2022 NWSL expansion draft

2022 NWSL Expansion Draft
2022 NWSL Expansion Draft
General information
Sport	Soccer
Date(s)	December 16, 2021
Time	7 p.m. EST
Location	Los Angeles, California
Network(s)	CBS Sports
Sponsored by	Ally
Overview
	18 total selections in 1 rounds
League	National Women's Soccer League
Expansion teams	Angel City FC; San Diego Wave FC;
Expansion season	2022
	← 2020 2024 →

The 2022 NWSL Expansion Draft (formerly named the 2021 NWSL Expansion Draft^[1]) was an expansion draft held by the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) on December 16, 2021, for two expansion teams, Angel City FC and San Diego Wave FC, to select players from existing teams in the league.^[2] Kansas City Current were exempt from the draft.^[3]

Format[edit]

Each of the NWSL's current teams (with the exception of Kansas City Current, who were exempt from the draft) was allowed to protect nine players, including a maximum of one United States federation player.^[1] Angel City FC and San Diego Wave FC were allowed to select one player from each team, for a total of nine players each. Per result of a coin flip, Angel City FC picked first.^[4]

Each of the NWSL's existing teams could lose no more than one United States federation player and no more than one player from each position group in total. Angel City FC and San Diego Wave FC could select no more than one United States federation player in total.

Draft results[edit]

Blue highlights indicate United States federation players
Italics indicate players who are not under contract but whose NWSL playing rights remain with the team

Pick	Selecting team	Nat.	Player	Pos.	Previous team	Ref.
1	Angel City FC		Dani Weatherholt	MF	OL Reign	^[5]
2	San Diego Wave FC		Kristie Mewis	MF	Houston Dash	^[6]
3	Angel City FC		Claire Emslie	FW	Orlando Pride	^[7]
4	San Diego Wave FC		Kristen McNabb	DF	OL Reign	^[8]
5	Angel City FC		Jasmyne Spencer	FW	Houston Dash	^[9]
6	San Diego Wave FC	PASS				^[10]
7	Angel City FC		Paige Nielsen	DF	Washington Spirit	^[11]
8	San Diego Wave FC	PASS				^[12]
9	San Diego Wave FC		Kaleigh Riehl	DF	Racing Louisville FC	^[13]

Protected lists by team[edit]

Besides Kansas City Current, who were already exempt from the draft per their expansion agreement with the league, the following teams traded for protection prior to December 10, 2021:

On August 23, 2021, Racing Louisville FC traded for roster protection from Angel City FC.^[14]
On December 1, Washington Spirit also traded for roster protection from San Diego Wave FC.^[15]
On December 2, Chicago Red Stars traded for roster protection from both Angel City FC and San Diego Wave FC.^[16]
On December 4, NJ/NY Gotham FC traded for roster protection also from San Diego Wave FC.^[17]
On December 6, Washington Spirit traded for federation player protection while OL Reign also traded for a partial protection from Angel City FC.^[18]^[19]
On December 8, NJ/NY Gotham FC and Portland Thorns FC both traded for roster protection from Angel City FC,^[20]^[21] while North Carolina Courage also traded for roster protection from both Angel City FC and San Diego Wave FC.^[22]

On December 10, 2021, the NWSL released the protected lists from teams participating in the draft.^[23]

Bold indicates players selected in the Expansion Draft
Blue highlights indicate United States federation players
Italics indicate players who are not under contract but whose NWSL playing rights remain with the team

Houston Dash[edit]

^[24]

Protected	Unprotected
Jane Campbell	Michaela Abam
Rachel Daly	Michelle Alozie
Makamae Gomera-Stevens	Joelle Anderson
Shea Groom	Bridgette Andrzejewski
Haley Hanson	Allysha Chapman
Katie Naughton	Taylor Comeau
Nichelle Prince	Niki Cross
Maria Sanchez	Amanda Dennis
Gabby Seiler	Hannah Diaz
	Marissa Diggs
	Lindsey Harris
	Melissa Henderson
	Bianca Henninger
	Savannah Jordan
	Veronica Latsko
	Kristie Mewis
	Christine Nairn
	Emily Ogle
	Megan Oyster
	Ally Prisock
	Annika Schmidt
	Sophie Schmidt
	Jasmyne Spencer
	Bri Visalli

OL Reign[edit]

^[25]

