The 2022 NWSL Draft is in the books and with the first overall pick, expansion side San Diego Wave FC selected Stanford centerback Naomi Girma, followed by WAC Offensive Player of the Year winner Marleen Schimmer out of Grand Canyon with their ninth pick. San Diego's expansion counterpart, Angel City FC, did not make their first pick until Round 3 as they landed Illinois midfielder Hope Breslin.
All in all, 50 collegiate players were selected, with Racing Louisville FC and OL Reign boasting the most picks (six) and the Houston Dash with the fewest (No. 44 overall). For our winners and losers of Round 1, click here.
No team had more first-round picks than the North Carolina Courage, who came away with three key pieces to add to each positional core on their roster. They addressed the middle of the park by going with Virginia Tech midfielder Emily Gray at No. 3, followed by the attack at No. 6 with Virginia forward Diana Ordoñez -- who scored 45 goals over three collegiate seasons -- and then the backline with Long Beach State defender Kaitlin Fregulia with the 12th and final pick of the round.
No team made more trades than OL Reign, as their front-office folks probably spent the majority of the draft working the phones and finalizing four separate deals, including a deal that moved them back into the first round and saw them take Hungarian forward Zsanett Kajan with the No. 8 pick. All in all, the Reign received Kajan (No. 8), Ryanne Brown (No. 21), Phoebe McClernon, $60,000 totaled in allocation money in exchange for the Nos. 10 and 15 picks (Caitlin Cosme and Madison Elwell), Kelcie Hedge, Leah Pruitt, Celia Jimenéz, a first and second rounder in 2023. That's a lot of moves -- all of which you can keep track of below with our trade tracker.
The Washington Spirit traded into the second round twice -- in back-to-back picks -- to select LSU forward Tinaya Alexander at No. 14 and Vanderbilt midfielder/forward Madison Elwell at No. 15.
With the draft in the rear-view mirror, this is now a busy period for players that registered and did not get picked on Saturday. The undrafted players will be assigned as discovery eligible by Sunday, but may also return to school and retain their collegiate eligibility within 72 hours of the conclusion of the draft, per NCAA rules.
You can follow every pick and trade made during the draft below, along with our commentary from Saturday's selections:
OL Reign get: No. 8 pick
NJ/NY Gotham FC get: Natural first-round pick in 2023 and $40,000 in allocation money
Houston Dash get: Midfielder Kelcie Hedge
OL Reign get: No. 21 overall pick (Ryanne Brown) and $15,000 in allocation money
Orlando Pride get: No. 10 overall pick (Caitlin Cosme), forward Leah Pruitt, defender Celia Jimenéz and a natural second-round pick in 2023
OL Reign get: Defender Phoebe McClernon
Washington Spirit get: No. 14 overall pick (Tinaya Alexander)
San Diego Wave FC get: $85,000 in allocation money
Washington Spirit get: No. 15 overall pick (Madison Elwell)
OL Reign get: $85,000 in allocation money
Chicago Red Stars get: $20,000 in allocation money and Spirit's highest second-round pick in 2023
Washington Spirit get: No. 23 overall pick (Lucy Shepherd)
Orlando Pride get: NWSL rights to Canadian international Deanne Rose
North Carolina Courage get: No. 29 overall pick (Haleigh Stackpole)
| PICK | TEAM | PLAYER | POS | COLLEGE |
|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | San Diego Wave FC | Naomi Girma | D/M | Stanford |
2 | Racing Louisville FC | Jaelin Howell | M | Florida State |
3 | North Carolina Courage | Emily Gray | M | Virginia Tech |
4 | Racing Louisville FC | Savannah DeMelo | M | USC |
5 | Orlando Pride | Mia Fishel | F | UCLA |
6 | North Carolina Courage | Diana Ordoñez | F | Virginia |
7 | Kansas City Current | Elyse Bennett | F | Washington State |
8 | OL Reign | Zsanett Kajan | F | St. John's |
9 | San Diego Wave FC | Marleen Schimmer | M/F | Grand Canyon |
10 | Orlando Pride | Caitlin Cosme | D | Duke |
11 | Orlando Pride | Julie Doyle | F | Santa Clara |
12 | North Carolina Courage | Kaitlin Fregulia | D | Long Beach State |
| PICK | TEAM | PLAYER | POS | COLLEGE |
|---|---|---|---|---|
13 | Portland Thorns FC | Sydny Nasello | F | South Florida |
14 | Washington Spirit | Tinaya Alexander | F | LSU |
15 | Washington Spirit | Madison Elwell | M/F | Vanderbilt |
