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After a four-win season that left fans, players, and the front office equally frustrated, Bay FC tore up the blueprint. With two expansion teams in Denver and Boston joining the NWSL this year, the club is no longer the league’s new, shiny attraction — or its most intriguing project. Rather than clinging to the fading momentum of its inaugural season in 2024, Bay FC pressed for a hard reset, looking to steady itself and carve out a new foothold.
Local leadership has been replaced by a British invasion. A trio of sharp English soccer minds — Kay Cossington, Emma Coates, and Gemma Davies — arrived and wasted little time overhauling the roster to prepare for the club’s next chapter.
Youth is the superpower
The NWSL has been trending younger in recent seasons and Bay FC is leaning into youth as its defining strength in Year 3. Coates, who arrives after two years coaching England’s under-23 women’s national team, has a proven track record of developing young talent.
Nearly half of Bay FC’s roster, as it stands ahead of the team’s first preseason match on Sunday, is under 24. This offseason, the organization intentionally searched for younger, rising stars to join the club. 2025 NWSL Best XI selection Claire Hutton, acquired in a blockbuster move on Wednesday, is just 20 — and one of the youngest players to ever wear the captain’s armband for the U.S. women’s national team. Bay FC also added Alex Pfeiffer, 18, who was the youngest goal-scorer in NWSL history at 16. Keira Barry, 20, transferred from Manchester United, Anouk Denton, 22, arrived from West Ham, two-time NCAA champion Heather Gilchrist, 22, signed a multi-year deal and Onyeka Gamero, 19, will return after undergoing ACL surgery.
Last season’s leading scorer Penelope Hocking, 26, is only entering her fourth season, but she can’t help but feel like an old dog on the squad.
“I’ve never been a part of such a young group. I feel like I’m in my fifth year in college,” she said at Bay FC’s Media Day this week.
The defense gets a makeover
Bay FC’s three most veteran players — all defenders — are starting the 2026 season on maternity leave. The club has announced that Emily Menges and Abby Dahlkemper will return at some point during the season, but it’s unclear if Caprice Dydasco will be back.
To manage a back line that will be in flux, Bay FC added Gilchrist, a prolific defender at Florida State, in December. She’ll join Denton, who has already appeared with the England national team, and Brooklyn Courtnall, who was acquired from North Carolina last year and extended on a three-year deal.
Together, the trio bolsters depth alongside Alyssa Malonson, who started 21 games last season, but also gives Coates flexibility to rotate, experiment with structure, and pair experience with youth. And as Coates has told her team, every position is up for grabs: “We want competition for places. I want the players to give me a headache.”
Revving the attack
Goal-scoring was a major challenge for Bay FC last season, with the team finishing at the bottom of the league with just 26 goals. This year, Coates is promising “an exciting brand of football,” and at its core, that means one thing: putting the ball in the back of the net.
The solution comes in the form of young additions in Pfeiffer and Barry. Coates has highlighted how their styles differ yet complement each other — Pfeiffer thrives on taking defenders on and driving in dangerous spaces, while Barry uses power and pace to push up the wings and deliver from out wide. Add in Gamero and Bay FC will have versatile attacking options to improve a glaring weakness.
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Hocking, Racheal Kundananji, and Karlie Lema were the pillars of Bay FC’s attack as Hocking led the team with six goals before missing time with a foot injury. Lema, a Cal product, returns for her second season, bringing more experience and continuity to the front line. Kundananji, Bay FC’s headline signing from Madrid CFF two seasons ago, which set a women’s world record for a transfer fee, has yet to justify the hype, netting just nine goals over her time in the Bay.
Still, Coates insists that Kundananji “absolutely fits in” and can be a potent option. Unlocking Kundananji’s potential will be one of Coates’ top priorities.
Female leadership
One of the most defining shifts is on the sidelines, with the appointment of Coates as Bay FC’s first female head coach — a rarity in the NWSL where only a few teams have women in the role. To the players, the change is meaningful personally and professionally. Midfielder Hannah Bebar said it’s the first time in her career she’ll be coached by a woman, while Hocking emphasized another dimension of the shift in how female coaches can bring more “emotional intelligence” to their approach.
Hutton said Bay FC’s “forward-thinking” culture and goal to push the boundaries of women’s soccer globally convinced her to join the club. For a league in its 13th year, still evolving in its leadership pipelines, Bay FC’s female coaching staff signals the trust in women to shape the game at its highest level.