Current), Jaedyn Shaw (NC Courage), Lily Yohannes (Ajax)
Forwards (7): Michelle Cooper (KC Current), Ashley Hatch (Washington Spirit), Catarina Macario (Chelsea FC), Trinity Rodman (Washington Spirit), Yazmeen Ryan (Houston Dash), Ally Sentnor (Utah Royals), Alyssa Thompson (Angel City FC)
We know you've heard it before, but 2025's major theme is player evaluation at the start of the cycle. Nothing has changed here, even with two 'fun' games against Brazil and the extra spice of the Olympic gold rematch.
Hayes has a couple of uncapped players to look at in Tullis-Joyce, finally promoted to the full roster, and Patterson as potential attacking-minded outside back depth. Patterson was part of January's Futures Camp which featured under-23 players alongside the senior team.
Hayes has also opted to bring in two veteran players, Alana Cook and Ashley Hatch, for fresh looks in 2025. Their inclusion comes as questions remain around Girma's return and forward options without the entirety of Triple Espresso available. Hatch was called up to the USWNT January camp, but both she and Cook haven't made an appearance for the team since 2023.
There are fewer brand new names from Hayes, but she's still working her way through the pool on her own time — and the year remains about as free from pressure as this team experiences, even as the USWNT looks to bounce back from the loss to Japan in the SheBelieves Cup. Hayes still appears to be in individual evaluation mode with a side of tinkering — outside of the midfield which remains unchanged from SheBelieves Cup. Eventually, the switch to building meaningful chemistry will happen across the board ahead of next summer's World Cup qualifiers, but there's still no need to worry about it just yet.
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—Meg Linehan
The trade-off for evaluating younger players is that those spots don't exist in a vacuum, and player selections inevitably come at the cost of more experienced players' call-ups.
This squad is no exception. Many expected to see Wilson and Swanson miss out again. Girma is also an understandable omission as she settles in with Chelsea and deals with a possible minor injury.
Other veterans missed out for various reasons. Lynn Biyendolo has been listed as 'day-to-day' by the Seattle Reign due to a lower leg injury. Abby Dahlkemper has played all 180 minutes of Bay FC's young season but missed this U.S. squad as younger center-backs like Tara McKeown are vetted. Goalkeeper Casey Murphy seemed like a logical successor once Alyssa Naeher retired, but she's missed successive camps as other goalkeepers get assessed.
Midfielder Hal Hershfelt seemed to be one of the new regulars for Hayes but hasn't played for the USWNT since the December win against the Netherlands. The midfielder picked up a knock in Washington's regular-season opener and was moving around after the Spirit's loss last weekend in a walking boot. Defender Casey Krueger has been in fine form for Washington but hasn't featured for Hayes since December. She spoke to the Hey Spirits podcast last month, saying she had a conversation with Hayes that indicated the team is moving forward without her.
'It sounds like things are moving forward, which I understand. And I'm happy that the player pool is so deep. Getting everybody experience, giving people the recognition that they deserve, I think that's huge,' Krueger said.
'But it also stinks. I wanted to continue playing with them for as long as I could and continue to push the pool forward and just give the experience that I have, and help in any way that I can. But it looks like that's not the case, so I'll be supporting from afar.'
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Midfielder Ashley Sanchez was part of Hayes' January training camp but hasn't played for the national team since October.
The scale of changes plays an obvious role, as Hayes is fully committed to exploring the deep end of her player pool. For more veteran players like Krueger, Murphy, Dahlkemper and even Sanchez, however, each missed squad only leaves more reason to wonder how, if at all, they fit into Hayes' planning ahead of 2027.
—Jeff Rueter
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