The Kansas City Current Release Three and Extend Two

The roster moves just keep coming for the Kansas City Current. Today they announced four new moves and we’ll catch you up on one that we missed from the other day.

Two Extensions

First, the good news. The club announced they re-signed both forward Kristen Hamilton and defender (but kind of Jill-of-all-trades since she’s played all over the field) Hailie Mace to contract extensions through the 2024 season.

Hamilton and Mace are tied together for Kansas City fans as two of the players (along with goalkeeper Katelyn Rowland) in the trade that sent former Current and FCKC starlet Amy Rodriguez to the North Carolina Courage. While it hurt to see Rodriguez go, knowing that two of the players who came back in return are here for three more years lessens the blow (a new offer was also made to Rowland).

Hamilton is still just 29-years-old (30 in April) and Mace is only 24-years-old (25 in March) compared to the now nearly 35-year-old Rodriguez (Rowland is 27). It will be important for all three to be contributors to make that trade look good in the long run.

Three Parting of Ways

On the more negative side of sports, the KC Current announced three other moves. They placed defenders Katie Bowen and Michelle Maemone on waivers and bought out the contract of Argentine forward Mariana Larroquette.

Bowen, the New Zealand international, was probably the biggest contributor of the three, having played for the previous club, FC Kansas City, the Utah Royals and finally the Current. She was the 16th overall pick (2nd round) of FCKC in the 2016 NWSL College Draft. She racked up 89 appearances in her NWSL career and has another 29 for her country (FBref). She is the biggest surprise of the three.

Larroquette had just joined the NWSL and the Current ahead of the 2021 season as the club’s first international signing. She had 19 appearances, but just eight starts in 2021 and didn’t contribute as much as may have been expected. I was personally excited to see Larro get to play on the bigger pitch at Children’s Mercy Park in 2021. While she wasn’t the fastest, she often had pinpoint precision on passes and having more space to work may have suited her game.

Maemone, a Royals draft pick from 2019, had just five appearances (two starts) in 2021.

The roster build for Kansas City will continue as the NWSL has fairly small rosters and they were near the limit with multiple contracts outstanding and six unsigned draft picks. The Blue Testament will bring you more on the Current’s offseason activity as the moves keep coming.