NWSL Expansion Draft Results: Seven players are claimed by Angel City, Wave FC

news7g12/17/2021

6 5 minutes read

NWSL Expansion Draft Results: Seven players are claimed by Angel City, Wave FC

Preparations for the new NWSL 2022 season are underway and teams are actively acquiring and transferring players, especially since there are two expansion teams entering the league in the same season.

Angel City FC and San Diego Wave FC added new players in the NWSL Open Draft on Thursday, just two days before the NWSL Draft for college players. San Diego walked away with three players, moving on to two other options, while Angel City FC used all four of their picks to add depth and versatility to their squad.

The trading window reopened shortly after the draft and Wave FC quickly traded its #1 Open Draft pick, US women’s national team regular Kristie Mewis, who moved to NJ/NY Gotham FC in exchange for $200,000 in allocations.

The original tournament rules stipulated a maximum of nine players were selected by each expansion team – one from each team with the exception of KC Existing, which was exempt. But both Angel City and Wave FC have made arrangements with other clubs to ensure the protection of the squad. So, entering the draft phase, Angel City was only allowed to select players from four teams, while Wave FC was limited to an unprotected list of five teams.

Selection of NWSL Expansion Draft

Around	Angel City FC	San Diego Wave FC
first	MF – Dani Weatherholt (CV Reign)	MF – Kristie Mewis (Houston Dash)
2	FW – Claire Emslie (Pride of Orlando)	DF/MF – Kristen McNabb (CEO CV)
3	FW – Jasmyne Spencer (Houston Dash)	OVERCOME
4	DF – Paige Nielsen (Washington Spirit)	OVERCOME
5	–	DF – Kaleigh Riehl (Louisville Racing)
6	–	–
7	–	–
8	–	–
9	–	–

THAN: Why Washington Spirit’s NWSL Title Is Most Remarkable in American Sports

How the Draft NWSL Expansion Works

The official draft guidelines gives each of the two expansion pools up to nine options, although that doesn’t happen based on the terms of a pre-draft trade deal.

While Kansas City Current is exempt in the draft expansion, the other nine NWSL clubs can protect up to nine players on their roster against the draft (including up to one US allotted player). Ky). The remaining players are unprotected and available to choose from in the Open Draft unless there is prior arrangement between the teams (see below).

Here is a list of key rules for the Expansion Draft:

Extended teams have three minutes to make each pick;
Each expansion team may select one player or US allotted players from each team, for a maximum of nine selections;
Each expansion pool may not select more than one U.S. allotted player who is not covered in the Open Draft;
Existing teams can lose no more than two of their unprotected players in the Open Draft (where only one can be a US allotted player);
Existing teams can lose no more than one player from any position group (goalkeeper, defender, midfielder, forward);
Selections in the Open Draft may not be tradable, but players selected in the Open Draft can be traded after the event;
Each expansion pool has two 5-minute timeouts, although they cannot be used continuously.

Through trades prior to the Open Draft, there are a number of NWSL teams that have negotiated draft protections for players they were forced to leave unprotected:

Kansas City Current Exemptions: As part of an agreement with the league to become an expansion team in 2021, Kansas City Current is exempt from this draft.
Several other exemptions have been created through agreements derived from transactions:
- The Chicago Red Stars, North Carolina Courage and NJ / NY Gotham FC all have made deals to secure the rights to the Expansion Manuscript from both teams.
- CV Reign had extended protection from Angel City FC just for their forward group, which included Megan Rapinoe. Reign is not protected from selection by Wave FC.
- The Portland Thorns received full extended protection from the City of Angels based on a previous transaction.
- Racing Louisville FC had full extended protection from Angel City as part of a previous deal that gave Christen Press the rights to the extended club.
- The Washington Spirit traded to protect US allocated players from Angel City and full protection from Wave FC.

THAN: Alex Morgan deals with San Diego Wave FC

NWSL Players Eligible for Selection in Open Draft

While a number of popular players have been protected or have been traded to expansion teams, including Alex Morgan, who was sent to Wave FC last week in a deal that was just officially announced, There are a few unprotected players that have appeared on the page.

THAN: MLS 2022 expansion draft results for Charlotte FC

Megan Rapinoe is the most popular unprotected player, and while there’s always the possibility that she won’t be picked because OL Reign has defended her forward group from Angel City FC, she’s a big enough name. can attract Wave FC to the field.

Houston Dash decided not to include USWNT quarterback Kristie Mewis on its protected list, and Wave FC took advantage of her to get their No. 1 pick, back in swapping her for Gotham FC with cost $200,000 of the allocation.

The full list of 135 players eligible to choose from in the Open Draft includes: