NWSL College Draft
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The NWSL Draft was an annual entry draft for the
National Women's Soccer League The National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) is a women's professional Association football, soccer league and the highest level of the United States soccer league system#Women's leagues, United States soccer league system (alongside the USL Supe ...
(NWSL) which took place in December or January of each year. Prior to 2021 it was known as the NWSL College Draft, and was renamed to reflect that selections were no longer limited to collegiate players. Unlike other nations' leagues, which often use an academy model or
free agency In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...
to allow players to solicit contract offers and choose which team they play for, the NWSL restricted player entry and distributed players to teams through a variety of mechanisms, including the NWSL Draft for players ages 18 and older with active or potential
NCAA eligibility The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and 1 in Canada. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges and helps ...
. This was driven in part by NCAA amateurism rules and the breadth of
NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest division of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major collegiate athlet ...
women's soccer in the United States, both unique factors not replicated in other nations. On August 22, 2024, the NWSL announced the elimination of its draft and discovery systems as part of its renegotiated
collective bargaining agreement A collective agreement, collective labour agreement (CLA) or collective bargaining agreement (CBA) is a written contract negotiated through collective bargaining for employees by one or more trade unions with the management of a company (or with an ...
with the
National Women's Soccer League Players Association The National Women's Soccer League Players Association (often known as NWSL Players Association or NWSLPA) is the officially recognized union of players in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). History The NWSLPA was formed in May 2017 un ...
. NWSL teams could pursue and sign any prospective collegiate and international players as free agents, bringing the league closer in line with global standards within the sport.


History

The first NWSL Draft was announced on December 21, 2012, and held on January 18, 2013, at the NSCAA Convention in
Indianapolis, Indiana Indianapolis ( ), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Indiana, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana, Marion ...
, a few months prior to the start of the league's inaugural season on April 13, 2013, and one day after the
2013 MLS SuperDraft The 2013 MLS SuperDraft was the fourteenth SuperDraft presented by Major League Soccer. The draft took place on January 17, 2013 in Indianapolis, Indiana at the Indiana Convention Center. The Colorado Rapids enjoyed returns from the 2013 draf ...
in the same venue.
Chicago Red Stars Chicago Stars Football Club is an American professional soccer team based in the Chicago metropolitan area that competes in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). A founding member of the Women's Professional Soccer (WPS) league as the Chic ...
selected
Zakiya Bywaters Zakiya Abeni Bywaters (born July 24, 1991) is an American former soccer player. She played as a forward and midfielder for the Chicago Red Stars of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). She also played for the United States national under ...
with the first overall pick in the
inaugural In government and politics, inauguration is the process of swearing a person into office and thus making that person the incumbent. Such an inauguration commonly occurs through a formal ceremony or special event, which may also include an inau ...
draft.


Venue

Most NWSL Draft events took place at the annual United Soccer Coaches Convention, previously called the NSCAA Convention, which changes venue each year. The
2021 NWSL Draft The 2021 NWSL Draft was the ninth annual meeting of National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) franchises to select eligible college players. It was held on January 13, 2021. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it was the first NWSL Draft to be held virtua ...
held via videoconference, and
2022 NWSL Draft 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 ...
hosted remotely by
CBS Sports CBS Sports is the American sports programming division of Paramount Global that is responsible for sports broadcasts carried by its broadcast network CBS and streaming service Paramount+, as well as the operator of its cable channel CBS Sports N ...
, were the sole exceptions due to the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
.


Broadcast

CBS Sports Network CBS Sports Network (a.k.a. CBSSN) is an American digital cable and satellite television network owned by the CBS Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Global. When it launched in 2002 as the National College Sports Network (later College Sports ...
and
Paramount+ Paramount+ (formerly known as CBS All Access in the United States and 10 All Access in Australia) is an American Video on demand#Subscription models, subscription video on-demand Over-the-top media service, over-the-top Streaming media, stream ...
broadcast and streamed the NWSL Draft, respectively, from 2022 to 2024. Previous editions of the draft streamed on
Twitch Twitch may refer to: Biology * Muscle contraction ** Convulsion, rapid and repeated muscle contraction and relaxation ** Fasciculation, a small, local, involuntary muscle contraction ** Myoclonic twitch, a jerk usually caused by sudden muscle c ...
, the NWSL website,
Facebook Facebook is a social media and social networking service owned by the American technology conglomerate Meta Platforms, Meta. Created in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with four other Harvard College students and roommates, Eduardo Saverin, Andre ...
, and
YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...
.


