Last week was draft week in the NWSL. Angel City FC and San Diego Wave FC selected players in the Expansion Draft and made several blockbuster trades. The regular NWSL Draft also took place with 50 collegiate players drafted amongst the 12 NWSL clubs. With a flurry of player movement, Beyond Women’s Sports evaluates and breaks down the winners and losers of NWSL draft week.
Winners: NJ/NY Gotham FC
Recently, Gotham made several deals to accumulate a large amount of allocation money. We finally saw some of that money put to use. Gotham made a deal with San Diego to select the playing rights to USWNT midfielder Kristie Mewis from the Houston Dash and then send those rights to Gotham for $200,000 allocation money. After the retirement of Carli Lloyd, Gotham needed a creative playmaker to work under attacking stars Margaret Purce and Ifeoma Onumonu. Mewis is that player.
Gotham also lost all four of its rostered goalkeepers from last season. Kailen Sheridan and DiDi Haracic departed via trade to San Diego and Angel City respectively for expansion protection. Mandy McGlynn left for Swedish side Piteå IF, and the club waived Megan Hinz. Gotham then in another blockbuster move brought talented USWNT veterans and social icons Ashyln Harris and Ali Krieger to the club from the Orlando Pride. Harris will be the immediate number one goalkeeper and Krieger will compete for a starting defender role. As a backup goalkeeper, the club selected Hensley Hancuff out of Clemson who is 6’3″ and will learn from a legend in Harris.
Gotham did not have many holes to fill and took care of business bringing in the best to fill those holes. As a club in a major global metropolitan area, expect the signings of Harris, Krieger, and Mewis to increase attendance, popularity, and revenue.
Losers: Chicago Red Stars
The Chicago Red Stars lost several key pieces in trades prior to draft week to protect against expansion. Sarah Gorden and the playing rights to Julie Ertz went to Angel City. Chicago received expansion protection as the only return asset. Many thought even one of these two players is worth more than just expansion protection. Chicago sent Makenzy Doniak, Katie Johnson, and the playing rights to Kelsey Turnbow to San Diego. While Johnson and Doniak are excellent players, some thought Turnbow to be the future of the Red Stars offense after her excellent past two seasons at Santa Clara.
The Red Stars did not have a first round pick due to the trade with Gotham for Mal Pugh and Sarah Woldmoe. After missing out on premier draft talent, the Red Stars failed to complete any trades to bring game-changers to the club. One positive will be the return of Sarah Luebbert from loan at Liga MX Femenil side Club América. Luebbert helped lead Club América to the semifinals of the Apertura.
Prior to the announcement that US Soccer will no longer allocate players to the NWSL, Chicago signed its remaining USWNT players to long term contracts. If the goal from draft week was to retain both Tierna Davidson and Pugh, then it was success. Both young players will be key pieces for the club for years to come. A team that had several holes to fill is still searching for a dominant starting central striker and a head coach.
Winners: Racing Louisville FC
As an expansion club last season, finishing second from the bottom of the table was not surprising. Racing Louisville’s expansion selections in the prior off-season also left fans puzzled. Last expansion, they selected the playing rights to four players who never intended to play for the club. They then left many club standouts unprotected. Louisville waived starting goalkeeper and captain Michelle Betos and traded vice-captain Savannah McCaskill to Angel City.
Racing then traded for league veteran Jessica McDonald who will be a dominant forward presence for the club and bring significant leadership. Another win came early in the draft when anticipated number one selection Jaelin Howell fell to number two. Louisville received the number two pick from Angel City in the trade for the playing rights for Christen Press. Racing then selected Florida State standout Howell who will make an immediate impact for the club. Howell as a defensive midfielder fills the largest need for a Louisville side that often lost the battle for the middle of the park during games.
With a total of six draft selections, Louisville also landed youth national team prospect Savannah DeMelo out of USC. She will fill the creative midfield hole left by the departure of McCaskill. After hosting a pre-draft goalkeeper camp for professional prospects, Racing got their goalkeeper. Jordyn Bloomer is the back-to back Big Ten goalkeeper of the year out of Wisconsin. Fourth round pick and Big East defender of the year Sydney Cummings out of Georgetown is a late round steal after being projected to go in the first round. Cummings will fill the void left by Kaleigh Riehl departing for San Diego in expansion.