16 | Racing Louisville FC | Charmé Morgan | D | Oklahoma State |
17 | Kansas City Current | Chardonnay Curran | M/D | Oregon |
18 | Chicago Red Stars | Ava Cook | F | Michigan State |
19 | Chicago Red Stars | Sammi Fischer | M | Notre Dame |
20 | OL Reign | Claudia Dickey | GK | North Carolina |
21 | OL Reign | Ryanne Brown | F | Wake Forest |
22 | Portland Thorns FC | Gabby Provenzano | D/M | Rutgers |
23 | Washington Spirit | Lucy Shepherd | F/M | Hofstra |
24 | NJ/NY Gotham FC | Kelly Ann Livingstone | D | Georgetown |
| 25 | San Diego Wave FC | Sydney Pulver | M/D | Washington State |
| 26 | Racing Louisville FC | Jordyn Bloomer | GK | Wisconsin |
| PICK | TEAM | PLAYER | POS | COLLEGE |
|---|---|---|---|---|
27 | San Diego Wave FC | Belle Briede | F/M | Stanford |
28 | Angel City FC | Hope Breslin | M | Illinois |
29 | North Carolina Courage | Haleigh Stackpole | F/M | Ole Miss |
30 | Racing Louisville FC | Jenna Menta | F | Wake Forest |
31 | Orlando Pride | Jada Talley | F | USC |
32 | OL Reign | Kaile Halvorsen | F/M | Santa Clara |
33 | OL Reign | Olivia Van der Jagt | M | Washington |
34 | NJ/NY Gotham FC | Hensley Hancuff | GK | Clemson |
35 | Chicago Red Stars | Sarah Griffith | F | Purdue |
36 | Angel City FC | Lily Nabet | M | Duke |
37 | Chicago Red Stars | Kayla McKeon | M | Arkansas |
38 | Washington Spirit | Audrey Harding | F/M | UNC-Wilmington |
| PICK | TEAM | PLAYER | POS | COLLEGE |
|---|---|---|---|---|
39 | Angel City FC | Miriael Taylor | F | Hofstra |
40 | San Diego Wave FC | Kayla Bruster | D | Georgia |
41 | Kansas City Current | Jenna Winebrenner | D | TCU |
42 | Racing Louisville FC | Sydney Cummings | D | Georgetown |
43 | Kansas City Current | Izzy Rodriguez | D | Ohio State |
44 | Houston Dash | Ryan Gareis | F | South Carolina |
45 | North Carolina Courage | Marisa Bova | GK | Purdue |
46 | NJ/NY Gotham FC | Raleigh Loughman | M | Michigan |
47 | OL Reign | Marley Canales | M | UCLA |
48 | Portland Thorns FC | Natalie Beckman | F | Denver |
49 | Chicago Red Stars | Jayda Hylton-Pelaia | D | Arizona State |
50 | Washington Spirit | Jordan Thompson | D | Gonzaga |
San Diego Wave FC have taken Naomi Girma from Stanford. Naomi can play as a center back or a midfielder and will bring a lot to the Wave. Her passing ability can help anchor the midfield for years. Another California native will also be joining the Wave adding to the fanfare around their first season.
A long running bit of NWSL Draft culture is often the joke bet of whether or not the event will run over or under four hours. With a 2 p.m. start today, they event is approaching five hours. The new question will be whether or not the event will run over or under five hours. Stay tuned!
We're nearing the end of the first round! OL Reign and Orlando make a trade, as the Pride move into the tenth spot for back to back selections and pick defender Caitlin Cosme out of Duke at No. 10 and forward Julie Doyle from Santa Clara at No. 11. OL Reign get defender Phoebe McClernon and Pride will also receive two players to be named later and a natural second round pick in 2023.
San Diego selects Marleen Schimmer with the ninth overall pick. Back to back international picks off the board now with Schimer being from Germany. Just as good scoring or creating, Schimmer can contribute anywhere in attack and will be dangerous floating from either wing.
Quite the forward run is happening as the Reign will be adding to their forward options both now and for the future. Coming off of a season with 17 goals and six assists, Kajan was involved in everything which bodes well for transitioning to the league.
Elyse Bennet goes 7th-overall to Kansas City Current. KC going on offense selecting a forward, the 21-year-old could have a big impact, literally, she stands at 5'10.
Diana Ordonez, a true number nine out of Virginia will add a lot to North Carolina's attack. 57 goal involvements during 62 college matches is off the charts production.
Mia Fishel (UCLA) drops to number five to Orlando Pride. It's a reunion for the Junior year forward with former UCLA coach Amanda Cromwell.
Mia Fishel will join Amanda Cromwell in Orlando.
Racing Louisville FC take Savannah DeMelo (USC) with the fourth pick overall. The 2 time Pac-12 forward of the year is a solid selection to add to Racing's forward core.