Eligibility

With the exception of the
2021 NWSL Draft The 2021 NWSL Draft was the ninth annual meeting of National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) franchises to select eligible college players. It was held on January 13, 2021. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it was the first NWSL Draft to be held virtua ...
, players had to register to be selected in the NWSL Draft. , the league defined an eligible player as one who is: * At least 18 years old as of January 1 of the draft year * Either a United States
citizen Citizenship is a membership and allegiance to a sovereign state. Though citizenship is often conflated with nationality in today's English-speaking world, international law does not usually use the term ''citizenship'' to refer to nationality ...
or
permanent resident Permanent residency is a person's legal resident status in a country or territory of which such person is not a citizen but where they have the right to reside on a permanent basis. This is usually for a permanent period; a person with such l ...
, ''or'' be a foreign player who was enrolled at a United States university at the time of draft registration or the immediate preceding academic year ** Since 2021, United States citizens or permanent residents do not need to be enrolled in college to be eligible for selection. This was first exercised by
Angel City FC Angel City Football Club is an American professional Association football, soccer team based in Los Angeles, California, that competes in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). The formation of the team was announced on July 21, 2020; it beg ...
, who selected high-school player
Alyssa Thompson Alyssa Paola Thompson (born November 7, 2004) is an American professional association football, soccer player who plays as a Forward (association football), forward for Angel City FC of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) and the United St ...
with the first overall selection in the
2023 NWSL Draft The 2023 NWSL Draft presented by Ally was the eleventh annual meeting of National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) franchises to select amateur players above the age of 18 playing in the United States who exhausted, lost, or renounced any remaining ...
. * Without any remaining collegiate eligibility, such as their
NCAA eligibility The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and 1 in Canada. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges and helps ...
, whether by exhausting, losing, or renouncing it * Without any professional contract to play soccer, and also has not previously had a professional contract to play soccer * Registered for the draft prior to the deadline provided by the league when it opens registration If a collegiate player was eligible to register for the draft but declined to do so, NWSL teams cannot make a
discovery claim Discovery Claim is a mining claim at Bonanza Creek, a watercourse in the Yukon, Canada. It is the site where, in the afternoon of August 16, 1896, the first piece of gold was found in the Yukon by prospectors. The site is considered to be the ...
on that player until after the completion of the following season. If an eligible player registered but withdrew prior to the draft, they could register for a future NWSL Draft. If an eligible player registered and was not selected, the league made them available to teams via
discovery Discovery may refer to: * Discovery (observation), observing or finding something unknown * Discovery (fiction), a character's learning something unknown * Discovery (law), a process in courts of law relating to evidence Discovery, The Discovery ...
. An undrafted player could choose to retain any remaining collegiate eligibility within 72 hours of the draft, but couldn't enter the league via a future NWSL Draft.


2021 NWSL Draft

Due to the disruption of college soccer and resulting 2021 NCAA Division I spring season, the NWSL applied for and received a waiver from the
NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...
so that Division I players who were drafted could choose to report immediately for the
2021 NWSL season The 2021 National Women's Soccer League season was the ninth season of the National Women's Soccer League, the top division of women's soccer in the United States. Including the NWSL's two professional predecessors, Women's Professional Soccer (2 ...
and forfeit their remaining collegiate eligibility, or remain with their collegiate teams until the conclusion of the NCAA Division I spring season in May 2021. The NWSL waived registration requirements so that all Division I players who had exhausted three years of collegiate soccer eligibility prior to the 2020–21 academic year were automatically eligible to be drafted. The NWSL playing rights of drafted players were held until the start of the 2022 preseason rather than the end of the
2021 season 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...
as was the case previously.


