The NWSL Expansion Draft is in the books as Angel City FC and San Diego Wave FC expanded their rosters Thursday ahead of their inaugural seasons in 2022. Angel City selected Dani Weatherholt from OL Reign with their first pick while San Diego went with USWNT mid Kristie Mewis from the Houston Dash with their top choice, but then traded her rights to NJ/NY Gotham FC in exchange for $200,000 in allocation. Mewis has been reportedly linked to an overseas move to Tottenham Hotspur in FA Women’s Super League.
All in all, seven out of nine possible picks were made as San Diego passed on two pics before ending the expansion draft by selecting defender Kaleigh Riehl from Racing Louisville. The league then announced a flurry of trades following the conclusion of the draft, including the Wave’s move for Alex Morgan.
“We’re certainly balanced with what we wanted and we were strategic,” former USWNT coach and current San Diego president Jill Eilis told CBS Sports following the draft. “We’re super excited and feel like we’re building a fantastic squad.”
The virtual event saw the two California sides build on their recent trade window — where each franchise made a number of deals in exchange for roster protection ahead of the expansion draft. For a look at which players were protected, click here.
Los Angeles coach Freya Coombe and San Diego manager Casey Stoney still have plenty of roster-building left on their plates as NWSL shifts its attention to the league-wide college draft on Saturday on Paramount+ and CBS Sports HQ beginning at 2 p.m. ET.
Below, you can find the complete results of the Expansion Draft and the trades made after the trade window reopened.
NWSL Expansion Draft results
|
1 |
Angel City FC |
Dani Weatherholt |
MID |
27 |
Laguna Beach, CA |
OL Reign |
|
2 |
San Diego Wave FC |
Kristie Mewis* |
MID* |
30* |
Hanson, MA* |
Houston Dash* |
|
3 |
Angel City FC |
Claire Emslie |
FWD |
27 |
Penicuik, Scotland |
Orlando Pride |
|
4 |
San Diego Wave FC |
Kristen McNabb |
DEF |
27 |
Montville, NJ |
OL Reign |
|
5 |
Angel City FC |
Jasmyne Spencer |
FWD |
31 |
Bay Shore, NY |
Houston Dash |
|
6 |
San Diego Wave FC |
PASS |
— |
— |
— |
— |
|
7 |
Angel City FC |
Paige Nielsen |
DEF |
28 |
Lincoln, NE |
Washington Spirit |
|
8 |
San Diego Wave FC |
PASS |
— |
— |
— |
— |
|
9 |
San Diego Wave FC |
Kaleigh Riehl |
DEF |
25 |
Fairfax Station, VA |
Racing Louisville |
*San Diego traded the rights to Kristie Mewis to Gotham FC in exchange for $200,000 in allocation money.
Trade tracker
Angel City FC get: No. 6 overall pick in 2022 NWSL Draft
Houston Dash get: No. 26 overall pick in 2022 NWSL Draft and $125,000 in allocation money.
NJ/NY Gotham FC get: Rights to Kristie Mewis
San Diego Wave FC get: $200,000 in allocation money
San Diego Wave FC get: Christen Westphal and rights to Amirah Ali
Portland Thorns FC get: $50,000 in allocation money
San Diego Wave FC get: Alex Morgan
Orlando Pride get: Angharad James, $275,000 in allocation money