After the Portland Thorns held their media day and open training session, many answers still seem far away.
Here are 10 questions that still remain:
Where's the ambition?
In 2025, the Thorns front office, led by President and GM Jeff Agoos with special advisors Angus McNab and Lucy Rushton, made a drastic push to get their stars in a non-traditional sense.
They added winger Caiya Hanks, who was mere days away from making her USWNT debut. They also added center back Jayden "JP" Perry, and even though her playing time diminished towards the end of the 2025 season, she is knocking on the door with the USWNT U-23s and a future senior team call-up. They also signed forward Pietra Tordin, who has also been in multiple USWNT U-23 camps.
This front office have made it clear they are looking for hidden young gems that can grow and become the future of the squad.
They found their young stars, but where's the actual ambition? For a team that shocked the league by making NWSL semifinals and finished third in the table, this has been an offseason that so far has fallen well short of expectations.
Yesterday, it was announced that Croix Bethune would be headed to KC Current for $1 million to Washington. Kansas City also added Ally Sentnor in 2025. That's ambition.
Also yesterday, Bay FC acquired USWNT midfielder Claire Hutton for $1.1 million. That's ambition.
Hutton was a player I didn't have on potential midfielder targets because she was believed to be unavailable. Would the USWNT midfielder have gone to the Rose City, she would have solved Portland's dilemma at the six for the next 5-10 years.
Missing out on the opportunity to acquire arguably the best six in the NWSL is inexcusable.
After acquiring nearly $1.5 million for Sam Coffey's transfer and Hina Sugita's trade, the Portland Thorns have had a forgettable offseason that leaves them further behind the rest of the league once again.
However, since owners Lisa Bhathal Merage and Alex Bhathal took over, the Thorns have rarely ever made a splash for a team expected to be in-line for top names and stars.
Is ownership holding back the front office?
Which leads us to...
Will ownership keep up with spending?
They've are nearing the opening of the state-of-the-art training facility for both the Portland Thorns and Portland Fire.
However, from a competitive standpoint, they've fallen even further behind.
Owners like Michele Kang, Angie & Chris Long, Carolyn Tisch Blodgett, the Wilfs, and others have run laps around the Bhathals in investment and spending in their clubs. You are seeing record spending from the top clubs in NWSL, but somehow Lisa Bhathal Merage and Alex Bhathal have not received the memo.
There are no excuses to not spend the maximum amount when you have a team in the Rose City that expects trophies and excellence.
Owners will now be exposed with their level of spending. In order to be the No. 1 club in the world, they'll have to do just that.
Will they? This is the time everyone finds out.
How to view the offseason so far?
Outside of the return of Soph Wilson...
The Portland Thorns still don't have a head coach and have massive voids at defensive midfielder and center back.
Simply put, that's a failure. There is still time with a few splashes to salvage it (example: Caiya Hanks' signing prior to 2025 season).
When will the head coach be hired?
The longer this search takes, the more likely the club could push the original preseason timeframe out a bit further into the season.
Although I've received periodic updates, there has been nothing concrete about the search since that update in mid-January. From what I do hear, it's still moving along and may very well still be finalized before the opener. Would it be a surprise if it went into the season at this point? No.
In all fairness, this hire needs to take as long as it takes.
Why? The hire will be attached to the Jeff Agoos and the front office, in regard to their job security - getting it right is the most important.
Sarah Lowdon is widely-regarded as one of the top names in NWSL and will be a future head coach one day. Multiple team sources have mentioned the club's belief in her, which is allowing the search to be done with more time and proper due diligence.
For whatever reason, she wasn't the choice to takeover for Mike Norris in the first place and now the team is back to their first 'global' search since new ownership took over.
But thanks to her experience as interim coach with Houston Dash, she is more than qualified to hold it down until the hire is made.
The players have raved about her all offseason and could pay dividends early on in the season.
What's going on at center back?
The 2025 season showed that the team's glaring weakness is at CB and it was one that cost the Thorns key results time and time again.
Heading into the offseason you'd think this would be a pressing priority, but it has been mostly neglected.
Unless a big addition occurs before the season, they'll roll out with Isa Obaze, Jayden Perry, Sam Hiatt as the main contributors with Carolyn Calzada as the rookie No . 4 CB.
Even with a soon-to-be new system under a new head coach, this group is relying on a breakout season from Perry to take the next level. The second-year player has all the tools to make that happen, but it's an unfair spot to put that much pressure on a single player.
Also, why is Jennie Immethun listed as a midfielder on the roster when she was rated a top three center back in college? A bit baffling when the club lacks a speedy option in central defense.
With Sam Coffey now with Manchester City, is Shae Harvey really expected to takeover as the six?
Now with about a month to go, the current plan is likely to have rookie Shae Harvey take over as the starting defensive midfielder for Portland.
Under Rhian Wilkinson in 2022, the Thorns struck gold with Coffey, and now they're setting up the same path it looks like for Harvey.
It's also important to highlight Coffey stayed in college for five seasons, while Harvey left as a junior.
It's asking a lot – and frankly, maybe too much.
Could the club bring in an established six?
Where are the reinforcements?
From what I've heard, Coffey's move to Manchester would open up many more opportunities and potential moves. Although, nothing has come to fruition just yet, additions is still to be expected.
Could it still happen soon or later in the summer window? Yes.
As of now, I still expect a splash or two in 2026.
Will GM Jeff Agoos speak to the media any time soon?
I have not heard of any media availabilities with the general manager.
However, I'll be having a conversation with GM Jeff Agoos in the near-future to discuss many topics in detail.
Injury Timelines?
Opening Day: Soph Wilson and Marie Müller
Will return later this season: Caiya Hanks and Morgan Weaver
Possible return: Julie Dufour
"But I think the biggest piece is in terms of returning players. We have, obviously Marie Müller and so building towards minutes for the first game of the season, we have. Obviously Julie's kind of still in her rehab phase, just based on where she's at with [being] one of the later ones with her. And then obviously Caiya and Weaver, will be probably later on in the year. But yeah, just right now with Soph and Marie, those will be the two that are on track to kind of return for the start of the season."
With these type of injuries, it's tough to get exact timelines, but it'll continue to be provided throughout the season.
Who will fill the void as captain?
Mackenzie "Macca" Arnold was named co-captain alongside Sam Coffey in 2025 and will likely be donning the captain's armband for opening day.
However, it would not surprise me one bit if Morgan Weaver is named captain as well - she has frequently been one of the players who has used her voice to uplift the young players and the entire team.
Jessie Fleming is another name to look for as she is also the captain for the CANWNT.