Structure


Draft selections as assets

The NWSL uses a system of assigning teams the right to sign new players to an NWSL contract. , only players with certain tenure within the league are eligible for
free agency In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...
and can choose which team they can sign a contract with. A team that makes a draft selection acquires the NWSL-exclusive right to sign the selected player for time-limited basis, which the league calls "draft rights". Draft rights can be waived, allowing other NWSL teams to make a
discovery claim Discovery Claim is a mining claim at Bonanza Creek, a watercourse in the Yukon, Canada. It is the site where, in the afternoon of August 16, 1896, the first piece of gold was found in the Yukon by prospectors. The site is considered to be the ...
, or traded to other NWSL teams. However, the selection does not automatically offer the player a contract, nor does it obligate the player to sign with the team nor to play in the NWSL. Draft rights prohibit the selected player only from signing with any other NWSL team. Multiple players have been selected in NWSL drafts but opted to play in other leagues. The selecting team must invite the player to preseason, and has 60 days from the date the player reports to either offer the player a contract, or trade or
waive A waiver is the voluntary relinquishment or surrender of some known right or privilege. A waiver is often written, such as a disclaimer that has been accepted, but it may also be spoken between two or more parties. When the right to hold a p ...
the player's NWSL playing rights. If the team offers the selected player a contract, the team retains the right to sign that player until either January 30 of the third year following the draft in which they were selected, or until the offered contract's terms would have expired, whichever comes first. Domestic draft selections can be signed outside of
transfer window In association football, a transfer window is the period during the year in which a football club, club can add players to their squad who were previously under contract with another club. Such a Transfer (association football), transfer is comp ...
s, but international players might be subject to transfer window and work permit restrictions. A team's position in the draft is also considered a team asset and can be traded with other NWSL teams for any combination of other assets, including picks in the current or next three NWSL Drafts, for NWSL players already under contract to other teams, for NWSL-specific rights to players not under contract, for
allocation money In Major League Soccer (MLS) and the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL), two of the top-tier professional soccer leagues in the United States, allocation money represents an amount of money that teams can use to sign players or allocate to thei ...
in the current or next three seasons, or for international slots. Trades can also be conditional, and the league determines the results of all conditions between the day after the prior season's championship match and before the following NWSL Draft. The league must approve all trades.


Draft order

The draft is composed of four rounds in which each club has one natural selection. , the league had 12 teams, resulting in 48 total selections. The selection order is determined in reverse order of the teams' positions on the league table at the end of the previous regular season, with the last-placed team selecting first. If teams were tied, the league follows tie-breaking procedures. The two teams that played in the NWSL championship are exceptions; the runners up select second-to-last, and the champions select last, regardless of their positions on the regular season table. In seasons where the league has added new teams, those expansion teams select first. Selections in an expansion draft can generate compensatory picks in an NWSL Draft for the team losing players. A team found to have tampered with a player or staff member of another team might be required to forfeit or defer draft selections as punishment.


2013 NWSL College Draft

The only NWSL Draft to use a different ordering mechanism was its inaugural draft. With no prior season's results to use, the league applied a weighted draw based on NWSL federation allocation strength as determined by a panel. Subsequent rounds used a "snake" order, with the order of the second round reversed from the first round.


Limitations

Due to the nature of NWSL roster rules, when a team selects a player in the draft, the team acquires only the right to offer a player an NWSL contract, with exclusivity limited to within the NWSL and for a limited period of time. A drafted player that does not intend to play in the NWSL is not obligated to report to or remain with the team, but drafted players are prohibited from signing with other NWSL teams by the league's lack of
free agency In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...
for new entrants to the league. Notable examples of players who registered for and were selected in an NWSL draft but declined to report and instead signed for teams in other leagues include Mia Fishel and
Julia Ashley Julia Elizabeth Ashley (born November 11, 1996) is an American Association football, soccer player who plays as a Defender (association football), defender. She previously played for Adelaide United FC (W-League), Adelaide United, Linköpings FC ...
.


