Multiple sources have confirmed to Sports Illustrated that Yazmeen Ryan has been traded from NJ/NY Gotham FC to the Houston Dash for a significant transfer fee which includes allocation money.
The transfer fee is expected to be among the largest in NWSL history. Sources have also indicated that Ryan will sign a new contract with the Dash. Her existing deal with Gotham is already set to run through 2026.
The Oklahoma native is the second Gotham player to make her way to Texas this offseason, following midfielder Delanie Sheehan who signed with the Dash as a free agent earlier this month.
The trade marks a significant step forward for the Dash who finished 2024 at the bottom of the standings, recording only five wins on the season with a -22 goal differential.
Ryan may be considered one of the most ambitious transfer moves in Dash history, with the club having rarely signed promising or established U.S. women’s national team players.
This season Ryan logged a career best five goals and six assists for Gotham, while also leading the league in key passes with 51. She ranked third for shot-creating actions (90) and seventh for goal-creating actions (11). These factors surely played into Houston making the 25-year-old star its top target.
Ryan’s efforts at Gotham led to her first call ups with the USWNT toward the end of the 2024 season. She made four appearances and notched one assist for the winning goal against the Netherlands.
Debuts to remember 🙌
— U.S. Women's National Soccer Team (@USWNT) November 10, 2024
A look back at Hal Hershfelt and Yazmeen Ryan's first #USWNT appearances in ATX ⬇ pic.twitter.com/jMS7Q9OOC1
Ryan is no stranger to Texas, having played collegiately at TCU from 2017 to ’21, helping lead the school to its first Big 12 conference championships in ’20 and ’21. She also was essential to the Horned Frogs advancing to the Elite Eight of the 2020-21 NCAA tournament, a best-ever finish for TCU.
The attacking midfielder was drafted by the Portland Thorns in the 2021 NWSL draft where she won the 2021 NWSL Shield as a rookie and then appeared in the starting lineup for the club’s 2022 NWSL Championship win.
In 2023, she was traded to Gotham FC in exchange for $200,000, a first-round draft pick and a second-round draft pick. There, she claimed her third title by starting in Gotham’s 2023 NWSL Championship win.
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Sources: Houston Dash Sign Yazmeen Ryan From Gotham for Transfer Fee.