Wave roster could be in for serious shift in ’26, but might the squad snag a star?

The San Diego Wave squad that won the World Sevens tournament last month will take a different shape next season with several player contracts expiring Photo courtesy of World Sevens Football San Diego Wave FC forward Melanie Barcenas in an interview during the club s new thriving run through the World Sevens Football tournament touched on roster changes for They could be substantial Various departures are expected with the contracts of about a dozen players having expired A number of Wave players in the tournament won by San Diego including Didi Hara i Hillary Beall Makenzy Robbe and Hanna Lundkvist became free agents after the Nov NWSL championship event as did Barcenas herself One of the association s free agents center back Kennedy Wesley re-signed with the club inAugust but Beall a backup goalkeeper already departed she inked a contract with theHouston Dash on Monday The Wave informed on Tuesday that the group is in operational discussions regarding contract options for the season with Barcenas Hara i and Lundkvist as well as midfielder Jordan Fusco and defender Nya Harrison a -year-old San Diego native The band also indicated that the following players were likely to leave in free agency Beall Robbe Kyra Carusa Mya Jones and Chiamaka Okwuchukwu Though it ended with a playoff loss in the first round to Portland was a bounce-back year for San Diego after a turbulent campaign the year before The Wave failed to reach the postseason for the first time in its four-season history in Countless pundits thought the iteration of the squad would miss the playoffs again but the Wave managed a - - record good enough for sixth place in the NWLS and a postseason berth Considering that the group installed a new head coach Jonas Eidevall in January and thatthree players who played substantial minutes are still teenagers Barcenas and TrinityArmstrong both and Kimmi Ascanio reaching the playoffs even as a lower seed was a success With the crew having determined its coach for the foreseeable future Eidevall signed a three-year deal when he came to San Diego and the front office seeming to have stabilized among the things on the agenda for early is for the club to re-sign at least specific of its remaining free agents The gang embarked on a youth movement last offseason led by talented youngerplayers like Lundkvist and Barcenas a San Diego native But the clubalso will likely bring aboard other younger players from outside the organization to replacedeparting free agents and or players that leave via transfer In addition to an infusion of more talented youngsters another priority would be to adda dynamo The Wave s star power waned with the departures of the now-retired Alex Morgan along with Naomi Girma and Jaedyn Shaw What type of player would fit the Wave s necessities Specifically a go-to world-class finisher who has the foreseen to sum goals in the double digits each season in order to propel San Diego over the hump and once again into the realm of elite NWSL teams Among those available this offseason were three dynamic forwards the Portland Thorns Sophia Wilson Washington Spirit s Trinity Rodman and Midge Purce of the NWSL s champs Gotham FC Although each sportsman s current gang is considered to have the inside track to keeping them Gotham locked down Purce for one year on Friday and there s consistently the possibility of playing overseas for more money San Diego could deliver the right sales pitch and bring in a new star If that happens Wave FC would likely transform from a club that competes in one or twoplayoff matches and into a legitimate championship contender But for now they only hope to build on the W F win though Bardenas was wistful heading into the final match We understand that this might be the last time we re all playing together and I think we rejust taking in the vigor having fun she reported ahead of the clincher which they won -