Bay FC Acquires Midfielder Claire Hutton in Intra-League Transfer with Kansas City Current
SAN JOSE, Calif. (Feb. 11, 2026) – Bay FC announced today the club has acquired midfielder Claire Hutton from the Kansas City Current in exchange for $1.1 Million in intra league transfer funds. The 2025 NWSL Best XI First Team selection will join Bay FC in a historic transfer, with the exchange representing one of the highest transfer fees between two NWSL clubs and one of the highest for any women’s player worldwide.
“Claire is an important signing for us. She’s a top-quality player who is tight on the ball, and she has the mobility and physical presence to break up play,” said Head Coach Emma Coates. “Despite her age she brings experience and a strong mentality, and we believe she has the potential to become one of the best midfielders in the world. The most exciting part for us is her desire to keep getting better, and we’re excited to support her through the next stages of her career and even more excited to see the impact she will have at Bay FC.”
“Bay FC is a club with real ambition, and that is a big part of why this move feels right for me,” said Hutton. “It’s clear from Coach Coates how detailed her vision is and how much she values challenging players to keep improving. The standards she wants to set and the environment the club is building really resonated with me, and I’m excited to join a group that pushes each other every day as we compete at the highest level while winning championships”.
The 20-year-old midfielder joins Bay FC following a stellar 2025 campaign that saw her appear in 25 regular season matches (22 starts) and record two assists as her club lifted the NWSL Shield. She was one of the league’s best players in one-on-one situations, finishing Top 10 league wide in duels won (153) and successful tackles (49) and winning possession 170 times. Her performance on the defensive end helped her club tally a league record 16 clean sheets. She earned league-wide praise for her performance following the campaign, earning a nomination for the 2025 NWSL Midfielder of the Year and a spot on the NWSL Best XI First Team for the first time in her career.
Hutton signed her first professional contract with Kansas City ahead of the 2024 NWSL season at 17 years old. She was the sixth player signed under the league’s Under-18 Entry Mechanism, going on to make her professional debut March 18, 2024, against Portland Thorns FC. She tallied one assist and logged over 1,400 minutes her rookie season, helping Kansas City to a fourth-place finish in the regular season standings. She scored her first professional goal Aug. 1 as her club bested Mexican side Tigres on its way to the 2024 NWSL x Liga MX Summer Cup title. Following the season, she was named a finalist for 2024 NWSL Rookie of the Year.
Hutton has risen quickly in the United States National Team ranks, representing the U-17, U-19, and U-20 Women’s National Teams. She won the Concacaf U-17 Championship title with the U.S. in 2022, sharing the pitch with Bay FC forward Onyeka Gamero, and earned Bronze at with the U.S. U-19’s at the 2023 Pan American games and the 2024 U-20 World Cup in Colombia. She made her senior national team debut in 2025, earning her first selection for the 2025 SheBelieves Cup and first cap Feb. 23 against Australia. She has appeared 13 times for Emma Hayes’ squad, scoring one goal July 2 vs. Canada. She captained her nation for the first time in the most recent international window, taking the armband from Trinity Rodman in the USWNT’s defeat of Paraguay Jan. 24 at Dignity Health Sports Park. At 20 years old, she is the youngest player to captain the U.S. Women in the modern era.
Single-match tickets for all 2026 Bay FC home matches are on sale now at BayFC.com/tickets, giving all fans the opportunity to lock in their spot at PayPal Park for the season’s most anticipated contests. Fans can secure their seat for every home match today with a season ticket membership. Fans can also follow @wearebayfc on social channels for the latest club news and more exciting announcements to come throughout the offseason.
