Denver Summit Roster Breakdown

This article was originally published on January 18, 2026. It has since been updated multiple times to reflect other roster decisions announced by Denver Summit FC.

Denver, Colo. – Denver Summit FC has officially begun preseason. This comes after a fantastic start to the week in which they announced signing Lindsey Heaps. The stadium project is moving forward.

Two months out from the inaugural match, the Denver Summit roster was at 21 players. Let’s break down the squad and what other acquisitions they could make this year. General Manager Curt Johnson has said they will look to add more players in the coming weeks and months.

Goalkeepers:

Abby Smith – Age 32, two-year contract with a mutual option for 2028. She’s been a professional for going on a decade but hasn’t been a lockdown starter at any club. Her best stint was 2018 with Utah Royals. She won back-to-back NWSL Championships with Portland Thorns then Gotham FC. She’ll bring veteran experience.

Jordan Nytes – University of Colorado, Age 21, one-year deal. One of five Colorado natives on the team if we’re including Heaps. She just finished up her college career at CU Boulder and her Buffs resume speaks for itself. 2025 First-Team All-American, three time Big 12 Goalkeeper of the Year and a MAC Hermann Trophy semifinals. Set a program record 583 consecutive shutout minutes. We’ll see if this rookie can get minutes in 2026.

Pauline Peyraud-Magnin – Age 33, two-year contract through 2027. After many rumors and time, Summit finally sign their star goalkeeper. Peyraud-Magnin has been a regular starter for Les Bleues for five years. She’s been at Juventus since 2021, winning multiple trophies. Before that, she’s bounced around Europe including two stints at her home town Lyon. A two year deal makes sense given her age. A starting caliber goalkeeper was what they were missing and they’ve filled that role in February.

Defenders:

Kaleigh Kurtz – Age 31, three-year contract through 2028. After Heaps, Kaleigh Kurtz might be the most decorated and proven player on this team. She was an NWSL ironwoman (played every goal of every match) four years running. She’s won the NWSL Championship, Shield, and Challenge Cup twice. First Team Best XI in 2024. She’s been with North Carolina Courage for eight seasons so General Manager Curt Johnson knows her well. Write her name in sharpie in the starting lineup now.

Janine Sonis – Age 31, fullback signed through 2028. Highlands Ranch native. Acquired in a trade from Racing Louisville for $120,000 in intraleague transfer funds with incentives up to $40,000. 2022 NWSL Champion with Portland. Played for Nick Cushing at Manchester City. Was captain at times for Louisville. Gold and Bronze Medalist with Team Canada at the Olympics. She even started the players WhatsApp group chat.

Megan Reid – Age 29, signed for year years through 2028. Another proven NWSL veteran and Canadian international. Durable and competitive. She’s spent her entire four years as a professional with Angel City. 81 appearances all-comps in that time. Made her senior international debut at the 2024 W Gold Cup and has been involved since.

Carson Pickett – Age 32, two-year contract. An attacking fullback and NWSL journeywomen. Summit will be the sixth team in the league she’s played for. Five goal contributions in 22 regular season games in 2025, so her offensive stats are off the charts for a fullback. She could be a fantastic ambassador to club, just like when she was with Orlando Pride.

Camryn Biegalski – Age 27, on a one-year deal, mutual option for 2027. She was the 2019 Big Ten Defender of the Year her senior year at Wisconsin. She was on the 2021 Washington Spirit team that won the NWSL Championship. She’s had limited playing time all but one of her four years in the league, which is a bit of a concern. Signing a contract for one season means she’ll have to prove it. Her versatility will help. We’ll see.

Ayo Oke – Age 22, three-year contract through 2028. A young right back picked up from CF Pachuca Femenil in Mexico’s Liga MX Femenil after leaving UCLA in 2024. We don’t have an official number on the transfer fee for what that’s worth. She made 31 appearances total for Pachuca. They won the 2025 Liga MX Feminil Clausura and finished second in the Apertura. She’s capped at every age level of the USWNT youth setup. At time of publishing, she just got added to the senior team’s January camp roster due to an injury to Avery Patterson. It is her first senior call up!

Natalie Means – Georgetown, two-year deal with an option for 2027. The Georgetown Hoya started all 23 games, recording 10 goals and 6 assists. Summit has her listed as a defender, so that’s fantastic. She won a number of Big East individual awards. We’ll see where Nick Cushing deploys her as a rookie given her offensive output.

Eva Gaetino – Age 23, signed through 2028. This was the other big signing from abroad the club was looking to make and it took till the end of January to make it happen. Gaetino joins from Paris Saint-Germain where she played for two and a half years. Was there for their Coupe de France Féminine victory in 2024. Prior to turning pro, she started 75 of 76 possible matches at Notre Dame. Won ACC Defensive Player of the Year and was a first-team All American as both a junior and senior. The center back has been capped twice for the USWNT.

Midfielders:

Lindsey Heaps – Age 31, 3.5 year pre contract through 2029. Read more of our thoughts here. This is a home run signing. Captain of the USWNT. Golden, Colorado native. The most decorated of the three Coloradan USWNT regulars. Curt Johnson said it best himself:

“We had the chance to run into each other at the USWNT game against Ireland. Before I even took the job, I was thinking Lindsey would be the first person I would call if I was the General Manager. Worked with Lyon to get approval to speak with her and her agent. It picked up steam in the fall.”

