Alex Morgan One of 10 Athletes Who'll Be Noticeably Absent at Olympics

Former Cal star Morgan joined by Caitlin Clark, Gabby Douglas and others on CBS Sports' list of surprising absentees

Alex Morgan / Craig Mitchelldyer-USA TODAY Sports

Debate continues about whether Alex Morgan should have been included on the U.S. Olympic team’s soccer roster.  However, the fact is, the former Cal star who has scored 123 international goals, the most by an active American player, will not be in Paris.

Morgan is not the only U.S. athlete whose absence from the Olympics will be noticeable. CBS Sports identified 10 American star athletes who will not be competing in the 2024 Summer Game, one of whom is Morgan.

The other nine are women’s basketball standout Caitlin Clark, men’s basketball star Kawhi Leonard, 800-meter running Athing Mu, hurdler Dalilah Muhammad, gymnast Gabby Douglas, gymnast Shilese Jones, swimmer Lydia Jacoby, artistic swimmer Bill May, and equestrian athlete Jessica Springsteen (Bruce’s daughter).

But none has created as much controversy as Morgan, who was a starter in most of the U.S. team’s international competition in 2024, but was left off the Olympic squad. She was not even included among the four alternates after Catarina Macario had to be replaced on the Americans’ 18 player roster because of an injury.

Here is what CBS Sports said about Morgan:

One of the U.S. women’s national team’s longtime leaders will not step onto the pitch in Paris.

Alex Morgan did not make Emma Hayes 18-player roster for the 2024 Olympics, marking the first time she will not be with the USWNT at a major tournament since the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. The 35-year-old forward said she was disappointed to miss the cut but that she will be “supporting this team and cheering them on alongside the rest of our country.

The USWNT roster for Paris has an average age of 26.8 years old, the fourth-youngest in program history for the Olympics. The team will look to bounce back from a round of 16 exit at last year’s Women’s World Cup as it chases its first Olympic gold since 2012.

As long has the United States team keeps winning and scores plenty of goals in the Olympics, Morgan’s name won’t come up much. But if the Americans lose or have trouble scoring, commentators will wonder aloud why Alex Morgan is not on the squad.

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