Two Kansas City Current Players Named Finalists for 2026 NWSL Awards

KANSAS CITY (Nov. 9, 2026) — A pair of Kansas City Current players have been named finalists for NWSL End of Year Awards, the league announced Monday morning. For the third consecutive year, forward Temwa Chawinga is a finalist for NWSL Most Valuable Player (MVP), presented by AT&T, after taking home the honor in 2024 and 2025. Midfielder Croix Bethune is a finalist for NWSL Midfielder of the Year, an award she took home in 2024. 

The winners will be announced during the 2026 NWSL Awards, presented by AT&T, which will take place on Wednesday, Nov. 18 in Washington, D.C. at 5:30 p.m. CT. The award ceremony will broadcast live on ESPN2 from Lisner Auditorium on the campus of George Washington University. 

Final voting is now open for the individual award winners, Best XI First Team and Best XI Second Team. Fans can support Bethune, Chawinga and the Current players eligible for Best XI selection through the fan voting link HERE. The fan vote accounts for 10 percent of the final tally, with a weighted scale of players (40%), owners/GMs/coaches (25%) and media (25%) rounding it out. Fan voting will conclude alongside the final round of voting on Wednesday, Nov. 11, at 7 p.m. CT.

Chawinga, the reigning back-to-back MVP, recorded yet another historic season in 2026. Despite not making her season debut until April 4 and missing six matches in July and August while she helped lead Malawi on a historic run through the 2026 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations, Chawinga closed out the regular season with 12 goals and four assists. 

On May 10, Chawinga became the first player in franchise history to record a hat trick in NWSL regular season play in the Current’s 3-0 victory over Chicago Stars FC, sealing the historic performance with two goals in the opening stages of the second half. She followed that up with a brace five days later against Houston en route to becoming the NWSL’s May Player of the Month. Chawinga was also named to the May Best XI of the Month. 

She finished the regular season with 12 goals and four assists. Among players who featured in at least 500 regular season minutes, Chawinga’s 0.78 goals per 90 minutes rate in the 2026 regular season ranks second in the NWSL, and she’s played four fewer games than anyone else in the top five. Excluding penalty kicks, Chawinga’s 0.78 goals per 90 minutes ratio leads the NWSL, and her goals + assists per 90-minute ratio of 1.04 leads all NWSL players.

Bethune had a historic first year in Kansas City that culminated with her breaking the NWSL single-season record for assists with 11. She made an instant impact with a goal in her Current debut in Kansas City’s season-opening 2-1 win over Utah on March 14 and recorded a goal and an assist in Kansas City’s 2-1 road victory over the North Carolina Courage on May 2. 

As the Current returned from the international break in July, Bethune posted a two-assist performance as Kansas City raced out to a 3-0 road victory at Denver. Assists in back-to-back August contests firmly placed the NWSL single-season assist record (which Bethune held a share of following a 10-assist season with Washington in 2024) in sight. 

Her record-setting assist came on Oct. 25 against the Washington Spirit with a well-placed feed to midfielder Vanessa DiBernardo inside the 18-yard box that DiBernardo steered home with a curled finish. The assist marked her record-setting 11th of the season, and she added four goals to her record-setting assist total during her incredible first season with the Current. 

Bethune was named to the NWSL Best XI of the Month in May, July and August, the most of any Current player in 2026. Bethune won the inaugural Midfielder of the Year Award in 2024 — which saw her burst onto the scene as a rookie with a 10-assist season during her first professional season with the Washington Spirit. She was also named NWSL Rookie of the Year in 2024. 

In addition to all end-of-year accolades, the winner of the 2026 Lauren Holiday Impact Award, presented by Nationwide, will also be announced on Nov. 18. Rodriguez was named the winner of the Lauren Holiday Impact Award Fan Impact Challenge earlier this season, securing $10,000 in funding for her community partner, earlystART. The overall winner of the award will receive $50,000 for their community partner. 

More information on Rodriguez’s Fan Impact Challenge victory can be found HERE, and more information on her nomination can be found HERE.