Bay FC and Utah Royals FC added additional players to their respective teams via the NWSL expansion draft on Friday evening. Bay FC added five players across all position groups and secured a goalkeeper in Katelyn Rowland from North Carolina Courage. The Royals, who had a larger roster Friday night, only chose two picks, but made the most of those two picks.
With most teams maneuvering around pre-draft to get themselves out – in whole or in part – of Friday night's draft, the event itself was a drastically scaled-back affair compared to previous versions, particularly as teams passed in later rounds.
Here are each team's picks with a brief analysis, as well as more information on the future of the expansion draft.
Bay FC selection
defender Alyssa Malonson by OL Reign
midfield player Tessa Boade from North Carolina Courage
Forward Rachel Hill from San Diego Wave FC
goalkeeper Katelyn Rowland from North Carolina Courage
midfield player Sierra Eng from San Diego Wave FC
Bay FC came into the game with the smaller squad of the two, although they still didn't utilize the maximum number of selections they could have made on Friday night. But the balance of their picks helps them across the board — and their final pick of the night in tightness brings a Stanford kid back to the Bay Area. Bay's selection was slightly younger, with two 24-year-olds in Malonson and Boade and Enge at 23 – but the signing of a winning, experienced goalkeeper in Rowland helps balance that youth.
“When I saw that (Rowland) was available, it was a no-brainer for us and someone we really hoped would still be on the board,” head coach Albertin Montoya said on Attacking Third after the draft.
Utah Royals FC
Striker/Midfielder Elyse Bennett by OL Reign
Forward Paige Monaghan from Racing Louisville FC
The Royals entered Friday night with 12 players already on the roster, so head coach Amy Rodriguez and athletic director Kelly Cousins were under less pressure to make the most of the expansion draft. Both picks are extremely promising for a number of reasons, both players could very well end up as starters for the Royals, and both can be real building blocks in the locker room.
“I think today was very successful for us,” Rodriguez said at Attacking Third after the draft, noting that she targeted players who would be great for the team’s culture.
A few more thoughts on the expansion draft itself
Earlier this week in the Full Time newsletter I wondered if this would be the final expansion draft we see in the NWSL – and after Friday night I'm moving from “doubtful why this roster mechanism exists” to a full “NWSL expansion.” “high draft haters.” Free agency will play a role here, but Friday night's broadcast of the expansion draft wasn't great television on a Friday night. To be fair, the small number of choices isn't CBS' fault, but the tone was wrong for an event of this nature.
Commentator Jordan Angeli eventually noted that some players' lives were destroyed during an expansion draft, but towards the end of the event. Meanwhile, Commissioner Jessica Berman cheerfully appeared in a custom NWSL blazer to talk about her favorite moments from the past season. Bay FC announced its selection of branded children's merchandise. At least this wasn't a dispersal draft, but every draft is ultimately a matter of player welfare.
Utah's Kelly Cousins also addressed this during her media release Friday night.
“When it comes to draft day, it’s not nice for anyone, not even us, to be there,” she said. “You select a player and at that moment a new player finds out live on television that he is moving to another club. That doesn't suit us. I think that should probably change because you're saying a player could be uprooted. Christmas is still a week away and now they may have to move to the other side of the country.”
However, Bay FC general manager Lucy Rushton said the expansion proposal was “imperative”. “I think it’s important because without it it would have been very difficult for us to put together a squad within the NWSL.”
For Rushton, the expansion draft provided the impetus to force all of these trades to protect the expansion draft before the deadline earlier this week.
“Is it the nicest mechanism to attract players? No, probably not, not for the players and it's tough. I definitely think it's important, and especially now that I've gone through the process, it scares me to think about what some of the numbers might have looked like that teams might have been asking to trade their players. “
And that doesn't even explain the strange tension the unprotected players must have felt during the event – nervous that their names were called, but perhaps offended when they weren't? Neither Bay FC nor Utah selected a player from the Chicago Red Stars, leaving their roster untouched Friday night. This must be painful for last year's last-place team and these players.
What's next?
It's actually free agency time. While Bay FC and Utah Royals FC were able to work the free agent market and make signings ahead of the expansion draft, existing teams had an incentive to wait until Saturday morning to sign any paperwork because free agents had no spots in the draft the list of teams took. protected lists.
There are some big names in the free agency mix this year too: Crystal Dunn, Rose Lavelle, Emily Sonnett, Tierna Davidson, Emily Fox and more. What's helpful is that the NWSL is offering a free agency tracker on its website this year.
(Elysse Bennett Photo: Stephen Brashear-USA TODAY Sports)