Protected	Unprotected
Bethany Balcer	Lauren Barnes
Alana Cook	Amber Brooks
Angelina	Mariah Bullock
Jess Fishlock	Steph Catley
Sofia Huerta	Stephanie Cox
Rose Lavelle	Kiersten Dallstream
Quinn	Ella Dederick
Phallon Tullis-Joyce	Madison Hammond
Ally Watt	Kelcie Hedge
	Sam Hiatt
	Celia
	Adrienne Jordan
	Tziarra King
	Alyssa Kleiner
	Jimena Lopez
	Kristen McNabb
	Sinclaire Miramontez
	Cosette Morché
	Theresa Nielsen
	Morgan Proffitt
	Leah Pruitt
	Megan Rapinoe
	Nikki Stanton
	Rumi Utsugi
	Abby Wambach
	Dani Weatherholt
	Lydia Williams
	Beverly Yanez

Orlando Pride[edit]

^[26]

Protected	Unprotected
Mikayla Colohan	Kerry Abello
Taylor Kornieck	Kaylie Collins
Sydney Leroux	Claire Emslie
Phoebe McClernon	Joanna Fennema
Alex Morgan	Caitlin Farrell
Courtney Petersen	Meggie Dougherty Howard
Amy Turner	Gunnhildur Jónsdóttir
Marta	Abi Kim
Viviana Villacorta	Carrie Lawrence
	Camila
	Erin McLeod
	Jade Moore
	Toni Pressley
	Ali Riley
	Parker Roberts
	Kylie Strom
	Erika Tymrak
	Emily Van Egmond
	Marisa Viggiano
	Chelsee Washington
	Brittany Wilson
	Shelina Zadorsky

Portland Thorns FC[edit]

^[27]

Protected	Unprotected
Bella Bixby	Amirah Ali
Crystal Dunn	Nadine Angerer
Lindsey Horan	Hannah Betfort
Natalia Kuikka	Celeste Boureille
Emily Menges	Sam Coffey
Olivia Moultrie	Marian Dougherty
Raquel Rodriguez	Britt Eckerstrom
Sophia Smith	Marissa Everett
Morgan Weaver	Shelby Hogan
	Kelli Hubly
	Meghan Klingenberg
	Andressinha
	Nikki Marshall
	Meg Morris
	Meaghan Nally
	Madison Pogarch
	Hayley Raso
	Kat Reynolds
	Yazmeen Ryan
	Angela Salem
	Becky Sauerbrunn
	Christine Sinclair
	Kat Tarr
	Rachel Van Hollebeke
	Christen Westphal
	Sandra Yu

Racing Louisville FC[edit]

^[28]

Protected	Unprotected
Gemma Bonner	Julia Ashley
Kirsten Davis	Janine Beckie
Emina Ekic	Caitlin Foord
Emily Fox	Parker Goins
Cece Kizer	Tobin Heath
Katie Lund	Alanna Kennedy
Nadia Nadim	Nealy Martin
Freja Olofsson	Cheyna Matthews
Ebony Salmon	Savannah McCaskill
	Addisyn Merrick
	Lauren Milliet
	Yūki Nagasato
	Taylor Otto
	Kaleigh Riehl
	Erin Simon
	Emily Smith

Washington Spirit[edit]

^[29]

Protected	Unprotected
Dorian Bailey	Taylor Aylmer
Aubrey Bledsoe	Camryn Biegalski
Bayley Feist	Averie Collins
Ashley Hatch	Jordan DiBiasi
Tara McKeown	Morgan Goff
Julia Roddar	Anna Heilferty
Trinity Rodman	Tori Huster
Ashley Sanchez	Devon Kerr
Sam Staab	Lori Lindsey
	Joanna Lohman
	Paige Nielsen
	Kelley O'Hara
	Karina Rodriguez
	Sydney Schneider
	Emily Sonnett
	Andi Sullivan
	Saori Takarada
	Kumi Yokoyama

References[edit]

