2024 NWSL expansion draft

The 2024 NWSL Expansion Draft was an expansion draft held by the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) on December 15, 2023, for two expansion teams, Bay FC and Utah Royals, to select players from existing teams in the league.^[1]

2024 NWSL Expansion Draft
General information
Sport	Soccer
Date(s)	December 15, 2023 (2023-12-15)
Network(s)	CBS Sports Network
Sponsored by	Ally
Overview
7 total selections in 12 rounds
League	National Women's Soccer League
Expansion teams	Bay FC Utah Royals
Expansion season	2024
← 2022

This was the league's last expansion draft. In September 2024, the league and its players' union entered into a new collective bargaining agreement (CBA) which effectively superseded the CBA that had been entered to in 2021 and was scheduled to end in 2026. The new CBA eliminated all forms of player drafts, including the expansion draft.^[2]

Format

Bay FC selected first in the expansion draft, followed by Utah Royals.^[3] The expansion draft alternated between both teams across 12 rounds, allowing each team to select up to 12 players.^[3]

Each of the NWSL's 12 current teams was permitted to protect nine players, making them ineligible for selection. Furthermore, it was permitted to protect one additional player after the first expansion team selected a player from its roster.^[1]

Draft results

• Italics indicate players who are not under contract but whose NWSL playing rights remain with the team

Round	Pick	Team	Nat.	Player	Pos.	Previous team	Ref.
1	1	Bay FC		Alyssa Malonson	DF	Seattle Reign FC	[4][5]
	2	Utah Royals		Elyse Bennett	FW	Seattle Reign FC	[4][6]
2	3	Bay FC		Tess Boade	FW	North Carolina Courage	[4][7]
	4	Utah Royals		Paige Monaghan	FW	Racing Louisville FC	[4][8]
3	5	Bay FC		Rachel Hill	FW	San Diego Wave FC	[4][9]
	6	Utah Royals		PASS			[4]
4	7	Bay FC		Katelyn Rowland	GK	North Carolina Courage	[4][10]
	8	Utah Royals		PASS			[4]
5	9	Bay FC		PASS			[4]
	10	Utah Royals		PASS			[4]
6	11	Bay FC		PASS			[4]
7	12	Bay FC		Sierra Enge	MF	San Diego Wave FC	[4][11]

Protected lists by team

The following teams acquired expansion draft protections:^[12]

• On November 14, 2023, Orlando Pride traded for roster protection from Bay FC.
• On November 15, 2023, Kansas City Current traded for roster protection from Bay FC and Orlando Pride traded for roster protection from Utah Royals.
• On November 17, 2023, Racing Louisville FC traded for roster protection from Bay FC.
• On November 20, 2023, North Carolina Courage and San Diego Wave FC both traded for roster protection from Utah Royals.
• On December 12, 2023, Washington Spirit, Angel City FC, Portland Thorns FC, Houston Dash and NJ/NY Gotham FC all traded for roster protection from Utah Royals FC and Bay FC. Also, Kansas City Current traded for roster protection from Utah Royals FC.

On December 13, 2023, the NWSL released the protected lists from teams participating in the draft.^[13]

• Bold indicates players selected in the Expansion Draft
• Italics indicate players who are not under contract but whose NWSL playing rights remain with the team

Chicago Red Stars Protected Unprotected Julia Bianchi (International – Brazil) Jill Aguilera Ava Cook Jenna Bike Penelope Hocking Brooke Elby Taylor Malham Sami Feller Tatumn Milazzo Samantha Fisher Alyssa Naeher Zoey Goralski Cari Roccaro Sarah Griffith Ally Schlegel Sophie Jones Arin Wright Amanda Kowalski Karina LeBlanc Stephanie McCaffrey Addie McCain Zoe Morse Sarah Woldmoe Mackenzie Wood Grace Yochum (College Protected Player)

North Carolina Courage Protected Unprotected Malia Berkely Tess Boade Sydney Collins Marisa Bova Kerolin (International – Brazil) Mille Gejl (International – Denmark) Riley Jackson Hensley Hancuff Kaleigh Kurtz Haley Hopkins Narumi Miura (International – Japan) Estelle Johnson Casey Murphy Rikako Kobayashi (International – Japan) Denise O'Sullivan Tyler Lussi Ryan Williams Rikke Madsen Manaka Matsukubo[a] (International – Japan) Fuka Nagano Victoria Pickett Brianna Pinto Clara Robbins Katelyn Rowland Meredith Speck Olivia Wingate Loan-in protected, does not count towards North Carolina's total of nine (9) protected players

Seattle Reign FC Protected Unprotected Bethany Balcer Olivia Athens Alana Cook Lauren Barnes Claudia Dickey Elyse Bennett Sofia Huerta Ryanne Brown Jordyn Huitema (International – Canada) Jess Fishlock Veronica Latsko Samantha Hiatt Phoebe McClernon Shae Holmes Quinn Laurel Ivory Olivia Van der Jagt Jimena López (International – Mexico) Luany (International – Brazil) Alyssa Malonson Maia Pérez Morgan Proffitt Abby Wambach

Racing Louisville FC Protected Unprotected Ary Borges (International - Brazil) Jordan Baggett Kirsten Davis Hillary Beall Savannah DeMelo Jordyn Bloomer Abby Erceg Kayla Fischer Jaelin Howell Parker Goins Katie Lund Uchenna Kanu (International – Nigeria) Lauren Milliet Alanna Kennedy Carson Pickett Thembi Kgatlana (International – South Africa) Elli Pikkujämsä (International – Finland) Julia Lester Paige Monaghan Maddie Pokorny Olivia Sekany Wang Shuang

San Diego Wave FC Protected Unprotected Amirah Ali Belle Briede Danielle Colaprico Lauren Brzykcy Abby Dahlkemper Kyra Carusa Naomi Girma Giovanna DeMarco Taylor Kornieck Meggie Dougherty Howard Kristen McNabb Sierra Enge Alex Morgan Rachel Hill Jaedyn Shaw Sofia Jakobsson (International – Sweden) Kailen Sheridan Carly Telford Kelsey Turnbow Shae Yanez

See also

• List of NWSL drafts
• 2024 National Women's Soccer League season
• 2024 NWSL Draft