The 2026 NWSL season is freshly underway, but two clubs have already decided to make moves on the trade board. New expansion side Denver Summit FC has added forward Yazmeen Ryan and midfielder Delanie Sheehan to their ranks from the Houston Dash within its inaugural week of play.
The Dash are receiving $800,000 in intra-league transfer funds and $200,000 in expansion allocation funds in return, plus a conditional $100,000 in add-ons and a future sell-on fee. Houston also sent Denver $150,000 in regular allocation money, coming out to a net gain of $850,000 for the Dash.
Houston revealed its motivation for moving on from the two players, who were recently acquired from Gotham FC in 2025, in a statement released after the deal.
“We did not anticipate this move at the start of the year, but it creates an opportunity for us to invest in players and resources that support our long-term vision and our ambition for the season ahead,” the Dash's president of women's soccer Angela Hucles Mangano said in the franchise's statement.
Both Ryan and Sheehan were members of Gotham FC's NWSL Championship-winning team in 2023. Sheehan signed with the Dash as a free agent, while Ryan was a part of a then-league record $400,000 transfer. She started 24 games for Houston in 2025, putting up four goals and three assists. Meanwhile, Sheehan started 25 games and notched one goal with two assists.
In Houston's 2026 NWSL season opener on Saturday, which they won 1-0 over the San Diego Wave, Ryan only played from off the bench in the second half, while Sheehan didn't play at all. The low usage may have been a hint that the Dash were looking to move on from the two players sooner than later, and the Summit benefit by adding two standouts who can help turn their season around after their 2-1 debut loss to Bay FC.
