The National Women’s Football League will hold its ninth annual squad on Wednesday. The ongoing pandemic has forced the league and potential players to take a look at the unknowns in front of them, and the event will take place virtually instead of in person.
Here’s how you can follow the draft and what to know:
Viewing information
- Meeting: Wednesday, January 13
- Time: 7:00 pm Eastern Time
- Live broadcast: Muscular contraction
What is the NWSL draft?
Once called the NWSL draft for college, the league was renamed the NWSL draft for 2021, as more players sought professional paths to leave college and become professionals sooner. Previously, players were selected after completing high school terms, while in recent years, changes to the rules have paved the way for younger players in the middle of their college years to become professionals. Tierna Davidson (19 ‘), Sophia Smith (20’) and Ashley Sanchez (20 ‘) are all recent players who have left college in an eligible way to become professionals.
NWSL teams participate in four rounds during the draft process, with each team being given a timeout number to use as well. The introduction of Racing Louisville FC as the newest expansion team will complete the league’s teams to 10, with all participating clubs and Louisville holding the number one choice overall.
What’s different about this year’s draft?
Both professional and high school seasons were strongly impacted by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. In an effort to try to conduct the draft in a way that would give players maximum flexibility, the league sought an exemption from the NCAA that would allow student-athletes who signed up for the draft to decide whether they would report to their NWSL club before or after the spring high school season.
The NCAA ended up approving the exemption, although not before registration for the draft had already begun, allowing ID student-athletes to register for the draft, go through the process and still have until January 22, 2021 to decide whether to plan report to the team that recruited them on February 1 to start preseason, or if they plan to play collegially in the spring season and then report to the NWSL.
But as the exemption approval process took too long and there were so many unresolved issues about adjusted seasons, both in college and professionally, the number of players who declared themselves eligible for the draft decreased, leading to another change. In an attempt to expand the selection of players, the league approved another rule adjustment to the draft. The draft registration requirement has been eliminated, essentially expanding the pool of eligible players.
With the pandemic delaying the NCAA football season in spring 2021, the league waived the requirement for some college athletes to sign up for the draft and play in the league. All Division I players with three years of intercollegiate football eligibility prior to the academic year 2020-2021 are now available for provisional selection. If a player is selected by a club, the team will retain the player’s rights until the start of the 2022 preseason.
These are all bold choices that aim to give teams more options for selecting players this year, but ultimately choices made out of necessity, as opposed to a slower and more thoughtful process. But despite the novelty, the teams are quite familiar with the concept of calling up players who decide not to play for them. Countless players have already declared themselves in favor of the draft, but chose not to report to the club that selected them, opting to play abroad.
Who declared?
While the registration requirement for the draft was eliminated, expanding the player pool, the league released a list of players registered prior to the NWSL draft on Wednesday. There are currently 49 registered players with 40 selections available over the four rounds. Players are listed with their university, positions held, hometown, youth club and citizenship.
Arthurs, Carli: Stephen F. Austin State University (F / M / D) Lewisville, TX, Solar Chelsea Soccer Club | U.S
Ashworth-Clifford, Lucy: Lamar University (F) Cheshire, England, Manchester City, United Kingdom
Badawiya, Rola: California Baptist University (F / M) Riverside, CA, Pateador, United States
Baltrip-Reyes, Carina: University of Florida (D) Pflugerville, TX, Dallas Texans Soccer Club, United States
Baumbick, Alyssa: Ohio State University (M) Avon Lake, OH, Cleveland Internationals Soccer Club, United States
Berg, Hale: University of Texas at Austin (F / M) Celina, TX, Solar, United States
Betfort, Hannah: Wake Forest University (F / D) Wake Forest University, Charleston, SC, United Soccer Academy Mount Pleasant, United States
Bryan, Sabrina: Hofstra University (F / M) Cecil, PA, Pittsburgh Riverhounds Academy, United States
