Seattle, WA
Seattle Reign select two midfielders and a defender in the 2024 NWSL Draft
The first major event of the 2024 NWSL season – the NWSL Draft – concluded on Friday night, and Seattle Reign FC walked away with three players who have the potential to provide crucial depth for the club.
The Reign went into the evening with the 27th and 43rd overall picks in the draft. Seattle made a trade with Chicago in the second round, sending $125,000 in allocation money to the Red Stars in exchange for the 17th overall pick.
- With that newly-acquired pick, Seattle selected midfielder Sam Meza from the University of North Carolina.
- With the 27th pick, Seattle selected forward/midfielder Maddie Mercado from the University of Notre Dame.
- With the 43rd pick, Seattle selected forward/midfielder/defender Makena Carr from Saint Mary’s.
Speaking with reporters after the draft, head coach Laura Harvey and general manager Lesle Gallimore confirmed they got all three players they really wanted – and all three filled important depth needs for the squad.
Sam Meza, Midfielder, University of North Carolina
Harvey and Gallimore both talked about the impetus to make the trade with Chicago to move up to the 17th overall because of the fact that Meza was still available, as both said they had thought she would have been off the board.
Meza made 72 total appearances for UNC, with 71 of them being starts, and scored seven goals and claimed 10 assists. She was named a third-team All American in 2022 and made the second-team ACC in 2023. Playing a little deeper in the midfield, Meza is comfortable receiving passes with her back to opponents – and turning and creating for her teammates or dribbling out of pressure.
“Sam is the reason we all pay money to watch soccer. Her creativity and skill set separate herself from other elite players,” said University of North Carolina head coach Anson Dorrance.
As with any NWSL Draft tradition, here’s a mixtape of what Sam Meza does on the field.
While Meza has played for the United States U-17 and U-20 teams – getting coached by Harvey with the U-20s – in a Carolina People profile, she said she wants her platform as an athlete to inspire other Latinas, like soon-to-be teammate Sofia Huerta. “I hope I can inspire young Mexican girls to go for what they want, and it doesn’t have to be in sports. The biggest thing for me is being an advocate for little Mexican girls. I hope that they look at me and see themselves in me and see that they could strive for whatever they want to achieve,” said Meza.
And here’s a bonus video where you get to know a little bit about Sam Meza.
Maddie Mercado, Forward/Midfielder, University of Notre Dame
Mercado made 92 appearances with 62 starts for Notre Dame, scoring 26 goals and claiming 12 assists. Here are two of those goals, both from distance.
Here’s what Top Drawer Soccer had to say about Mercado: “With better finishing [by her teammates] on chances she created, Mercado would have had an even better statistical season than her nine goals and two assists. As a left-footed long-range shooting specialist with the stats to back it up, the San Diego Surf graduate has caught the eye of scouts over the last few seasons as someone who can create something from nothing.”
Makena Carr, Forward/Midfielder/Defender, Saint Mary’s
Carr played her 2023 season at Saint Mary’s, playing/starting in 15 matches as a left back after transferring from the University of Washington. At Washington, Carr played in more attacking roles in 39 matches, with 10 starts as various injuries limited her time on the field.
Hailing from Newcastle, Washington, Carr is set to be the latest member of Seattle’s gang of locals – joining Sam Hiatt, Nikki Stanton, and Olivia Van der Jagt. Carr will also reunite with now-general manager Gallimore, who coached her at the University of Washington.
“Makena is a handful to defend against, has a great soccer brain, and now that durability piece of competing day in and day out at this level is what needs [to] click in for Makena; it’s all a part of the soccer maturing process that players go through at this level,” said Gallimore in a 2018 profile on Carr.
Also in the post-draft conference call, Harvey and Gallimore mentioned that there were still other potential roster moves for the club to make without showing their cards. Gallimore did say, “Coming soon,” when asked by Seattle Times’ Jayda Evans about the status of midfielder Nikki Stanton and forward Tziarra King. Gallimore hinted at additional plays beyond re-signing their remaining free agents.
While Reign fans await the news of the sale and ownership change being finalized, and any other players coming to Seattle, we can at least welcome these three players to the club and to the city this preseason – and look forward to hopefully seeing all three of them put on the Seattle Reign jersey.
Welcome to Seattle, Sam, Maddie, and Makena!
Seattle, WA
MLB Mock Trade: Seattle Mariners Deal Luis Castillo to Atlanta Braves
The Seattle Mariners have had a busy offseason as they try to improve their roster and break through to the World Series for the first time in franchise history. Seattle has been active in free agency and on the trade market. One of their final roster questions is who will serve as the backup catcher behind Cal Raleigh. The Mariners could make one more move before the start of the season to address this need, potentially through a trade with the Atlanta Braves.
The Atlanta Braves are dealing with some serious injuries to their starting rotation this offseason. After an impressive 2025 campaign, Spencer Schwellenbach has been shut down because of bone spurs. Breakout candidate Hurston Waldrep was also shut down during Spring Training with elbow inflammation. Both pitchers underwent surgery in February, leaving two open spots in Atlanta’s rotation. Let’s break down a mock trade centered on Luis Castillo that could help fill those holes for the Braves.
Atlanta Braves – Seattle Mariners Mock Trade
Atlanta Braves receive SP Luis Castillo
Seattle Mariners receive C Sean Murphy, SP Owen Murphy
In this mock trade, the Braves acquire All-Star starter Luis Castillo. In exchange, the Mariners receive former All-Star catcher Sean Murphy and a young pitching prospect in Owen Murphy.
