OL Reign Exercises Option on Defender Alana Cook’s Contract

OL Reign today announced that defender Alana Cook’s option was automatically exercised, per the terms of her contract, keeping her with the club through 2024. Cook joined OL Reign on a permanent transfer in June of 2021 after spending three seasons with Paris Saint-Germain.

"Alana remaining with the club provides great consistency in our backline and allows her to continue to grow in her leadership role in the team,” said general manager Lesle Gallimore. “She is amongst the best central defenders in world, and we're excited about our future with her here in Seattle." 

Cook has started in every game played (56) with OL Reign, registering a total of 4,995 regular-season minutes all-time. The Stanford graduate is also one of 18 players to reach 50 regular-season appearances for OL Reign.

Since entering the NWSL on June 7, 2021, Cook leads the league in interceptions (115) and ranks in the top-5 in clearances (214) and blocks (48).

This season, the third-year defender has started in all 18 games played and recorded two assists, with her first-ever NWSL assist occurring against Racing Louisville FC on April 29. Cook finished the season as one of nine defenders in the league to record multiple assists. Additionally, Cook led the team in successful passes (843) and ranked second on the team in both clearances (53) and interceptions (31), respectively.

In each of her first two seasons in the league, Cook was named to the NWSL Best XI and was a finalist for NWSL Defender of the Year.

At the international level, Cook was first called up to the U.S. Women’s National Team on October 31, 2019, and has since earned 29 caps, two assists and one goal, which was scored during her 26th birthday against the Republic of Ireland on April 11, 2023. On June 21, 2023, the New Jersey native was called up to the USWNT for her first-ever World Cup.