Criticism

Players who played collegiate soccer in the United States have publicly criticized the lack of free agency in the NWSL. In 2021, United States national team player and former NWSL player
Heather O'Reilly Heather Ann O'Reilly (born January 2, 1985) is an American former professional women's soccer player who played as a midfielder. She played for the United States women's national soccer team (USWNT), with whom she won three Olympic gold medals ...
called for the end of the draft and unrestricted free agency for players.
Deyna Castellanos Deyna Cristina Castellanos Naujenis (born 18 April 1999) is a Venezuelan professional footballer who plays as a forward for Portland Thorns FC of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) and the Venezuela national team. Early life Deyna C ...
, who played for
Florida State Florida State University (FSU or Florida State) is a Public university, public research university in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preeminent university in the s ...
but declined to register for the
2020 NWSL College Draft The 2020 NWSL College Draft was the eighth annual meeting of National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) franchises to select newly eligible college players for the 2020 NWSL season. It was held on January 16, 2020, in conjunction with the United So ...
and instead signed with
Atlético Madrid Club Atlético de Madrid, S.A.D. (; meaning "Athletic Club of Madrid"), commonly referred to as Atlético Madrid or simply Atlético, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid that plays in La Liga. The club play their home game ...
of Spain's
Liga F The Primera División de la Liga de Fútbol Femenino, currently known as the Liga F (finetwork Liga F for sponsorship reasons), is the highest level of Sports league, league competition for women's football in Spain. It is the women's equivalent ...
, stated in November 2019 that NWSL rules "do not favor international talent." She again stated her desire on July 6, 2022, for the NWSL to provide players with "full autonomy of their careers." At the
2023 NWSL Draft The 2023 NWSL Draft presented by Ally was the eleventh annual meeting of National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) franchises to select amateur players above the age of 18 playing in the United States who exhausted, lost, or renounced any remaining ...
,
NWSL Players Association The National Women's Soccer League Players Association (often known as NWSL Players Association or NWSLPA) is the officially recognized union of players in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). History The NWSLPA was formed in May 2017 un ...
executive director
Meghann Burke Meghann Kay Burke (born October 11, 1980) is an attorney and executive director of the National Women's Soccer League Players Association (NWSLPA), the trade union for players in the NWSL, the top division of women's soccer in the United States. ...
suggested the league would have to adopt unrestricted free agency to remain globally competitive. In response to criticism and increased competitive pressure from European leagues with free agency, the NWSL in 2023 hired Tatjana Haenni, who previously led women's soccer for
FIFA The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (), more commonly known by its acronym FIFA ( ), is the international self-regulatory governing body of association football, beach soccer, and futsal. It was founded on 21 May 1904 to o ...
and
UEFA The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ; ; ) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs football, futsal and beach soccer, beach football in Europe and the List of transcontinental countries#A ...
, and NWSL commissioner
Jessica Berman Jessica Berman (born 1977) is an American lawyer who has served as the commissioner of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) since 2022. Early life Berman grew up in a Conservative Jewish family in Brooklyn, New York. She attended East Mid ...
stated that Haenni would have influence over the draft's future direction. The 2024 CBA not only abolished the draft, but also removed all restrictions on player movement for players not under contract.


List of NWSL Drafts


Other entry mechanisms


Under-18 entry

Prior to the
2021 NWSL season The 2021 National Women's Soccer League season was the ninth season of the National Women's Soccer League, the top division of women's soccer in the United States. Including the NWSL's two professional predecessors, Women's Professional Soccer (2 ...
, the NWSL prohibited players under the age of 18 from entering the league. On July 30, 2021, 15-year-old
Olivia Moultrie Olivia Lynn Moultrie (born September 17, 2005) is an American professional soccer player who plays as an attacking midfielder for the Portland Thorns of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). She is the youngest American women's soccer play ...
and NWSL club
Portland Thorns FC Portland Thorns FC is an American professional Association football, soccer team based in Portland, Oregon, that competes in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). Established in 2012, the team began play in 2013 in the then-eight-team NWSL ...
settled an
antitrust Competition law is the field of law that promotes or seeks to maintain market competition by regulating anti-competitive conduct by companies. Competition law is implemented through public and private enforcement. It is also known as antitrust l ...
lawsuit they filed against the league to allow her to play. The settlement was limited in scope to Moultrie, but the league subsequently created an ad-hoc system for individually approving clubs' requests to sign minors as players. The first application of this case-by-case policy was the signing of
Jaedyn Shaw Jaedyn Reese Shaw, OLY (born November 20, 2004) is an American professional association football, soccer player who plays as a forward (association football), forward or attacking midfielder for the North Carolina Courage of the National Women's ...
, for which the league used its existing discovery process. The 2023 NWSL season introduced a formal entry list process for players under the age of 18, which established requirements and limitations on such signings. Teams are limited to two under-18 players, must keep the player under contract until they turn 18, can't
waive A waiver is the voluntary relinquishment or surrender of some known right or privilege. A waiver is often written, such as a disclaimer that has been accepted, but it may also be spoken between two or more parties. When the right to hold a p ...
or trade the player until they turn 18 or have consent from both the player and their parent or guardian, cannot be selected in an expansion draft, must live with a parent or guardian until they turn 18, and must be citizens or permanent residents of the United States. Under-18 entry list slots aren't team assets and can't be traded.


