It's the most wonderful time of the year, the NWSL postseason. The 2026 NWSL playoffs begin Friday with the quarterfinal rounds between the league's top eight teams. It's the special place where predictions are futile and what happened in the regular season only matters in opinion.
That means it's time for a special playoff edition of the NWSL power rankings. Every week through the regular season we brought power rankings for all 16 clubs, and now just eight teams will kick off the playoffs, so of course we're ranking them ahead of the big games. If you're curious where teams landed before the playoffs, check out our previous rankings.
Gotham FC clinched the 2026 NWSL Shield on the final matchday of the regular season, Kansas City Current secured a vital home playoff game, Seattle Reign FC clinched the final playoff spot, and Angel City FC extended their unbeaten streak to 10 games. But where do those teams land on the latest special edition of the power rankings? The Utah Royals are the feel-good story of the postseason, making the playoffs for the first time in club history.
Head coach Jimmy Coenraets and his squad are effective in a counterpress and had an impressive first half of the season, but have been inconsistent since the summer break and have at times struggled against other playoff contenders. Kate Del Fava is the defensive star of the show, and the centerback should be considered a finalist for defender of the year. Kaleigh Riehl, Nuria Rabano, and Paige Cronin aid goalkeeper Mandy McGlynn in net.
Though injury concerns in the midfield are coming at a tough time for Utah, with a hamstring injury for Mina Tanaka and Narumi Miura managing a thigh issue. The NWSL playoffs are the place where anything can happen, but the Royals are the only team heading to the postseason on the worst run of form. Just one win in their last five games.
Seattle just squeaked into the playoffs with a final-day win during Jess Fishlock's farewell home game. With the longtime Seattle Reign player retiring after this season, the group will be motivated for a long playoff run, though the goal-scoring question mark is still haunting the team from last year's postseason appearance. If defense wins championships, then Seattle Reign have put all their eggs in that basket with goalkeeper Claudia Dickey.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