Winners: Orlando Pride
Orlando got much younger this offseason, which is a good thing. Veterans Alex Morgan, Harris, Krieger, and Jodie Taylor all left the club. Orlando did retain veterans in crucial roles. Forward Syndey Leroux was one of the best attackers in the NWSL last season. Defender Ali Riley will continue to be a key presence on and off the field. Marta returns to bring her magic on the field. The team also retained several key young pieces from the past few drafts.
In the first round of the draft, Orlando had two picks and selected two dynamite attackers. Mia Fishel out of UCLA played under new Pride coach Amanda Cromwell. Fishel declared for the draft early and scored 13 goals for the U20 national team at the 2020 Concacaf U20 Women’s Championship. Later in the round, the Pride selected right winger Julie Doyle. Doyle was a key piece in the Santa Clara side that won the 2020 National Championship. Since she spent the last few months in England training with the FA Women’s Championship side London City Lionesses. Both attackers are expected to contribute right away.
In a deal with the Courage, the Pride acquired the playing rights to Canadian forward and Olympic gold medalist Deanne Rose. Rose currently plays in the FA Women’s Super League with Reading but played in college at the University of Florida. It is unclear if Rose intends to play for the club, but if she does this is a major move. The Pride also protected the rights to BYU midfielder and Mac Hermann Trophy finalist Mikayla Colohan. Orlando drafted Colohan in 2021, but she elected to return to BYU for another year. As one of the three best players in college soccer, Colohan will be a key piece for Orlando if she chooses to play in the NWSL.
Losers: Portland Thorns FC
Similarly to Chicago, the Portland Thorns lost a lot and gained very little. Also similar to Chicago, the teams that had the most to lose in expansion had to pay the steepest prices for protection. Simone Charley and Tyler Lussi departed for Angel City in a deal for expansion protection. Both players developed remarkably well at Portland over the past few seasons. Charley in particular projects to be a starter at Angel City. Portland traded away Christen Westphal and the playing rights to Amirah Ali to San Diego. Westphal is one of the most underrated right backs in the league and can play anywhere on the defense. Ali completed a successful season at Rutgers where she had 18 goal contributions and was one of the best players in the College Cup.
In another parallel to Chicago, Portland did not have a first round selection in the draft due to the move that brought in Crystal Dunn. They also did not make any trades to bring in players. With the first pick in the second round, the Thorns selected forward Sydny Nasello out of USF. Nasello found herself on the scoresheet many times for USF but may not be a good fit for the city of Portland. Controversially, tweets surfaced where Nasello supported transphobic and anti-LGBTQ platforms. She also publicly supported several political issues that do not align with the Thorn’s supporters. Nasello later apologized for her past comments. While it may not be standard practice for clubs to check social media accounts prior to drafting a player, it should be. Portland did not need another controversy.
Winners: Players’ Wishes
One of the most troubling aspects of expansion is that players get moved to new clubs that they do not want to play for. While this still may happen, it seems to be happening less. CBS’s Sandra Herrera and Lisa Roman spoke with Angel City FC head coach Freya Coombe on the Attacking Third podcast. Coombe stated in the interview that she only took players who wanted to play in Los Angeles. San Diego head coach Casey Stoney spoke with media immediately after the expansion draft. She stated that the club focused on selecting players who want to play in San Diego. With the Mewis trade in particular, San Diego spoke with both Mewis and Gotham to ensure that it was a move that Mewis wanted.
Drafting college players into the professional ranks is an American tradition. It exists to maintain parity in a league. This tradition is not understood by non-American fans. There are many problematic limitations in the NWSL that restrict player autonomy in therms of movement. The draft is not one of these limitations. The problem arises when clubs then have absolute control over where an athlete plays after they are drafted. College players want to get drafted, and the draft coverage exemplified this concept. Draftees celebrated with family and friends upon selection. As a spectator, it was wonderful to see their excitement.
The NWSL offseason is in full swing. To get the latest on roster moves, player signings, and league news, continue to follow Tim on Twitter @AtozTim or Beyond Women’s Sports.
