# 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 virtually via videoconferencing and web streaming.

## Format

* All 10 teams of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) take turns making their selections over four rounds, with 10 picks per round. Draft order in each round was determined by the reverse order of standings after the preliminary stage of the 2020 NWSL Challenge Cup, with the exceptions being Racing Louisville FC taking the first selection as an expansion team and Orlando Pride slotting into the fourth spot as decided by the board of governors after the team was unable to participate in the Challenge Cup.
* The Kansas City expansion team took over all player-related assets (including draft picks) of defunct team Utah Royals FC.
* The draft was broadcast live via the NWSL's official Twitch channel.
* Final list of players who registered was released on January 12, 2021.

### COVID-19 pandemic

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the NWSL made the following changes to the draft regulations that apply only to the 2021 NWSL Draft:
* Due to the disruption of college soccer and resulting NCAA D-I spring season in 2021, the NWSL applied for and received a waiver from the NCAA so that D-I players who are drafted could choose to report immediately for the 2021 NWSL season and forfeit their remaining collegiate eligibility, or remain with their collegiate teams until the conclusion of the NCAA D-I spring season in May 2021.
* The NWSL waived registration requirements so that all D-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 will be held until the start of the 2022 preseason rather than the end of the 2021 season as was the case previously.

## Results
### Key

| $^+$ | Denotes player who has been selected as NWSL Most Valuable Player |
| $^*$ | Denotes player who has been selected for an NWSL Best XI or NWSL Second XI team |
| $^^$ | Denotes player who has been selected as NWSL Rookie of the Year |
| $^#$ | Denotes player who has never appeared in a competitive NWSL game (regular season, playoff, or Challenge Cup) |

### Picks

| Round | Pick | Player | Pos. | NWSL team | College |
| Round 1 | 1 | Emily Fox $^*$ | D | Racing Louisville FC | North Carolina |
| Round 1 | 2 | Trinity Rodman $^{*^}$ | F | Washington Spirit | Washington State |
| Round 1 | 3 | Brianna Pinto | M | Sky Blue FC | North Carolina |
| Round 1 | 4 | Kiki Pickett | D | Kansas City NWSL | Stanford |
| Round 1 | 5 | Emina Ekic | M | Racing Louisville FC | Louisville |
| Round 1 | 6 | Yazmeen Ryan * | M | Portland Thorns FC | TCU |
| Round 1 | 7 | Madison Haley $^#$ | F | Chicago Red Stars | Stanford |
| Round 1 | 8 | Tara McKeown * | F | Washington Spirit | USC |
| Round 1 | 9 | Viviana Villacorta | M | Orlando Pride | UCLA |
| Round 1 | 10 | Deanne Rose $^#$ | F | North Carolina Courage | Florida |
| Round 2 | 11 | Taylor Otto | M | Racing Louisville FC | North Carolina |
| Round 2 | 12 | Sam Coffey* | M | Portland Thorns FC | Penn State |
| Round 2 | 13 | Kirsten Davis | F | Racing Louisville FC | Texas Tech |
| Round 2 | 14 | Mikayla Colohan | M | Orlando Pride | BYU |
| Round 2 | 15 | Victoria Pickett | M | Kansas City NWSL | Wisconsin |
| Round 2 | 16 | Lucy Parker $^#$ | D | Kansas City NWSL | UCLA |
| Round 2 | 17 | Addie McCain | M | Kansas City NWSL | Texas A&M |
| Round 2 | 18 | Kelsey Turnbow | F | Chicago Red Stars | Santa Clara |
| Round 2 | 19 | Anna Heilferty | F | Washington Spirit | Boston University |
| Round 2 | 20 | Alyssa Malonson | D | North Carolina Courage | Auburn |
| Round 3 | 21 | Parker Goins | F | Racing Louisville FC | Arkansas |
| Round 3 | 22 | Amirah Ali | F | Portland Thorns FC | Rutgers |
| Round 3 | 23 | Taryn Torres | M | Sky Blue FC | Virginia |
| Round 3 | 24 | Kerry Abello * | D | Orlando Pride | Penn State |
| Round 3 | 25 | Brianna Alger $^#$ | D | Chicago Red Stars | Washington State |
| Round 3 | 26 | Joelle Anderson | M | Houston Dash | Pepperdine |
| Round 3 | 27 | Makamae Gomera-Stevens | F | Houston Dash | Washington State |
| Round 3 | 28 | Jimena López | D | OL Reign | Texas A&M |
| Round 3 | 29 | Sydney Schneider $^#$ | G | Washington Spirit | UNC Wilmington |
| Round 3 | 30 | Myra Konte $^#$ | D | North Carolina Courage | Vanderbilt |
| Round 4 | 31 | Emily Smith $^#$ | D | Racing Louisville FC | California |
| Round 4 | 32 | Channing Foster | F | Chicago Red Stars | Ole Miss |
| Round 4 | 33 | Delanie Sheehan | D | Sky Blue FC | UCLA |
| Round 4 | 34 | Kaylie Collins | G | Orlando Pride | USC |
| Round 4 | 35 | Alissa Gorzak $^#$ | F | Chicago Red Stars | Virginia |
| Round 4 | 36 | Alex Loera | M | Kansas City NWSL | Santa Clara |
| Round 4 | 37 | Hannah Betfort | D | Portland Thorns FC | Wake Forest |
| Round 4 | 38 | Brookelynn Entz $^#$ | M | Kansas City NWSL | Kansas State |
| Round 4 | 39 | Mariana Speckmaier | F | Washington Spirit | Clemson |
| Round 4 | 40 | Tess Boade | F | Sky Blue FC | Duke |

