The Kansas City Current has made several changes recently, adding players to the roster for next season.
The Current also has made changes for players on the roster, placing defenders Katie Bowen and Michelle Maemone on waivers and buying out the contract of forward Mariana Larroquette, according to an announcement.
The Current made two picks in the fourth round of the NWSL draft, selecting Texas Christian University defender Jenna Winebrenner and drafting Ohio State University defender Izzy Rodriguez.
Winebrenner grew up in Kansas City, Missouri, playing for Park Hill High School. She played four college years at Notre Dame, where she started 53 of her 55 matches on the defensive backline. Winebrenner transferred to Texas Christian University for her senior season, starting in 22 matches for the Horned Frogs.
Rodriguez played college soccer for the Ohio State Buckeyes. She earned Big Ten All-Freshman in 2017, First Team All-Big Ten in 2018 and 2021, and the Big Ten Defender of the Year in 2021. From the backline, Rodriguez scored eight goals and added 12 assists at Ohio State.
The Current also selected Washington State forward Elyse Bennett in the first round and University of Oregon midfielder Chardonnay Curran in the second round.
Bennett was named to the Pac-12 All-Freshman team in her first season with the Cougars. She scored three goals in 14 games her sophomore season before suffering an injury. Bennett returned from the injury to start in 56 of her next 57 matches.
The forward scored 26 goals in her college career, with 12 assists. Her 10 scores in 2021 led the team and propelled her to being named First Team All Pac-12 to close out her final collegiate season.
Curran holds the Oregon record for most appearances, 92, and starts, 84. She is a versatile midfielder who accounted for 21 points at Oregon. She had three goals in 19 matches her senior year and finished her college career with seven goals and seven assists.
A recent trade sent midfielder Gaby Vincent to the Washington Spirit in exchange for the Spirit’s natural fourth round pick in the 2023 NWSL draft and $25,000 in allocation funds.
Vincent was transferred to Kansas City with 22 other players before the 2021 season. She appeared in 16 games for Kansas City, making 11 starts. The midfielder was signed by the Utah Royals in 2019 and started seven games that season.
Bowen was one of seven players who returned to Kansas City this season after having played with FC Kansas City and then the Utah Royals. Originally drafted out of the University of North Carolina by FCKC in 2016, the New Zealand native has played in 89 career NWSL games with 71 starts.
Maemone, originally drafted by the Utah Royals in 2019, was one of 22 players assigned to the Kansas City Roster shortly after the team was announced. Maemone was in the Starting XI for Kansas City’s first Challenge Cup match in Portland on April 9 and appeared in nine matches for the team during the 2021 Challenge Cup and Regular Season.
Larroquette was Kansas City’s first international signing on Dec. 22, 2020. The Argentine national played 19 games this season, starting in eight.
The 2022 preseason begins Feb. 1, and the season will open with the Challenge Cup on March 19.