The 2022 NWSL Draft was the 10th annual meeting of National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) franchises to select eligible college players. It was held on December 18, 2021, and hosted remotely by CBS Sports.
Format All 12 teams of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) take turns making their selections over four rounds, with 12 picks per round plus any additional compensatory picks. Draft order in each round was determined by the reverse order of the final 2021 regular season standings, with the exceptions being Angel City FC and San Diego Wave FC taking the first two selections as expansion teams and the two teams that contested the 2021 Championship game, Washington Spirit and Chicago Red Stars, taking the last two selections. After winning a coin flip, San Diego Wave FC selected priority in the NWSL Draft. As a result, San Diego received pick No. 1 in both the first and third rounds of the draft, while Angel City will select first in rounds two and four. By virtue, Angel City were given the first pick in the 2022 NWSL Expansion Draft. Each expansion team received a compensatory pick at the conclusion of the second round of the NWSL Draft. A coin flip determined that San Diego Wave FC would select the first compensatory pick at No. 25, and Angel City FC would make the second pick at No. 26. The 2022 NWSL Draft was open to any high school or college athlete who was enrolled at a university in the United States during the 2021–22 academic year; had exhausted, lost, or renounced their remaining collegiate eligibility during the 2021 calendar year; would be at least 18-years old by the conclusion of the 2022 NWSL League Season; not be under a current professional contract, nor have previously signed a contract to play soccer professionally; and registered for the NWSL Draft by the registration deadline. On December 3, 2021, it was announced that the board of governors had voted to increase the number of draft-eligible players ahead of the 2022 NWSL Draft. Registration was not required for the 2021 NWSL Draft due to the pandemic-altered NCAA soccer schedule. Those players who were draft-eligible, but went undrafted in the 2021 NWSL Draft, were therefore NWSL discovery-eligible in 2021, even if they retained NCAA eligibility. The updated rules for the 2022 NWSL Draft allowed players who were otherwise eligible, but currently on a NWSL team's discovery list, the choice to either remain on that team's discovery list or be removed in order to register for 2022 NWSL Draft. On December 14, 2021, the NWSL announced the list of players registered for the draft. CBS Sports covered the draft on various platforms, including CBS Sports Network, Paramount+ and CBS Sports HQ. Internationally, the draft was available to stream live on Twitch.
Results
Key +Denotes player who has been selected as NWSL Most Valuable Player*Denotes player who has been selected for an NWSL Best XI or NWSL Second XI team^Denotes player who has been selected as NWSL Rookie of the Year#Denotes player who has never appeared in a competitive NWSL game (regular season, playoff, or Challenge Cup)
Picks RoundPickPlayerNWSL teamNotesCollegeRound 11 *^ D San Diego Wave FC Stanford2 M Racing Louisville FC Florida State3 M North Carolina Courage Virginia Tech4 * M Racing Louisville FC USC5 F Orlando Pride UCLA6 * F North Carolina Courage Virginia7 F Kansas City Current Washington State8 # F OL Reign St. John's9 F San Diego Wave FC Grand Canyon10 D Orlando Pride Duke11 F Orlando Pride Santa Clara12 # D North Carolina Courage Long Beach StateRound 213 # F Portland Thorns FC South Florida14 F Washington Spirit LSU15 F Washington Spirit Vanderbilt16 # D Racing Louisville FC Oklahoma State17 M Kansas City Current Oregon18 F Chicago Red Stars Michigan State19 M Chicago Red Stars Notre Dame20 * G OL Reign North Carolina21 F OL Reign Wake Forest22 D Portland Thorns FC Rutgers23 # F Washington Spirit Hofstra24 D NJ/NY Gotham FC Georgetown25 M San Diego Wave FC Washington State26 G Racing Louisville FC WisconsinRound 327 M San Diego Wave FC Stanford28 M Angel City FC Illinois29 # M North Carolina Courage Ole Miss30 # F Racing Louisville FC Wake Forest31 F Orlando Pride USC32 # F OL Reign Santa Clara33 M OL Reign Washington34 # G NJ/NY Gotham FC Clemson35 F Chicago Red Stars Purdue36 M Angel City FC Duke37 # M Chicago Red Stars Arkansas38 F Washington Spirit UNC WilmingtonRound 439 F Angel City FC Hofstra40 # D San Diego Wave FC Georgia41 D Kansas City Current TCU42 # D Racing Louisville FC Georgetown43 * D Kansas City Current Ohio State44 F Houston Dash South Carolina45 G North Carolina Courage Purdue46 # M NJ/NY Gotham FC Michigan47 M OL Reign UCLA48 F Portland Thorns FC Denver49 # D Chicago Red Stars Arizona State50 D Washington Spirit Gonzaga
Notable undrafted players Below is a list of undrafted rookies who appeared in a competitive NWSL game in 2022. PlayerOriginal NWSL teamCollege M OL Reign UCLA F NJ/NY Gotham FC Boston College D Chicago Red Stars Butler M Racing Louisville FC Arkansas D Chicago Red Stars Northeastern M Orlando Pride North Florida M North Carolina Courage Rutgers F NJ/NY Gotham FC BYU
Trades Round 1:
Round 2:
Round 3:
Round 4:
Compensatory picks:
Summary In 2022, a total of 40 colleges had players selected. Of these, five had a player drafted to the NWSL for the first time: Gonzaga, Grand Canyon, Long Beach State, Michigan State and Purdue.
Schools with multiple draft selections SelectionsSchools 2 Duke, Georgetown, Hofstra, Purdue, Santa Clara, Stanford, UCLA, USC, Wake Forest, Washington State
Selections by college athletic conference ConferenceRound 1Round 2Round 3Round 4TotalACC433010Big East11013Big Ten03238Big West10001Big 1201012Colonial01113Pac-12423211SEC02226Summit00011The American01001WAC10001West Coast10113
Selections by position PositionRound 1Round 2Round 3Round 4TotalGoalkeeper02114Defender330612Midfielder336214Forward665320
See also List of drafts held by the NWSL List of National Women's Soccer League draftees by college team 2022 National Women's Soccer League season
References
External links