### Notable undrafted players

Below is a list of undrafted rookies who appeared in a competitive NWSL game in 2021.
| Player | Pos. | Original NWSL team | College |
| Amber Marshall | M | Houston Dash | Utah State |
| Parker Roberts | M | Orlando Pride | Florida |
| Karina Rodríguez | D | Washington Spirit | UCLA |

## Trades

Round 1:
* ↑ Portland Thorns FC → Sky Blue FC → Washington Spirit. Washington Spirit received a first-round pick in the 2021 NWSL Draft as well as the No. 4, No. 13 and No. 17 picks in the 2020 NWSL College Draft from Sky Blue FC in exchange for Mallory Pugh. Sky Blue FC had acquired Portland Thorns FC's natural first-round pick from in exchange for Raquel Rodríguez.
* ↑ Orlando Pride → Chicago Red Stars → Sky Blue FC → Kansas City NWSL. Kansas City NWSL acquired the No. 4 pick in the 2021 NWSL Draft from Sky Blue FC in exchange for $175,000 in allocation money. Sky Blue FC had acquired the No. 4 and No. 8 picks in the 2021 NWSL Draft, a conditional first round pick in the 2022 NWSL Draft, and an international slot for 2021 and 2022 from Chicago Red Stars in exchange for Mallory Pugh and Sarah Woldmoe. Chicago Red Stars had previously acquired the natural first-round pick in the 2021 NWSL Draft, the No. 19 pick in the 2020 NWSL College Draft, Rachel Hill and $50,000 of allocation money from Orlando Pride in exchange for the No. 3 and No. 26 picks in the 2020 NWSL College Draft.
* ↑ Chicago Red Stars → Racing Louisville FC. Racing Louisville FC acquired the natural first-round pick in the 2021 NWSL Draft as well as forwards Yuki Nagasato and Savannah McCaskill, and an international roster spot for both the 2021 and 2022 seasons from Chicago Red Stars in exchange for full roster protection in the 2020 NWSL Expansion Draft.
* ↑ Utah Royals FC → Chicago Red Stars → Portland Thorns FC. Portland Thorns FC acquired the No. 6 pick in the 2021 NWSL Draft from Chicago Red Stars in exchange for the No. 7 and No. 32 picks in the 2021 NWSL Draft and an international slot in 2021. Chicago Red Stars had acquired the natural first-round pick in the 2021 NWSL Draft as well as the No. 4 and No. 13 pick in the 2020 NWSL College Draft and two first-round picks (No. 1 and No. 7) in the 2019 NWSL College Draft from Utah Royals FC in exchange for the rights to Christen Press and Samantha Johnson.
* ↑ Houston Dash → Portland Thorns FC → Chicago Red Stars. Chicago Red Stars acquired the No. 7 and No. 32 picks in the 2021 NWSL Draft and an international slot in 2021 from Portland Thorns FC in exchange for the No. 6 pick in the 2021 NWSL Draft. Portland Thorns FC acquired the 7th and 37th picks in the 2021 NWSL Draft from Houston Dash in exchange for Emily Ogle and Gabby Seiler.
* ↑ OL Reign → Chicago Red Stars → Sky Blue FC → Washington Spirit. Washington Spirit acquired the No. 8 pick in the 2021 NWSL Draft from Sky Blue FC in exchange for $100,000 in allocation money and Washington's natural second-round pick in the 2022 NWSL Draft. Sky Blue FC had acquired the No. 4 and No. 8 picks in the 2021 NWSL Draft, a conditional first round pick in the 2022 NWSL Draft, and an international slot for 2021 and 2022 from Chicago Red Stars in exchange for Mallory Pugh and Sarah Woldmoe. Chicago Red Stars had previously acquired the natural first-round pick in the 2021 NWSL Draft and natural third-round pick (No. 24) in the 2020 NWSL College Draft from OL Reign in exchange for a first-round pick (No. 9) in the 2020 NWSL College Draft.
* ↑ Washington Spirit → Orlando Pride. Orlando Pride acquired the 9th pick in the 2021 NWSL Draft, a first-round pick in either the 2022 or 2023 NWSL Draft (TBD), $140,000 in allocation money and Meggie Dougherty Howard from Washington Spirit in exchange for Emily Sonnett.
