da bet esporte： Will USWNT stars be on the move as the two newest teams in the top league in U.S. women's soccer pick from the NWSL's existing rosters?
da winzada777： It was only in November that the 2023 NWSL season ended, when Gotham FC gave United States women's national team legend Ali Krieger the perfect send-off as both won their first NWSL Championship, defeating Megan Rapinoe's OL Reign. However, focus has already shifted to 2024 after the Utah Royals and Bay FC took their pick from the rest of the league's players in the 2024 NWSL Expansion Draft on December 15.
Both teams will enter the NWSL, the top flight of women's soccer in the U.S., next season and have already started to build their respective rosters, with Gotham stalwart Imani Dorsey joining the Royals and Caprice Dydasco swapping Houston for the Bay Area in two of the most notable off-season moves to date.
That continued in the NWSL Expansion Draft as the league's two newest teams got the chance to choose from the players the rest of the NWSL had left up for grabs ahead of the 2024 season.
So, how did it work and which players were chosen? GOAL has everything you need to know about the 2024 NWSL Expansion Draft…
When was the 2024 NWSL Expansion Draft?Date:Friday December 15, 2023Time:7:00pm ET / 4:00pm PTVenue:Virtual
The 2024 NWSL Expansion Draft took place on Friday December 15, 2023, and started at 7pm ET.
Unlike previous expansion drafts, the 2024 edition did not have a specific location and was instead held virtually.
AdvertisementHow did the 2024 NWSL Expansion Draft work?
The format for the 2024 NWSL Expansion was relatively straight forward, with both the Utah Royals and Bay FC having 12 picks as they selected the players they wanted for their rosters from the 12 teams already in the NWSL. The two clubs took it in turns to make their picks, with Bay FC going first. Teams could pass on their picks if they did not want to take a player in a particular round.
Before the event took place, each NWSL team hadthe opportunity to protect nine players, meaning they could not be taken in the draft by either of the expansion teams. If a team lost a player to one of the two expansion teams, it could protect one further player.
Trades took place ahead of the Expansion Draft, too, meaning that not only did both the Utah Royals and Bay FC already have a few players on their respective rosters, but some teams in the NWSL had secured protection from further picks going into the draft.
GettyWhich NWSL teams had roster protection in the 2024 Expansion Draft?
Angel CityYesYesChicago Red StarsNoNoHouston DashYesYesKansas City CurrentYesYesNJ/NY Gotham FCYesYesNorth Carolina CourageYesNoOL ReignNoNoOrlando PrideYesYesPortland ThornsYesYesRacing LouisvilleNoYesSan Diego WaveYesNoWashington SpiritYesYes
Seven teams had full protection from both Bay FC and the Utah Royals in the expansion draft. Three teams were protected from one of the two expansion sides while two, OL Reign and Chicago Red Stars, had not traded for protection from either.
On November 13, the Orlando Pride announced it had traded its No.8 overall pick in the 2024 NWSL Draft (in which the best college players will be selected) to Bay FC in exchange for 2024 NWSL Expansion Draft roster protection, meaning Bay FC cannot select any of the Orlando Pride's players on December 15. Two days later, the Pride announced it had also reached an agreement with the Royals for roster protection, secured at the expense of midfielder Mikayla Cluff and the No. 26 overall pick in the 2024 NWSL Draft.
On November 15, the Kansas City Current announced that it had completed a trade with Bay FC that meant, in exchange for midfielder Alex Loera, the Current will receive roster protection in the draft.
On November 17, Racing Louisville traded for roster protection from Bay FC while, on November 20, both the San Diego Wave and the North Carolina Courage announced it had agreed protection in the draft from the Utah Royals. As a result, the Royals added Kaleigh Riehl, Emily Gray and Frankie Tagliaferri to its roster.
December 12 was then a chaotic trade day, with both Bay FC and the Utah Royals picking up five players each in exchange for trade protection, leaving just five teams vulnerable to departures ahead of the 2024 NWSL Expansion Draft.
Will any USWNT stars be unprotected in the 2024 NWSL Expansion Draft?
Information on the nine players that each NWSL team has chosen to protect for the 2024 NWSL Expansion Draft was released on December 13, with no one on the USWNT roster left unprotected ahead of the draft.
Jess Fishlock and Lauren Barnes were two of the more notable names left unprotected. Both have played huge roles to help OL Reign reach three Championship games in the last 10 years, with the former even named the NWSL's Most Valuable Player in 2021.
Tyler Lussi, who shone as a frequent match-winner for the North Carolina Courage throughout 2023, iswasalso up for grabs in the draft, while Nigeria international Uchenna Kanu, South Africa star Thembi Kgatlana and China's Wang Shuang were all left unprotected by Racing Louisville. Sofia Jakobsson, the Sweden forward, was another notable international star available to be picked up from the San Diego Wave.