The Kansas City Current were part of two significant moves on Wednesday, acquiring Croix Bethune from the Washington Spirit and sending fellow national team midfielder Claire Hutton to Bay FC.
Bay FC sent $1.l million in transfer fees to Kansas City, which sent $1 million to Washington.
Hutton, who turned 20 last month, was a Best XI selection last season and is a rising figure with the United States Women's National Team. The fierce defensive player has one goal in 13 international appearances and has three
assists in 47 appearances (41 starts) in two NWSL seasons.
She told The Athletic that she looked at other leagues before signing off on the move to Bay FC.
"Throughout the process, I did consider going overseas," Hutton said. "I looked at some domestic clubs, and as I was going through it, talking to coaches, talking to sporting directors, GMs (general managers), Bay really struck me as a place that they were ready to build and wanted to create an identity for them that was known domestically, worldwide, and just something that I aligned with and stood for."
Bethune, who turns 25 in March, is an attacking player and has earned seven caps with the USWNT and has one goal. She was NWSL Rookie of the Year in 2024 when she had five goals and 10 assists in 17 games (16 starts) before sustaining a season-ending knee injury.
Last season, Bethune had three goals and two assists in 20 matches (16 starts). The Spirit lost in the NWSL championship match in both of Bethune's seasons.
--Field Level Media