Round 2:
* ↑ Sky Blue → Racing Louisville FC. Racing Louisville FC acquired the No. 13 pick in the 2021 NWSL Draft and $35,000 in allocation money from Sky Blue FC in exchange for Jennifer Cudjoe.
* ↑ Chicago Red Stars → Utah Royals FC. Utah Royals FC acquired the natural second-round pick in the 2021 NWSL Draft from Chicago Red Stars in exchange for Makenzy Doniak.
* ↑ Houston Dash → Utah Royals FC. Utah Royals FC acquired the natural second-round pick in the 2021 NWSL Draft and natural second-round pick in the 2020 NWSL College Draft from Houston Dash in exchange for Utah Royals FC's third-round pick in the 2020 NWSL College Draft and Katie Stengel.
* ↑ OL Reign → Orlando Pride → Chicago Red Stars. Chicago Red Stars acquired the lowest second-round pick in the 2021 NWSL Draft held by Orlando Pride under the terms of a June 21, 2020 trade. Orlando Pride had acquired the natural second-round pick in the 2021 NWSL Draft from OL Reign in exchange for Dani Weatherholt.
Round 3:
* ↑ Utah Royals FC → Houston Dash. Houston Dash acquired a third-round pick in the 2021 NWSL Draft from Utah Royals FC in exchange for the rights to Aminata Diallo.
Round 4:
* ↑ Portland Thorns FC → Chicago Red Stars. Chicago Red Stars acquired the No. 7 and No. 32 picks in the 2021 NWSL Draft and an international slot in 2021 from Portland Thorns FC in exchange for the No. 6 pick in the 2021 NWSL Draft.
* ↑ Houston Dash → Portland Thorns FC. Portland Thorns FC acquired the 7th and 37th picks in the 2021 NWSL Draft from Houston Dash in exchange for Emily Ogle and Gabby Seiler.
* ↑ OL Reign → Kansas City NWSL. Kansas City NWSL acquired the 38th pick in the 2021 NWSL Draft, Darian Jenkins, and the rights to Meg Brandt from OL Reign in exchange for Tziarra King and a second-round pick in the 2022 NWSL Draft.
* ↑ North Carolina Courage → Sky Blue FC. Sky Blue FC acquired a conditional fourth-round pick in the 2021 NWSL Draft and McCall Zerboni from North Carolina Courage in exchange for the rights to Hailie Mace.

## Summary

In 2021, a total of 28 colleges had players selected. Of these, five had a player drafted to the NWSL for the first time: Boston University, Kansas State, Louisville, UNC Wilmington, and Vanderbilt.

### Schools with multiple draft selections

| Selections | Schools |
| 3 | North Carolina, UCLA, Washington State |
| 2 | Penn State, Santa Clara, Stanford, Texas A&M, USC, Virginia |

### Selections by college athletic conference

| Conference | Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 3 | Round 4 | Total |
| ACC | 3 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 9 |
| Big Ten | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 |
| Big 12 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| Colonial | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Pac-12 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 11 |
| Patriot League | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| SEC | 1 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 7 |
| West Coast | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 |

### Selections by position

| Position | Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 3 | Round 4 | Total |
| Goalkeeper | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Defender | 2 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 11 |
| Midfielder | 4 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 13 |
| Forward | 4 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 14 |