Heaps will join the team after the European season ends with OL Lyonnes. Because of the break during the World Cup, she might not make her debut till July 3, when the team is expected to debut Centennial Stadium. Until then, this midfield group will be a little thin and young. We’ll see what Cushing is able to do to form the team in time for her arrival.

Emma Regan – Age 25, three-year deal with a mutual option for 2029. Another Canadian international. Helped Team Canada win the 2018 CONCACAF Women’s Championship. Has played professionally in Denmark and Canada. Very well respected defensive midfielder Northern Super League. Captained AFC Toronto to the Supporters’ Shield. It’s a good sign many Canadian fans spoke well of her.

Jordan Baggett – Age 29, one-year contract. The Highlands Ranch native is the last veteran midfielder to discuss. She won Pac-12 Midfielder of the Year at Stanford and has since played for the Washington Spirit and Racing Louisville. She hasn’t been a regular starter though. She played more minutes (1,742) in 2019 as a rookie than she has since. She did not make a regular season appearance in 2025. That’s probably why she’s on a one-year deal.

Lourdes Bosch – Age 24, two-year contract. Well traveled. Went undrafted out of college and went to Australia to play for Melbourne City. Denver acquired her, then loaned her to C.F. Monterrey Femenil. She was called up to Mexico for her first cap last year.

Yuna McCormack – Florida State University, three-year contract. She is coming off a National Championship with Florida State. Scored two game winning goals. She’s on a three-year deal when other rookies on this team are on shorter deals. Maybe the club is higher on her while others will have to prove themselves.

Devin Lynch – Duke University, one-year deal. Another college graduate. She led the Blue Devil attack to two College Cup appearances in the last two years. That included 13 goals and 17 assists in those seasons. Every rookie they’ve sighed is either highly decorated on a winning team or a proven difference maker for their program, if not both.

Forwards:

Melissa Kössler – Age 25, two-year contract. The only player on the roster with no family or professional connections to the States. She did go to college at UMass. Transfers in from TSG Hoffenheim. She’s been a productive goalscorer there and FFC Turbine Potsdam. She’s even been capped by Germany. If she can adjust to the game and life in the U.S., this could be an excellent pickup.

Ally Watt – Age 28. Looks like she’s still on the contract she signed while with Orlando Pride through 2026. The Colorado Springs native made history as the first signing in club history on August 19, 2025. She was acquired from Orlando Pride for $75,000 in expansion allocation money and $37,500 in 2025 intra-league transfer funds. Won the double with Pride in 2024. She was a decent role player there for three years and change. She doesn’t have more than four contributions in any one season. She is a good support piece but maybe not one to build around.

Nahikari García – Age 28, signed through 2027. Spanish international with over a decade of professional experience. Played for the Real Sociedad, Real Madrid, and Athletic Bilbao women’s teams in Spain. Once Summit acquired her, she went on loan to Nottingham Forest in the Women’s Super League 2, scoring two goals in 10 games. She made Spain’s World Cup team for 2019 but hasn’t featured strongly for the national team in recent years. Good international pickup alongside Kössler.

Faith Webber – Utah Valley University, one-year deal. One of six rookies on this roster. The most decorated attacker to come out of UVU. Scored 22 goals as a senior, 70 goals total in her career. College Sports Communicators Academic All-America First Team, so she should be good with media. The WAC isn’t as good as the ACC or Big 12 so let’s see how she makes the jump to the pros alongside her teammates. It’s since been announced that she is going on loan to Tampa Bay Sun FC of the USL Gainbridge Super League for the rest of their season, through May.

Natasha “Tash” Flint – Age 29, signed on loan. With Webber on loan to Tampa Bay, Flint joins from Tampa on loan through March with an option to buy. Was in the Manchester City academy and turned pro there when Cushing was at the club, so they know each other. She’s played all over England. Joined Tampa Bay Sun in 2024 as her first stint in the U.S. Made All-League First Team with 10 goals in the 2024-25 season. One to watch given the club has just preseason plus two regular season games to decide whether to retain her.

Jasmine Aikey – Stanford, two-year contract with a mutual option for 2028. 2025 MAC Hermann Trophy winner. ACC regular season a tournament champ. Scored 43 goals and 29 assists in 89 appearances. Assuming they don’t add more veteran depth at forward, Aikey should get plenty of starts. She’s one to watch for NWSL Rookie of the Year.

Olivia Thomas – UNC, three-year contract through 2028 with a mutual option for 2029. This signing got announced after the team arrived in Santa Barbara. First Team All-ACC in 2025. Only 20 years old. Scored four goals during the NCAA tournament for the Tar Heels. Even scored the National Championship winner against Wake Forest in the final. Had 13 goals in 20 matches as a junior. She’s come out of school early on a long deal. The club must be very high on her.

Some Thoughts:

Right now the roster sits at 24 players, counting Heaps, so 22 players in camp with Webber on loan. Last year, senior roster size needed to be 22-26 players. So they could add a player or two before the season kicks off. With goalkeeper secured, there isn’t an obvious hole at one specific position. They’re probably good on defense. They could use another midfielder and forward. Striker is probably where their bench is the youngest and lacking the most NWSL experience.

That said, the club did well with NWSL free agents and with there being no draft. Johnson made it clear they are a destination for players.

“It hasn’t been a tough sales job. Everyone’s interested in what we’re doing here,” adding “It (not having a college draft) benefits us. When we go out into the free agent world, we’re able to sell this project pretty easily. Free agency is a good thing for this organization.”

If they can use that advantage well to make a few more moves, they’ll be set for March 14.

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