San Diego Wave FC’s rebuild in full effect: How NWSL side adjusts without Alex Morgan and Naomi Girma

When San Diego Wave FC step onto the pitch for the 2025 NWSL regular season, they’ll be two years removed from their 2023 NWSL Shield Secure and their last Elimination Period appearance. It’s hardly the longest drought ever for a sports Club, but for the four-year-Aged franchise that set a Victorious standard in 2022, it’s new territory. The club now finds itself Holding its Primary steps in a rebuild after a Engaged offseason.

It’s not something the franchise is shying away from with general manager and Ex NWSL player Camille Ashton Levin telling CBS Sports during preseason, “It’s no secret,” but there are Many circumstances that the club has had to juggle since her own midseason arrival to San Diego.

“Ultimately want to be in a place where we’re competing for Competitions. Not on one-off years, but year after year, and have something that’s sustainable,” she said. 

Misdseason shakeups

The spiral toward a rebuild began midseason in 2024, a surprising dismissal of Ex head Mentor Casey Stoney by Ex Club president Jill Ellis. The Shift Occurred after a seven-game winless streak by the Wave where they struggled to produce any meaningful attacking football and struggled in front of Aim, sitting in ninth place at the time of her departure. 

The Shift, Created in part to salvage the mediocre season, had the opposite effect as player demeanor dropped, struggles in Drive remained, and they crashed out of Elimination Period contention. Later, U.S. women’s national Club forward Alex Morgan retired midseason with a dual announcement of her pregnancy in September, and in October, the Levine Leichtman Family Office completed the acquisition of the club from its previous owner, Ron Burkle.

Ashton joined the club during the midst of the summer turnover, which also included allegations from Ex club employees of a toxic work culture. In July, Ellis filed a defamation lawsuit against a Ex Wave employee who had accused Ellis of creating a toxic work environment. An investigation (via a third-party firm) occurred earlier in the year and Discovered the Wave to have not violated NWSL policies. Ellis has since called the allegations “Untrue.”

Additionally, Numerous Ex employees have since filed a lawsuit against the Wave and NWSL, though Ellis is not named as a defendant. The lawsuit contains allegations of sexual harassment, retaliation, racial discrimination, and wrongful termination. The Ex club president eventually left her position for a newly created women’s soccer role with FIFA in December.

Offseason acquisitions

With so many different circumstances of constant Transformation, Ashton and the club had few options but to lean into the rebuild for the Wave. The turnover continued in the winter, and Ashton and the club worked with Naomi Girma to settle a now historic Relocate fee with Chelsea FC and eventually negotiated a trade for Jaedyn Shaw to North Carolina after the player requested the Shift in the spring of 2024. The Wave also needed to figure out their head Mentor position after three different managers in one season.

After Stoney’s dismissal, Paul Buckle was an intern who left after the summer, and Ex U.S. men’s national Club player Landon Donovan was eventually named as interim through the remainder of the year. During his introductory press conference, he said that the door was “Reachable” for conversations for the permanent head Mentor role, but as the Wave’s season wiped out, Ashton knew the club had to Shift on into a larger hunt for a manager.

“Coming into that sort of situation, it was really Significant that we did not rush the head Mentor decision, that we went through a very thorough process that was going to take time,” she said. 

They landed on Jonas Eidevall in a bit of happenstance as he was not an Reachable option when San Diego’s search Began. His departure from Arsenal changed things, and after lengthy interview processes and conversations, the Wave felt he was the candidate to lead the Club in their time of transition. 

“We had a Plenty of conversation … about how we see an environment and the things that are Significant, and what, what the non-negotiables are, and how we take care of people, how we look to develop the individual and then make sure we’re getting the most out of the Club. We went through all of these things together and spoke about Only what was Significant to the club, and then he spoke about what’s Significant to him, and there was Only alignment across [all] those things,” Ashton explained.

