Seven Kansas City Current Players Land On 2025 NWSL Best XI, Presented by Amazon Prime

KANSAS CITY (Nov. 19, 2025) – After a historic and record-breaking regular season, seven Kansas City Current players were recognized for their impressive performances by being tabbed to the 2025 National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) Best XI, presented by Amazon Prime. The Best XI celebrates a first and second team representing the top 22 players in the league during the regular season.

Kansas City’s Best XI First Team recipients include forward Temwa Chawinga, midfielder Claire Hutton, goalkeeper Lorena, defender Izzy Rodriguez and defender Kayla Sharples. Defender Hailie Mace and forward Bia Zaneratto landed on the Best XI Second Team.

The Current’s five Best XI First Team honorees is the most by a single club in the NWSL’s 13-year history. Kansas City’s seven total Best XI selections is tied for the second-most in league history.

Best XI recipients were announced on Wednesday at the inaugural NWSL Awards, presented by AT&T, in San Jose, Calif. Voting was determined based on a weighted voting scale comprised of players (40%), owners/general managers/coaches (25%), media (25%) and fans (10%).

Additionally, a pair of Current players were announced as winners of major awards during Wednesday’s ceremony. Chawinga was named NWSL MVP for the second year in a row while Lorena was chosen as the NWSL Goalkeeper of the Year.

Chawinga led the league with 15 goals in 2025 en route to being the second multi-time NWSL Golden Boot winner in league history. She became the fastest player to reach both 25 and 30 regular season goals and was the first to score in seven consecutive regular season road matches. Six of her 15 regular season goals were game-winners, which equaled her own NWSL record. Chawinga was twice named NWSL Player of the Month this year to bring her career player-of-the-month accolades up to five, the most in league history.

A rising star for club and country, Hutton was ranked No. 1 on ESPN’s list of top Under-19 players in the NWSL – and for good reason. In her second year as a pro, the defensive midfielder led the club with 39 interceptions, 43 tackles won, 139 duels won and 154 possession wins at the conclusion of the regular season, also ranking second on the team with 11 blocks and 154 recoveries. Hutton appeared in all but one regular season matches and dished out assists at North Carolina on April 26 and vs. Bay on May 11. She was also a finalist for 2025 NWSL Midfielder of the Year.

Lorena rewrote the record books during her first season in the NWSL by setting new league marks with 690 consecutive shutout minutes and 14 regular season clean sheets, the latter which also set a new club record for career shutouts. She was the first goalkeeper in NWSL history to go 5-0-0 in her first five league appearances and she tied the league mark for fastest netminder to reach 10 shutouts, doing so in just 17 matches. Lorena started 24 games and logged 2,160 minutes during the regular season, good enough for club records in both.

Rodriguez concluded the regular season tied for first in the league with six assists, which surpassed the five assists she totaled during her first three professional seasons combined. Not only did Rodriguez equal the club single-season record with those six regular season assists, but she also matched the franchise record for career regular season assists with 11. The defender became the first player in club history to play in 26 games in a single regular season, and she helped anchor a back line which conceded just 13 goals during the entire regular season for a new NWSL record. She was also a finalist for 2025 NWSL Defender of the Year.

Sharples played a pivotal role in the Current’s stalwart defensive unit which set NWSL records for clean sheets (16), consecutive shutout minutes (869), consecutive shutouts (9) and shutouts at home (8). With two goals and an assist, she was one of eight defenders in the league who finished the regular season with multiple regular season goals and at least one assist. The center back played 1,890 straight minutes, the most consecutive regular season minutes in a single season in club history, and her 29 consecutive regular season starts set a new club record. She was also a finalist for 2025 NWSL Defender of the Year.

With her versatility between full back and center back, Mace was also a critical part of the Current’s lockdown defense all year. She started in 15 of her 23 regular season appearances and logged 1,519 minutes, having now totaled over 1,500 minutes in each of her four complete seasons in Kansas City. Mace finished the 2025 campaign with five regular season assists – tied for second in the league – and her 11 career assists are tied with Rodriguez for the KC Current club record. She dished out two assists vs. Bay FC on May 11 for the second multi-assist game of her career. Her 100th career regular season appearance was on Sept. 6.

Zaneratto, who is widely considered one of the best 9s in the league, capped off her second year in the NWSL with seven goals and three assists. Her third-minute strike on May 11 against Bay FC was among the fastest regular season goals scored this year. She recorded a goal and an assist in the same match three times this season, including both matches vs. the Chicago Stars plus the game with Gotham FC on Oct. 11. Zaneratto’s game-winning assist against the Stars on May 24 earned her NWSL Assist of the Week honors. She was also a finalist for 2025 NWSL MVP.