Fantasy Baseball Outlook
Luis Castillo would slot into the Atlanta Braves’ starting rotation behind Chris Sale and Spencer Strider. He has been very effective for the Mariners since they acquired him from the Reds at the trade deadline four seasons ago. In 2025, Castillo went 11–8 in 32 games with a 3.54 ERA, 1.18 WHIP, and 162 strikeouts. His fantasy value would likely dip if he left Seattle’s pitcher-friendly ballpark. Still, he has proven himself as a reliable, effective starter through consistent performance, and he would play a key role for Atlanta.
With the Mariners, Sean Murphy would serve as the backup catcher behind Cal Raleigh. He would likely see a drop in playing time in Seattle, but this move could also give the Mariners more opportunities to use Raleigh at DH. With the fifth spot open in the Seattle rotation, Emerson Hancock and Cooper Criswell would be viable, experienced options. Alternatively, Kade Anderson and Ryan Sloan are elite prospects who have had strong Spring Trainings and could break camp on Opening Day. The young pitching prospect Owen Murphy would also join a talented farm system and provide a future option for the rotation.
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Seattle, WA
VIDEO: Scream Club Seattle keeps growing, midway through first year
(Story originally posted 8:22 pm, updated 12:32 am)
By Torin Record-Sand
Reporting for West Seattle Blog
From a distance, they looked like a regular crowd of people enjoying a nice evening walk on the shores of Lincoln Park. But they were gathered here for a singular purpose: to scream. Since September 2025, the Scream Club Seattle has met at Lincoln Park on every third Sunday to scream, led by head organizer Amber Walcker. No explanation, justification, or invitation to scream is needed – come as you are. “There are some harder emotions people come here to deal with, sure, but some people also just come to scream.” head organizer Amber explained.
Tonight’s crowd showed the club is rapidly growing. From around a dozen or so participants in the first gathering in September, tonight seemed to attract around 40 people gathering to let it all out.
As the sun started to set, and everyone was finally gathered together, the Scream Club was ready to begin.
There are only three screams, organizer Amber explained. The first, she said, is a scream to get used to doing it in public. The second scream is there to ground you. And the final – and longest scream – is there to let you have an emotional catharsis.
She also wanted to make sure people were taking care of their vocal health beforehand. As she told everyone to walk a little bit from the meeting place and start to gather near the shore, she instructed the crowd to hum for a few minutes on the way, to warm up the vocal cords.
With that, the crowd walked towards the shore.
“On the count of one – two – three – scream!” said organizer Amber.
You can see our video of the proceedings here. After the screaming, we talked to a few participants about why they came out.
“There’s not one thing that’s really making me want to scream. There’s a lot of stuff going on for me, a lot of emotional ups and downs. Screaming into the ocean together gives you a sense of community.” said Jessie.
“This is my third or fourth time coming to scream. With the political climate, with everything that’s happening, getting together with local community to scream feels more productive than screaming into the internet on social media.” said Ursula.
“This is my first time coming out.” said Liz. “I screamed after the Seahawks won the Super Bowl, and I really felt something. I realized I’ve been feeling a lot of frustration recently, and it felt like coming here was a healthy way to get it out rather than screaming at your neighbors.”
Organizer Amber recognizes much of what they were saying. “Meeting like this can be an important element to have in your mental health toolbox. It’s rare to have scream therapy.” She shared an anecdote about the therapeutic origins of the group, which originally started with a chapter in Chicago. “The founder was a life coach. Their girlfriend was having a bad day, and they encouraged them to go to the Chicago Pier and just let it out. He walked her through the process, and that was that. Eventually they invited more people to come do it.” She hopes to bring that same therapeutic energy to the practice here. “It’s a moment of emotional release more than anything else. Depending on what’s going on in people’s minds, everyone will come here with a different mindset and purpose. We’re providing a safe space to do that.”
Scream Club Seattle meets at Lincoln Park on the first Sunday of every month, and they are also starting to meet on the third Sunday of every month at Golden Gardens in Ballard. Tentatively, the next events will be in Lincoln Park on April 5th around 6 PM, and Golden Gardens on March 15th around 5 PM. If you’d like to know more, you can find them on Instagram here or look at their future events on their Eventbrite page here.
Seattle, WA
Detectives Investigating Robbery, Shooting Over $20 Necklace – SPD Blotter
Seattle police detectives are investigating a robbery and shooting of a 23-year-old man over a $20 necklace in Pioneer Square this morning.
At about 12:40 a.m., patrol officers responded to a shooting in the 500 block of 2nd Avenue. There, they found a victim, bleeding, with a gunshot wound to his right thigh. Police and the Seattle Fire Department treated his injury. Medics took him to Harborview Medical Center (HMC) in stable condition.
Police determined that the victim just left a bar, getting into the passenger seat of his friend’s car, when the suspect, wearing a ski mask and armed with a firearm, approached him and demanded his necklace. They struggled over the item, and the suspect shot the victim in the leg. The shooter fled in a vehicle with the necklace before police arrived. The value of the “chain” is about $20.
Detectives in the Robbery Unit responded to the scene and HMC. Anyone with information is asked to call the SPD Violent Crimes Tip line at 206-233-5000. Anonymous tips are accepted.
Incident Number: 2026-57536
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