Cassalia, Sydney: Army West Point (GK) Omaha, NE, Elite Girls Academy, United States
Collins, Kaylie: University of Southern California (GK) Clayton, CA, Mustang ECNL, United States
Del Valle, Yasmin: West Virginia University (F / M / D) Institution of Technology Orlando Florida, ACYS, United States
Drawdy, Morgan: Austin Peay State University (F / M) Merritt Island, Florida, Northwest United FC, United States
Ekic, Emina: University of Louisville (F / M) Louisville, KY, Javanon FC, United States
Fagundes, Larissa: Texas A&M University – Corpus Christi (F / M) Rio do Sul, Brazil, Felej, Brazil
Ford, Harlie: Webber International University (M / D) Poinciana, FL, Stetson FA, United States
Gorzak, Alissa: University of Virginia (F) Naperville, IL, Eclipse Select Soccer Club, United States
Gyau, Mia-Irene: Duke University (F / M / D) Silver Spring, MD, McLean U-18 ECNL, United States
Hall, Kyleigh: Texas A&M University – Corpus Christi (GK) Mansfield, TX, Dallas Texans, United States
Heilferty, Anna: Boston University (F / M) Falls Church, VA, Annandale United FC (VA), United States
Hipp, Jenny University of Massachusetts (F / M) Frankfurt, Germany, FFC Turbine Potsdam, Germany
Kallash, Anika: Central Methodist University (F / M) Troy, MO, Missouri Thorns, United States
Kurosaki, Yuuka: University of Oklahoma (M) Kitakyushu-Shi, Fukuoka, Fujieda Junshin High School, Japan
Kurz, Lena: University of Illinois (GK) Ludwigshafen, Germany, TSV Neckarau, Germany
Larisey, Clarissa: University of Memphis (F) Ottawa, ON, Ottawa South United, Canada
Lebelt, Amanda: Centennial University (F / M) Milford, NJ, FC Copa, United States
Lino, Samara: University of Montevallo (M) Montevallo, AL, Palo Alto, Brazil and Portugal
Lopes, Julia: West High School Torrance (F / M) Torrance, CA, La Roca, USA and Brazil
Marshall, Amber: Utah State University (M / D) Syracuse, UT, Santa Rosa United, United States
McCain, Addie: Texas A&M University (M) Lavon, TX, FC Dallas, United States
McMillan, Caylon: Stephen F. Austin State University (M) Forney, TX, ECNL 98G FC Dallas, United States
Mitchell, Taylor: Duke University (D) Tarzana, CA, Real So Cal, United States
Moyer, Shea: Penn State University (M) Wyomissing, PA, FC Revolution, United States
Nbwateme, Sandra: Southwestern Oklahoma State University (F) Kampala, Uganda, Muslim female team from Kawempe, Uganda
Otto, Taylor: University of North Carolina (M / D) Apex, NC, CASL, United States
Parker, Lucy: University of California, Los Angeles (D) Cambridge, England, Arsenal Women FC, United Kingdom
Pickett, Victoria: University of Wisconsin-Madison (M) Barrie, ON, Glen Shields Football Club, Canada
Pickett, Kiara “Kiki”: Stanford University (F / M / D) Santa Barbara, CA, Camarillo Eagles Soccer Club, United States
Pinto, Brianna: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (F / M) Durham, NC, NTH TopHat (USDA) / CASL (ECNL), United States
Prathapa, Jenna: Xavier University (F / M / D) Upper Saddle River, NJ, New Jersey Stallions Dynamite, United States
Rodman, Trinity: Washington State University (F) Newport Beach, CA, Socal Blues, United States
Rodriguez, Karina: UCLA (M / D) Torrance, CA, So Cal Blues SC, United States
Rosette, Samantha: Villanova University (F / M / D) Bronx, NY, NJ Stallions Dynamite, United States
Ryan, Yazmeen: Texas Christian University (F / M / D) Norman, OK, Oklahoma Celtic, United States
Schnurr, Kristin: Penn State University (F / M) Bristow, VA, McClean ECNL, United States
Sheehan, Delanie: University of California, Los Angeles (M / D) Brentwood, CA, West Coast Soccer Club, United States
Sornpao, Tiffany: Kennesaw State University (GK) Duluth, GA, UFA Norcross, United States
Talbot, Madeline: Stephen F. Austin State University (GK) Shreveport, LA, Shreveport United, United States
Termini, Katelyn: Stephen F. Austin (F / M) Frisco, TX, Solar Chelsea ECNL, United States
Toth, MaKayla: University of Central Missouri (F / M) Wichita, KS, Sporting Kaw Valley, United States
Vasey, Elisabeth: University of Wisconsin – Green Bay (F / M / D) Phoenix, AZ, Sereno ECN, United States
Looking forward
The league released a list of players who declared themselves specifically for the draft, despite the new rule setting, giving teams a more concrete picture of which players eligible in the draft, in fact, actively want to be recruited. The chaotic nature of this year’s draft means that there will be some players who do not wish to be selected at all, with their gaming rights maintained as an asset for the foreseeable future, while others will be one step closer to realizing a personal dream of playing football professional.
The excitement around this particular year is different compared to previous years, and if the draft is successful, the energy initially generated by the uncertainty of changing the rules in real time may pave the way for future adjustments to the draft next year. year.