Dearica Hamby is a WNBA forward and mother of two children, Amaya and Legend. A star for the Los Angeles Sparks, her impact extends far beyond the court: after being traded by the Las Vegas Aces while pregnant in 2023, Hamby filed a complaint alleging pregnancy discrimination and became a driving force behind landmark protections in the WNBA's new CBA, which now requires teams to obtain player consent before trading a pregnant player.
“There’s this misconception – and times are starting to change – but the narrative is still there that you can’t do both, can’t be a successful parent and be successful at your career at the same time,” Hamby said. “In our sport, you’ve seen that reality change. My story is an example of that — and so many more moms.”
Sophia Wilson always dreamed of becoming a mom, and, from role models early in her career, she knew she could do it while playing professional soccer. Watching USWNT veterans like Alex Morgan, Crystal Dunn, and Julie Ertz navigate pregnancy gave her the blueprint for her own experience. After missing the entire 2025 NWSL season, the Portland Thorns forward returned from maternity leave to score in back-to-back games, and was named to her first national team roster in over a year – becoming the 18th mother ever to play for the USWNT.
“The narrative of what she is going to lose, or how she is going to be set back, or what’s going to change negatively, needs to be shifted to what she might gain, or what’s going to be changed in a positive way,” Wilson said. “I hope that choosing to have a baby in these prime years of my career can inspire other women.”
When Sarah Gorden had her son Caiden during her junior season at DePaul, she didn't know what her soccer future would hold. Two and a half weeks after giving birth, she was back jogging — eager to train again — and returned to her team for a spring scrimmage about five weeks after delivering. In 2016, she became the first DePaul player ever drafted to the NWSL. She went on to become Chicago's first Iron Woman in 2021, a staple of Angel City's defensive line, and played over 100 games in the league, all with Caiden by her side.
“Being away from soccer and the team and the atmosphere, it made me realize how much I really loved playing,” Gorden said. “Coming back and getting my body back in shape, I was more motivated than ever after having Caiden. I was a much better athlete after having a baby than before.”
Allyson Felix is the most decorated U.S. track and field athlete in Olympic history, with 11 Olympic medals to her name – and she's not done yet, with her sights set on qualifying for a hometown Games at LA28. After her daughter Camryn was born prematurely in 2018, Felix went public with her experience as a Black mother and revealed in a New York Timesop-ed that Nike intended to cut her pay by 70% after her pregnancy. The response led Nike to announce new maternity protections for all sponsored athletes in 2019, with three other apparel companies following suit.
“Motherhood is the thing that has touched me the most, really normalizing mothers in sport and women not having to choose between that part of life and staying in their professions,” Felix shared. “Becoming a mother and looking at my daughter and the world she'll grow up in helped me find my voice and speak on some things I would've shied away from before.”
Naomi Osaka is a four-time Grand Slam champion and the first Asian player to hold the World No. 1 singles ranking in tennis. She gave birth to daughter Shai in 2023, consulting fellow athlete moms like Allyson Felix ahead of the experience, including about the risks Black women face during childbirth. Since becoming a mother, she has found her ultimate motivation and feels more driven than ever to achieve greatness. She hopes Shai will one day take up a sport of her own, and in August 2025, Shai watched her mom play in person for the first time at the US Open.
“My return to the sport is a love letter for moms,” said Osaka. “Some people say she ended my career, but for me, it feels like she started my career.”
Kendall Coyne Schofield captained Team USA to a silver medal at the 2022 Beijing Olympics while three months pregnant, and in July 2023, she welcomed her son Drew. She returned to professional hockey to captain the Minnesota Frost to back-to-back Walter Cup championships in 2024 and 2025 – placing Drew into the trophy in an iconic image after the first win. In 2026, at 32, she made her fourth Olympic roster for Milan Cortina 2026 as the team's second-longest tenured player and only mom, scoring three goals across the tournament and bringing home her second gold medal.
“I didn’t want my son to be the reason I stopped playing hockey,” Coyne Schofield said. “I wanted him to be the reason I kept playing.”
Carli Lloyd is an Olympic medalist and champion setter who has redefined what a comeback can look like as a mom. Returning to the sport after two years, she competed in Italy before returning to the U.S. to help LOVB Austin win back-to-back championships in 2025 and 2026. A bronze medalist at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games, Lloyd is a founding player in League One Volleyball, where she has embraced a culture that supports athlete moms both on and off the court. Lloyd has been open about how she dealt with significant physical strain and unexpected challenges while working her way back into competition, and has also shared how LOVB has created an environment that actively supports mothers balancing elite play and family life.
Brenna Huckaby is a Paralympic champion and mother of two who has balanced elite competition with parenthood since her teenage years. Diagnosed with osteosarcoma at 14, Huckaby had her right leg amputated before discovering competitive snowboarding on a rehabilitation trip. She became a mom at 19 after being told she likely wouldn’t be able to have children, and now has two daughters, Lilah and Sloan. Since making her Paralympic debut at the 2018 Games, Huckaby has won multiple medals, including two golds in 2018, followed by a gold and a bronze in 2022, and a bronze in 2026.
“I know I am a normal mom — and an awesome mom — because I show up for my kids. It doesn’t matter what your body looks like.”
Emerance Maschmeyer is a two-time Olympic medalist and elite Canadian goaltender, winning gold at the 2022 Winter Olympics and silver at the 2026 Winter Olympics. Currently playing for the Vancouver Goldeneyes after a stint with the Ottawa Charge, Maschmeyer has also stepped into motherhood, welcoming her son Beckham in 2024 with her wife, Geneviève Lacasse. Becoming a mom has shifted her perspective on the game, helping her navigate its ups and downs while balancing training demands with the support of her family and teammates.
“I’ve put so much time and energy into hockey, and everything in my life revolved around the game,” she explained. “But now, if I’m having an off day or things aren’t going well, Beckham reminds me it’s a game and that there’s tomorrow – you can work at it tomorrow.”
