Plus: a special episode of the pod this Thursday!
Hi all,
It’s a short newsletter this week, but I wanted to update everyone on two things:
- First, the Courage announced additional signings, along with their official preseason roster this week. More on that below.
- We are releasing a special episode of the Lion’s Pitch podcast this Thursday to cover all of the various roster changes; we say farewell to some fan favorites, and discuss the new arrivals, including head coach Mak Lind.
This newsletter will continue weekly through the June World Cup break.
The podcast will drop another episode at the end of this month, then start up with regular weekly episodes on March 12, ahead of the Racing Louisville home opener.
Roster moves
The Courage signed two additional players since last week’s newsletter, effectively adding needed roster depth at defense and midfield.
- Defender Cameron Brooks was acquired from Napoli for an undisclosed fee, for a guaranteed contract through 2027. Prior to this signing, the most obvious hole in the Courage roster was depth at the center back position. Brooks previously played for Fort Lauderdale United and the University of Texas.
- Midfielder Carly Wickenheiser joins from BK Häcken, head coach Mak Lind’s former team. She was also acquired for an undisclosed fee and guaranteed through 2027.
This brings the Courage roster total to 25 players. 26 is the league-set maximum. In the Courage’s preseason roster announcement this week, forward Olivia Wingate remained on the Season-Ending Injury (SEI) list, potentially freeing up a second roster spot until she returns to play.
Four non-roster invitees are also practicing with the Courage, including:
- Keeper Erin McKinney, a former injury replacement keeper for Gotham, backup at Houston, and then Fort Lauderdale United;
- Defender Brooke Miller, most recently playing at Wake Forest;
- Defender Katana Norman, currently playing at TCU and on the Philippines National Team;
- Defender Ivy Younce, who came up through the Courage academy and most recently represented the Courage in The Soccer Tournament
Notably, Meredith Speck and Tyler Lussi are missing from the preseason roster, with no official word as to their continued status with the club at the time of publication.
Special edition podcast
This Thursday, Katie and I will recap all of the major roster moves, and discuss the status of the Courage heading into preseason training. It’s worth noting that while the Courage lost a lot of familiar faces and some key veteran leadership in the offseason, they also gained an enormous amount of talent. They have a fresh team and a fresh start under Lind, so the question becomes how quickly the new players will – I’m just going to say it – find their footing once the season begins.
With all of the uncertainty surrounding the team, we view this as an ongoing conversation and will do a proper preseason look-ahead at the end of February.
See you next week!
As always, you can get in touch with tips, suggestions, corrections and more: contact@lionspitch.com.
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