USWNT captain Lindsey Heaps set to join the expansion Denver Summit

Lindsey Heaps is coming home.

The Women's World Cup winner is joining the National Women's Soccer League's expansion Denver Summit this summer when her contract with French club Lyon is done.

Heaps is a native of Golden, Colorado, and made no secret of her interest in playing in her home state after the Summit was announced as the league's 16th team back in January 2025. The club embarks on its first season this year.

“When I first heard about the team, I didn’t really feel like it was real. I couldn’t believe that we were getting a professional women’s soccer team and in Denver," Heaps said in an interview with The Associated Press. "I didn’t want to get too excited from the get go because I didn’t know if it was a real possibility for me. And then, as conversations went on, the first thing I said, I wanted to make sure that it was the right opportunity for me.”

Not only does Heaps have family in Colorado, but her husband, Tyler Heaps, is general manager and sporting director of Major League Soccer's San Diego FC, and the two have been juggling the demands of a transatlantic relationship.

Heaps also indicated that she was lured to the Summit by majority owner Rob Cohen and coach Nick Cushing, who previously coached the Manchester City women and Major League Soccer's NYCFC.

"I think they align with all of my beliefs in how they see the team, how they see it becoming successful, and the investment that they’re putting in," she said. "And then hearing Nick and how he sees football, I think that was a huge deciding factor for me as well as I wanted to be with a good coach. So that was exciting.”

Denver has been assembling a roster in anticipation of its first season, bringing in Ally Watt and Carson Pickett, both formerly of the Orlando Pride, and Kaleigh Kurtz from the North Carolina Courage, among others. More recently, the team signed defender Ayo Oke from the Mexican club Pachuca.

The 31-year-old Heaps is known as an aggressive facilitator on the field, and her height — she’s 5-foot-9 — gives her an advantage in aerial duels. She'll no doubt take on a leadership role in Denver like she has as captain with the national team.

She said she hopes to foster the “chemistry, values and standards that I want this club to have for years and years, and make it a successful place and a place that everyone wants to play, that’s entertaining to fans and plays good football as well."

Following high school, Heaps turned down a scholarship to North Carolina and instead went overseas and play for Paris Saint-Germain for four seasons.

In 2016 and vying for a spot on the Olympic team, she returned to the United States to play for the Portland Thorns, where she won an NWSL title in 2017 and was named the league’s Most Valuable Player in 2018.

The Thorns loaned her to Lyon in 2022, and later allowed her permanent transfer to the team in France’s top division. In 95 appearances with Lyon, Heaps has scored 22 goals.

A fixture on the U.S. national team since the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics, Heaps has served as captain since 2023.

At the 2019 Women's World Cup in France, she served Alex Morgan the go-ahead goal in the semifinal match against England. In addition to the World Cup trophy, Heaps also has a gold medal from the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Heaps is returning home while some other national team stars have gone to Europe in the past year, including defender Naomi Girma and Alyssa Thompson.

Heaps believes her time overseas made her a more complete player.

“The reason I left, at the time I left, was that I wanted to go experience something different. I wanted to challenge myself in a different way," she said. "Not negating what Portland gave me or what the NWSL gave me, but I was just like, I’d been there for six years and I wanted another challenge and I’d be remiss if I didn’t go and try to challenge myself in a different way in France again."

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

FILE - United States midfielder Lindsey Heaps kicks the ball during the second half of a women's international friendly soccer match against New Zealand, Wednesday, Oct. 29, 2025, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel, file)

NORMAN, Okla. (AP) — Raegan Beers had 18 points and 10 rebounds, and No. 4 seed Oklahoma overwhelmed No. 13 seed Idaho 89-59 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday night.

Beers, a senior center, also had four assists and four blocks. Sahara Williams had 17 points and 10 rebounds, Aaliyah Chavez scored 15 points and Payton Verhulst added 14 for the Sooners (25-7), who stopped Idaho's win streak at 18 games. The Vandals hadn’t lost since Jan. 10.

The Sooners pushed the tempo early and were intentional about being balanced. Eventually, they wore the Vandals down.

“I think we’re setting the tone for how we want to play going on into March,” Williams said.

Oklahoma will play No. 5 seed Michigan State in the second round on Sunday. The Spartans outlasted No. 12 Colorado State 65-62 in the early game on Friday.

Kyra Gardner scored 19 points and Hope Hassmann added 12 for Idaho (29-6). The Vandals shot 24.7% from the field and made just 10 of 46 3-pointers.

Oklahoma played one of its most efficient offensive halves of the season to go up 57-35 at the break. The Sooners shot 59.5% from the field and committed just four turnovers. Williams had 13 points and Verhulst had 12 at the break.

The Sooners opened the second half on an 8-1 run, including six points from Beers, to go up 65-36.

Williams drained a shot from beyond halfcourt at the end of the third quarter, but she released it just a bit too late to count. The Sooners took a 76-38 lead into the fourth.

The Sooners created positive energy and the home crowd added more.

“When we have fun, I wouldn’t say a win is guaranteed, but we play a lot better when we have fun and have a smile on our face and we rebound and we score and we assist the ball,” Williams said.

Idaho coach Arthur Moreira said there might be more smiling ahead for the Sooners.

“They’re just a complete team,” he said. “I think they’re equipped to make a big run here. As I was scouting them, it was fun to watch.”

Chavez had five assists and no turnovers, shot a solid 6 for 14 from the field and had six rebounds in her first taste of March Madness.

Strangely, she missed her first two free throws before making two later. She made 70 of 72 free throws during Southeastern Conference play and entered the night shooting 94% from the line overall this season.

Oklahoma made 15 of 21 layups while Idaho made 4 of 19.

Beers was a significant factor in both of those stats. She made five of her six layups and was a pest around the rim defensively. She was a key reason Idaho made just 10 of 35 shots inside the 3-point line.

The women's team made the 30-minute trip to Oklahoma City on Thursday to watch the Idaho men play Houston.

Many of the fans that watched that 78-47 loss showed up in Norman on Friday.

“Just to be in the Idaho section was so cool,” Hassmann said. “And then also to see those fans travel here today — kind of had our own Idaho section, which was super cool to hear them cheer for us and our band and cheerleaders.”

AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-womens-bracket and coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness

Idaho guard Katlin Kangur (14) goes up to shoot beside Oklahoma guard Aaliyah Chavez (2) during the first half in the first round of the NCAA college basketball tournament, Friday, March 20, 2026, Norman, Okla. (AP Photo/Alonzo Adams)

Oklahoma center Raegan Beers (15) blocks a shot by Idaho guard Ana Pinheiro (37) during the first half in the first round of the NCAA college basketball tournament, Friday, March 20, 2026, Norman, Okla. (AP Photo/Alonzo Adams)