In return home to Utah, Courtney Brown hopes to lead Royals where they've never been

SANDY — There may have been few believers in the Utah Royals as a playoff contender, not after last year's 12th-place finish at 6-13-7, their second straight sub-.500 record that finished no better than 11th in back-to-back seasons returning to the NWSL.

But those within the walls of Utah's training facility in Herriman were enough. It was enough, at least, for Courtney Brown to take a chance on her hometown club.

At some point, the former Fremont High and University of Utah standout "knew that at some point in my professional career, I wanted to play for the Royals."

Helping the third-year franchise that took a three-year hiatus after its first four-year stint in the league was an added bonus. But that's where Utah sits after the record-setting 4-2-1 start, including a club-record fourth consecutive win that has the team in fifth place with 13 points in the NWSL's 16-team table.

"I feel like the Royals are doing a lot to try to really elevate the women's side. it's been awesome because you can start seeing that come to fruition," said Brown (neé Talbot). "We're off to a decent start in the season, and we definitely have our eyes on making the playoffs this season.

"It is really exciting because the club hasn't done that before, and so we're really working on turning the ship and you can see that a lot of the efforts being made are working out."

From Utah to D.C. and back again

After a five-year career that included 90 starts, 14 goals, 15 assists and a master's degree in accounting at Utah, Brown was drafted in the fourth round of the now-defunct NWSL draft in 2024 by the Washington Spirit, where she would play alongside fellow Utah college soccer alums Ashley Hatch from BYU and Heather Stainbrook from Utah Valley.

The fans at Audi Field in Washington D.C. even took to calling the trio who proudly proclaimed their membership in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints the "Stormin' Mormons," which still gets a laugh out of Brown to this day.

But through two seasons of her initial three-year contract, the former Utah standout scored two goals in 39 appearances, and saw a franchise on the edge of success in the league by advancing to the NWSL championship match in back-to-back seasons in 2024 and 2025.

At the conclusion of the 2025 campaign, Brown mutually agreed to part ways with the Spirit. It didn't take long for her hometown club to draw interest.

Brown found out she was signing with the Royals during an offseason trip to Peru, when she was nearing the top of Machu Picchu on a trip with her husband Camen, her parents and her younger brother. She quickly relayed the message through a group chat and video call on WhatsApp,

As one might expect, the entire Talbot-Brown clan was excited. Her siblings and friends — around 100 in all — drove from the family's home in West Haven to Sandy when the Spirit played in Utah last year.

Now they'd be making the drive a bit more, for the hometown hero.

"Being from Utah and going to college in Utah, it just really felt right that I would spend some of my professional career in Utah," she said. "So it was super exciting when the offseason was happening and this deal with the Royals. I was super excited about it and I'm super excited to be with them now."

Climbing up

Utah Royals hold off Angel City for club-record 4th straight win, unbeaten in 5

Cloé Lacasse scored the lone goal of the match from Paige Cronin, and Utah Royals FC held off Angel City FC 1-0 to stretch the club’s winning streak to four straight and a franchise-best third consecutive road win at BMO Field in Los Angeles.

Representing Utah

Brown has made five appearances for Utah, playing just shy of 100 minutes (officially) off the bench and passing at a 74% completion rate in midfield. She's also found consistent minutes on a team that is as deep as it's ever been — perhaps even moreso in Jimmy Coenraets' three seasons on the bench.

"If there's a team we win with consistently, it's this team," Royals captain Paige Cronin said. "That takes every single person, and it's something you want to be a part of. … I think this is a team that we can continue to win with, and that's a team you want to play for."

Brown didn't return to her home state empty-handed. Despite a pair of back-to-back championship game losses, the Spirit were clear title contenders in both of her seasons in D.C.

She's already found ways that Utah rates among the best in the NWSL, too.

"I look at the Royals and they have some of the best training facilities in the league, honestly. We have it really nice at the Royals. We didn't have that in Washington," she said candidly. "It wasn't to the level that the Royals have it."

Utah was one of the early adapters of a designated set-piece coach designed to maximize the team's talent around free kicks, corner kicks and even throw-ins.

Using a high-pressing style, the Royals have scored nine goals in six matches. It took last year's team 11 matches to reach the same scoring mark.

Having a healthy allotment of players, from Cronin to Cloé Lacasse to Mina Tanaka and a suddenly goal-scoring outside back in Tatumn Milazzo a year removed from ACL surgery doesn't help.

Either way, Brown hopes the new, attacking version of the Utah Royals inspires Utah girls to take up the sport she's played since childhood and propel it forward on home soil.

"I want to be a good role model for them; I hope I can get there one day," Brown said. "But I think it's important for girls to see athletes who went through LaRoca, ODP, and other Utah youth clubs — and she's a professional now.

"I hope it shows that the steps that they are taking in their career can lead them somewhere."

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