Yazmeen Ryan and Delanie Sheehan traded to Denver Summit

Forward Yazmeen Ryan and midfielder Delanie Sheehan walk onto the field for pregame warmups with the Houston Dash before the game at Lumen Field on May 11, 2025 in Seattle, Wash. (Photo Credit: Melissa Levin-Imagn Images)

Yazmeen Ryan and Delanie Sheehan have been traded to the Denver Summit, the Houston Dash officially announced on Thursday, March 19.

In return, the Dash will receive $1 million total in funds — $800,000 in intra-league transfer funds and the remaining $200,000 in expansion allocation funds. According to a press release from Houston, the deal includes “additional conditional sell-on fee tied to future player movement.”

Additionally, the Dash sent $150,000 in allocation funds to the Summit.

“We appreciate everything Yazmeen and Delanie contributed during their time in Houston. They brought a veteran presence during a transition period that paved the foundation for the team we have today and we wish them the best as they begin a new chapter in their careers,” President of Women’s Soccer, Angela Hucles Mangano said. “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.”

Sports Illustrated first reported the trade.

Both Ryan and Sheehan are still just 27 years old, but they bring impressive winning pedigrees that should immediately elevate the expansion team.

Sheehan was drafted out of UCLA with the No. 33 overall pick in the 2021 NWSL Draft by NJ/NY Gotham FC. She played four seasons with Gotham. The team qualified for the postseason in three of those four years and won the National Women’s Soccer League Championship in 2023.

Ryan began her professional career the same season, drafted out of TCU No. 6 overall by the Portland Thorns in 2021. In her rookie year, she won the Women’s International Champions Cup and NWSL Shield. Then she helped Portland lift the 2022 NWSL Championship before joining Gotham for the 2023 season. With Gotham, she won the 2023 NWSL Championship and was named to the 2024 NWSL Best XI Second Team. Internationally, Ryan earned her first U.S. women’s national team cap in October 2024 and competed in the 2025 SheBelieves Cup.

Sheehan and Ryan both joined Houston in the offseason ahead of the 2025 season. Sheehan signed a two-year contract through 2026 with a mutual option for the 2027 season as a free agent. Ryan was acquired in a then-record trade with Gotham that gave Houston $400,000 in allocation money plus an international roster spot in 2025. A month later, Ryan signed a three-year contract extension through the 2027 NWSL season.