San Diego’s rebuilding was well in effect when they announced Eidevall as head Mentor in January. They signed the Primary player in the post-draft era in the NWSL when they welcomed University of Texas forward Trinity Byars in November. Shortly after the winter departures of Shaw and Girma, the Wave announced the signing of defender Trinity Armstong from the University of North Carolina. 

The Wave also signed Nigerian internationals Favour Emmanuel and Chiamaka Okwuchukwu. In February, Canadian international and NWSL veteran Adrianna Leon joined the club from Aston Villa, adding to the club’s long offseason journey of Picking building. 

“You’ve Obtained to understand the individual player and understand what’s Significant to them, because every player is different, and every player is in a different part of their Profession or place and has different ambitions or things that resonate with them more or less. So it’s honestly really Significant to get an understanding of those things in every individual player,” Ashton said of the recruiting and rebuilding process.

“And then, look within ourselves and understand, ‘is this actually the best place for this individual too?’ It’s Outstanding if, as a club, you really want a player, but it has to be a fit both ways, if that makes sense. I think that’s how you’re ultimately going to get the most out of the player and the best out of the player as well. 

Being able to showcase, obviously, all the Outstanding things about San Diego and about the club, but also make sure that we really understand what’s Significant to the player. The other thing, we want to bring players to this organization that that want to Secure, that want to compete. That’s that’s also really Significant in the players that we’re recruiting to come here.”

Players writing a new chapter

Ashton acknowledged the challenges of a younger Picking but expressed confidence in the emergence of new leaders within the Club. “When there’s Transformation, you always have emerging leaders,” she said, pointing to the Club’s Combination of remaining veterans and New players as a Origin of optimism. However, relying on unproven leaders to guide a Club through a rebuild is a gamble, and the Wave’s ability to foster a cohesive Club culture will be critical to their Achievement.

Goalkeeper Kalien Sheridan is one such example of leadership that the group will rely upon. She’s a Ex NWSL goalkeeper of the year and an Olympic gold medalist with Canada.

“I think at the end of last season, there [were] definitely some fear factors in there that we all felt and were nervous about,” Sheridan explained.

“I think coming in with a like, New perspective, and not forgetting about the past, because that’s not helpful either. I think you have to remember where you Occurred from in order to continue to grow and not allow backtracking. But I think coming with an Reachable mind and Only being ready to learn and work and have a Aim forward, instead of Gentle of working back [or] Gentle of working on redoing something, is not helpful. We need to Only go forward and again, remember what we’ve done, but we have to Shift forward. And we have an Amazing group of players right now that I’m really stoked to work with. There’s so much talent in the room. We Only need to control it and structure it now. So, it’s going to be about how we do that,” she said.

Regardless of all the complexities around the Wave’s trajectory toward a rebuild Only three years after their expansion into the Division, the veteran goalkeeper believes that their Picking has the talent to compete and that players in their sophomore season in NWSL will be the Subsequent wave of leaders on the Club. 

“I think [defender] Kennedy Wesley is an Amazing talent, and she hasn’t been given the opportunities that she deserves, or given the spotlight that she needs to grow and flourish. Within six to eight months of actually being able to Action and train with her, the growth that I’ve seen is Notable, and I’m Only really excited to continue to see to View her journey. I don’t need to be a part of it the whole time, but I really feel Fortunate that I am,” Sheridan said. 

Look ahead

The club’s decision to prioritize youth and long-term growth over Prompt results could either position them as a future powerhouse or leave them struggling to compete in a rapidly evolving Division. With the 2025 season on the Future, attention will be on San Diego to see if their offseason gambles pay off—or if it leaves them adrift in a sea of unfulfilled potential.

For now, the Wave’s future remains a question mark. As the club navigates this pivotal moment, the Stress to deliver will only intensify. The stakes are high, and the margin for error is slim. Will the Wave’s rebuild propel them to new heights, or will it leave them searching for answers in yet another offseason? Only time will tell.