^ ^a ^b "NWSL Releases 2021 NWSL Expansion Draft Presented by Ally Process and Procedures" (Press release). National Women's Soccer League. September 8, 2021. Retrieved September 8, 2021.
^ "NWSL Announces Dates for the 2022 NWSL Expansion Draft and NWSL Draft Presented by Ally, Opens Player Registration" (Press release). National Women's Soccer League. November 3, 2021. Retrieved November 4, 2021.
^ Lauletta, Dan (July 28, 2021). "The Lowdown: NWSL Expansion Draft rules finally coming to light". The Equalizer. Retrieved August 1, 2021.
^ "NWSL Announces Further Details Regarding 2022 NWSL Expansion Draft and 2022 NWSL Draft, Presented by Ally" (Press release). National Women's Soccer League. December 3, 2021. Retrieved December 4, 2021.
^ @NWSL (December 17, 2021). "With the 1st pick in the 2022 NWSL Expansion Draft presented by @Ally:@weareangelcity selects @daniweatherholt of…" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
^ @NWSL (December 17, 2021). "With the 2nd pick in the 2022 NWSL Expansion Draft presented by @Ally...@sandiegowavefc selects @KristieMewie of…" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
^ @NWSL (December 17, 2021). "With the 3rd pick in the 2022 NWSL Expansion Draft presented by @Ally...@weareangelcity selects @emslie22 of the…" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
^ @NWSL (December 17, 2021). "With the 4th pick in the 2022 NWSL Expansion Draft presented by @Ally...@sandiegowavefc selects @KristenMcNabb14…" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
^ @NWSL (December 17, 2021). "With the 5th pick in the 2022 NWSL Expansion Draft presented by @Ally...@weareangelcity selects @Jas_it_Up of…" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
^ @NWSL (December 17, 2021). "The @sandiegowavefc have passed on the 6th pick.@weareangelcity is now on the clock ⏰" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
^ @NWSL (December 17, 2021). "With the 7th pick in the 2022 NWSL Expansion Draft presented by @Ally...@weareangelcity selects @Paigenielsen of…" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
^ @NWSL (December 17, 2021). "The @sandiegowavefc have passed on the 8th pick.SD Wave FC will now have the 9th and final pick..." (Tweet) – via Twitter.
^ @NWSL (December 17, 2021). "With the 9th pick in the 2022 NWSL Expansion Draft presented by @Ally...@sandiegowavefc selects Kaleigh Riehl of…" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
^ "Angel City FC acquires rights to Christen Press from Racing Louisville FC" (Press release). National Women's Soccer League. August 23, 2021. Retrieved August 24, 2021.
^ Small, Jordan (December 1, 2021). "Spirit Trade McGrady, International Spot, Draft Pick to San Diego for Expansion Draft Protection" (Press release). Washington Spirit.
^ "Chicago Red Stars Announce Roster Moves Ahead of Expansion Draft" (Press release). Chicago Red Stars. December 2, 2021. Archived from the original on December 4, 2021. Retrieved July 21, 2023.
^ "Gotham FC Receives Protection and Allocation Money in Trade with San Diego Wave for Kailen Sheridan Rights" (Press release). NJ/NY Gotham FC. December 4, 2021.
^ Small, Jordan (December 6, 2021). "Washington Spirit Complete Trade with Angel City" (Press release). Washington Spirit. Retrieved July 21, 2023.
^ "OL Reign Acquire Partial Roster Protection and Allocation Money from Angel City FC" (Press release). OL Reign. December 6, 2021. Retrieved December 6, 2021.
^ "NJ/NY Gotham FC Secures Expansion Draft Immunity in Trade with Angel City FC for DiDi Haracic Rights" (Press release). NJ/NY Gotham FC. December 8, 2021.
^ "Thorns FC acquire Allocation Money, 2022 NWSL Draft pick, Expansion Draft immunity in trade with Angel City FC" (Press release). Portland Timbers. December 9, 2021. Retrieved December 10, 2021.
^ "NC Courage Receive Expansion Draft Protection in Trades with Angel City FC and San Diego Wave" (Press release). North Carolina Courage. December 8, 2021. Retrieved July 21, 2023.
^ "NWSL Releases Protected Lists Ahead of 2022 NWSL Expansion Draft Presented by Ally" (Press release). National Women's Soccer League. December 10, 2021. Retrieved July 21, 2023.
^ "Houston Dash announces protected list ahead of NWSL Expansion Draft" (Press release). Houston Dynamo. December 10, 2021. Retrieved July 21, 2023.
^ "OL Reign Announces Players Available in NWSL Expansion Draft" (Press release). OL Reign. December 10, 2021. Retrieved July 21, 2023.
^ "Orlando Pride Announces 2022 NWSL Expansion Draft Protected List" (Press release). Orlando City SC. December 10, 2021. Retrieved July 21, 2023.
^ "NWSL releases protected lists ahead of 2022 NWSL Expansion Draft presented by Ally" (Press release). Portland Timbers. December 10, 2021. Retrieved July 21, 2023.
^ "Racing sets protected list for 2022 Expansion Draft" (Press release). Racing Louisville FC. December 10, 2021. Retrieved July 21, 2023.
^ Small, Jordan (December 10, 2021). "Washington Spirit Announce Protected and Unprotected Lists Ahead of 2022 NWSL Expansion Draft" (Press release). Washington Spirit. Retrieved July 21, 2023.

[rules-1] "NWSL Releases 2021 NWSL Expansion Draft Presented by Ally Process and Procedures" (Press release). National Women's Soccer League. September 8, 2021. Retrieved September 8, 2021.

