After rumors first started circulating two days ago, it's now official – the NWSL’s all-time leading goal scorer Lynn Williams is going to be calling Lumen Field home in 2025. In addition to acquiring Williams from Gotham FC, goalkeeper Cassie Miller is headed west. In exchange, Gotham is receiving midfielder Jaelin Howell, a 2025 international roster spot and $70,000 in allocation money.
Concurrently, Reign free agent goalkeeper Laurel Ivory announced her signing with the Kansas City Current and free agent forward Tziarra King announced she would not be returning to the Reign next season.
“We are beyond thrilled to welcome Cassie Miller and Lynn Williams to Seattle Reign FC as we set our sights on an exciting 2025 season and beyond,” said Reign General Manager Lesle Gallimore in a team release. “Cassie brings a seasoned and reliable presence to our goalkeeper corps, with her competitive mindset and familiarity with our coaching staff making her a perfect fit for our team culture. Lynn Williams is a proven winner with unmatched goal-scoring ability and a tireless work ethic. Her impact extends beyond the pitch, as her leadership and reputation as an outstanding teammate are second to none and recognized globally. We couldn’t be more excited to have both Cassie and Lynn join the Reign family.”
Williams was originally drafted 6th overall in 2015 by the WNY Flash out of Pepperdine. She helped lead the team to the 2016 NWSL Championship, won the Golden Boot that year as leading goal scorer and was also named league MVP. After the club moved to North Carolina, Williams helped the Courage win three consecutive Shields from 2017 through 2019 and two more Championships in 2018 and 2019. She was traded to the KC Current in 2022 but missed the entire season due to a leg injury.
The following winter, she was traded to Gotham FC, and scored the opening goal against the Reign in the 2023 Championship. In 152 regular-season NWSL appearances, Williams has scored 68 goals, plus 5 more in 11 playoff appearances. Internationally, she has earned 75 caps for the USWNT, scored 25 goals and added 13 assists, and has been a part of the 2020 Bronze medal and 2024 Gold medal Olympic squads.
I am honored to join Seattle Reign FC and step into this new opportunity in my career," said Williams. “I’ve always said, ‘If you aren’t challenging yourself, you’re not growing,’ and this is definitely another challenge for me. I can’t wait to meet all you Reign fans and get to know more about the culture here. I’m excited to meet my teammates and hopefully build lasting connections on and off the field.”
Miller is entering her seventh pro season. She started her pro career with PSV in the Eredivisie Vrouwen in 2018 and moved to Apollon Ladies in 2019 before coming to the NWSL with Chicago in 2020. She made 18 starts for the Red Stars in 2021 and helped lead the Red Stars to the 2021 NWSL Championship, earning clean sheets against both Gotham and Portland in the playoffs, but the club fell 2-1 to Washington in extra time in the final. Her performance drew the attention of the Kansas City Current, who traded for her ahead of the 2022 season. While with the Current, she worked with current Reign goalkeeper coach Lloyd Yaxley. She was traded to Gotham ahead of the 2024 season and made four regular-season appearances and four more in the Summer Cup, posting three clean sheets to help Gotham advance to the Cup final.
“Joining Reign FC is an incredible opportunity,” said Miller. “I’m eager to embrace this new chapter and make a meaningful impact in Seattle while helping the team work toward our goals.”
With these moves, the Reign now have 23 players under contract for the 2025 season, with three open spots and the ability to add two more players on short-term contracts while Sofia Huerta remains on loan in France through the summer and Ryanne Brown is recovering from her ACL injury.
It appears that the Reign now have seven international players on contract but only six available international roster spots. Before the season begins, they may need to acquire another international spot, get a green card for a current player, or move an international player.