Discovery

The NWSL has a system of discovery in which teams can acquire the right to sign players not under an NWSL contract, whose rights to sign an NWSL contract are not controlled by an NWSL team, and who are at least 17 years old, not eligible for an NWSL Draft, and not part of the
United States women's national soccer team The United States women's national soccer team (USWNT) represents the United States in international women's soccer. The team is governed by the United States Soccer Federation and competes in CONCACAF (the Confederation of North, Central Ameri ...
player pool. Teams can use the discovery process to acquire the rights to draft-eligible players who registered but weren't selected. NWSL teams can also acquire via discovery the right to sign players from other leagues, including
transfers Transfer may refer to: Arts and media * ''Transfer'' (2010 film), a German science-fiction movie directed by Damir Lukacevic and starring Zana Marjanović * ''Transfer'' (1966 film), a short film * ''Transfer'' (journal), in management studies * ...
from other leagues, with limits on the claim's length and the potential for competing requests by multiple teams for the right to sign the same player. Players selected via discovery aren't obligated to sign with the NWSL team that selected them, and the league can void a discovery claim if the team fails to act upon it. However, if the selecting team makes a ''
bona fide In human interactions, good faith () is a sincere intention to be fair, open, and honest, regardless of the outcome of the interaction. Some Latin phrases have lost their literal meaning over centuries, but that is not the case with , which is ...
'' contract offer to the player, then the NWSL prohibits any other team from making a discovery claim on that player for the rest of the season. This has prevented players in other leagues, such as
Elise Kellond-Knight Elise Kellond-Knight (born 10 August 1990) is an Australian former Association football, football player, who played as a Midfielder#Defensive midfielder, defensive midfielder or Defender (association football), defender. From 2007 to 2023 she ...
, from signing with an NWSL team due to a conflicting discovery claim by a team they didn't want to play for.


Waiver wire

NWSL teams can
waive A waiver is the voluntary relinquishment or surrender of some known right or privilege. A waiver is often written, such as a disclaimer that has been accepted, but it may also be spoken between two or more parties. When the right to hold a p ...
their right to sign a player, including their rights to a draft selection. Waived players enter the league's waiver wire, where teams can choose to acquire the player's NWSL rights and take on their contract if signed to one, similar to a free transfer but without a direct transaction between teams. The waiver wire also has a specific selection order, using the same logic as the draft order, and at the end of an NWSL season also includes players whose contracts have expired.


Unattached subsidized individual distribution order

At the
2016 NWSL College Draft The 2016 NWSL College Draft was the fourth annual meeting of National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) franchises to select eligible college players. It was held on January 15, 2016, at the National Soccer Coaches Association of America Convention ...
, the league announced the addition of a new entry process for
NWSL federation players The National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) federation players were players whose salaries for playing in the National Women's Soccer League were paid for by their respective national federations from 2013 to 2021. American federation players were co ...
who otherwise weren't eligible for the NWSL Draft or other entry mechanisms. This was initially expected to facilitate the entry of
Mallory Pugh Mallory Diane Swanson (; born April 29, 1998) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a forward for the Chicago Stars FC of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) and the United States women's national soccer team (USWNT). A ...
, then 17 years old and had not yet reported to
UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the C ...
, to an NWSL team. Pugh was designated an "unattached subsidized individual" who would enter through a distribution ranking order, using the same logic as the NWSL college draft order, with teams able to trade ranking order as assets. However, Pugh instead reported to UCLA, then in May 2017 relinquished her collegiate eligibility and entered the league via distribution after the order had reset.
Washington Spirit The Washington Spirit are an American professional Association football, soccer team based in Washington, D.C. that competes in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). It is a continuation of the D.C. United Women of the USL W-League (1995†...
had the first selection in the order, acquired via trade with the
Boston Breakers The Boston Breakers were an American professional women's soccer club based in the Boston neighborhood of Allston. The team competed in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). They replaced the original Breakers, who competed in the defu ...
, who finished the
2016 NWSL season The 2016 National Women's Soccer League season was the fourth season of the National Women's Soccer League, the top division of women's soccer in the United States. Including the NWSL's two professional predecessors, Women's Professional Soccer ( ...
in last place.


See also

*
Draft (sports) A draft is a process used in some countries (especially in North America) and sports (especially in closed leagues) to allocate certain players to teams. In a draft, teams take turns selecting from a pool of eligible players. When a team selec ...


References

{{NWSL drafts Annual sporting events in the United States Recurring sporting events established in 2013