North Carolina Courage signs free agent Dani Weatherholt

By Tyler Trent

Weatherholt training for Angel City FC (Photo courtesy of Angel City FC)

The North Carolina Courage has announced the signing of free agent midfielder Dani Weatherholt to a two-year guaranteed contract.

Weatherholt played in 21 matches last season for Angel City FC, including 15 starts. She previously played at OL Reign and Orlando Pride in the NWSL after being drafted by the Pride out of Santa Clara University in 2016. Weatherholt also won the league while on loan from the Pride at Melbourne Victory for the 2018-2019 season.

The 29-year-old midfielder has been a valuable addition to her previous teams, providing a strong passing game both in possession and moving the ball into the attacking third. Weatherholt also provides valuable defensive cover to her backline and will likely be another crucial boost in the hopes of continued success for the Courage.

Below you can find a profile of Weatherholt's statistics compared to other central and defensive midfielders in the NWSL last season. This showcases her strong defensive and passing abilities compared to her peers.

Radar courtesy of Ben Griffis

The signing of Weatherholt puts the Courage roster at 28, assuming the three drafted players sign contracts with the team. Three of these players were on the season-ending injury (SEI) list to end the 2023 season: Kerolin, Meredith Speck, and Clara Robbins. Assuming they are all out to begin the season, that puts the roster at 25. One below the maximum of 26 for the 2024 season.

GK	Murphy	Bova	Hancuff
LB	Collins
CB	Berkely	Staude
CB	Kurtz	Johnson
RB	Williams	Dorsey
DM	O'Sullivan	Weatherholt	Pinto	Robbins
CM	Narumi (INT)	Jackson	Speck
AM	Manaka (INT)	Rikako (INT)	V. Pickett
LW	St-Georges	Wingate
RW	Kerolin (INT)	Lussi	Mertz
ST	Sanchez	Hopkins	Gejl (INT)

*Predicted Courage Roster based on available information - positions are fluid

Want to get to know the newest member of Courage Country? Check out this article from Just Women's Sports profiling Weatherholt's journey through soccer.