[2] "NWSL Announces Dates for the 2022 NWSL Expansion Draft and NWSL Draft Presented by Ally, Opens Player Registration" (Press release). National Women's Soccer League. November 3, 2021. Retrieved November 4, 2021.

[kc_exempt-3] Lauletta, Dan (July 28, 2021). "The Lowdown: NWSL Expansion Draft rules finally coming to light". The Equalizer. Retrieved August 1, 2021.

[4] "NWSL Announces Further Details Regarding 2022 NWSL Expansion Draft and 2022 NWSL Draft, Presented by Ally" (Press release). National Women's Soccer League. December 3, 2021. Retrieved December 4, 2021.

[5] @NWSL (December 17, 2021). "With the 1st pick in the 2022 NWSL Expansion Draft presented by @Ally:@weareangelcity selects @daniweatherholt of…" (Tweet) – via Twitter.

[6] @NWSL (December 17, 2021). "With the 2nd pick in the 2022 NWSL Expansion Draft presented by @Ally...@sandiegowavefc selects @KristieMewie of…" (Tweet) – via Twitter.

[7] @NWSL (December 17, 2021). "With the 3rd pick in the 2022 NWSL Expansion Draft presented by @Ally...@weareangelcity selects @emslie22 of the…" (Tweet) – via Twitter.

[8] @NWSL (December 17, 2021). "With the 4th pick in the 2022 NWSL Expansion Draft presented by @Ally...@sandiegowavefc selects @KristenMcNabb14…" (Tweet) – via Twitter.

[9] @NWSL (December 17, 2021). "With the 5th pick in the 2022 NWSL Expansion Draft presented by @Ally...@weareangelcity selects @Jas_it_Up of…" (Tweet) – via Twitter.

[10] @NWSL (December 17, 2021). "The @sandiegowavefc have passed on the 6th pick.@weareangelcity is now on the clock ⏰" (Tweet) – via Twitter.

[11] @NWSL (December 17, 2021). "With the 7th pick in the 2022 NWSL Expansion Draft presented by @Ally...@weareangelcity selects @Paigenielsen of…" (Tweet) – via Twitter.

[12] @NWSL (December 17, 2021). "The @sandiegowavefc have passed on the 8th pick.SD Wave FC will now have the 9th and final pick..." (Tweet) – via Twitter.

[13] @NWSL (December 17, 2021). "With the 9th pick in the 2022 NWSL Expansion Draft presented by @Ally...@sandiegowavefc selects Kaleigh Riehl of…" (Tweet) – via Twitter.

[lou-14] "Angel City FC acquires rights to Christen Press from Racing Louisville FC" (Press release). National Women's Soccer League. August 23, 2021. Retrieved August 24, 2021.

[was-15] Small, Jordan (December 1, 2021). "Spirit Trade McGrady, International Spot, Draft Pick to San Diego for Expansion Draft Protection" (Press release). Washington Spirit.

[chi-16] "Chicago Red Stars Announce Roster Moves Ahead of Expansion Draft" (Press release). Chicago Red Stars. December 2, 2021. Archived from the original on December 4, 2021. Retrieved July 21, 2023.

[got-17] "Gotham FC Receives Protection and Allocation Money in Trade with San Diego Wave for Kailen Sheridan Rights" (Press release). NJ/NY Gotham FC. December 4, 2021.

[18] Small, Jordan (December 6, 2021). "Washington Spirit Complete Trade with Angel City" (Press release). Washington Spirit. Retrieved July 21, 2023.

[19] "OL Reign Acquire Partial Roster Protection and Allocation Money from Angel City FC" (Press release). OL Reign. December 6, 2021. Retrieved December 6, 2021.

[auto-20] "NJ/NY Gotham FC Secures Expansion Draft Immunity in Trade with Angel City FC for DiDi Haracic Rights" (Press release). NJ/NY Gotham FC. December 8, 2021.

[auto1-21] "Thorns FC acquire Allocation Money, 2022 NWSL Draft pick, Expansion Draft immunity in trade with Angel City FC" (Press release). Portland Timbers. December 9, 2021. Retrieved December 10, 2021.

[auto2-22] "NC Courage Receive Expansion Draft Protection in Trades with Angel City FC and San Diego Wave" (Press release). North Carolina Courage. December 8, 2021. Retrieved July 21, 2023.

[23] "NWSL Releases Protected Lists Ahead of 2022 NWSL Expansion Draft Presented by Ally" (Press release). National Women's Soccer League. December 10, 2021. Retrieved July 21, 2023.

[24] "Houston Dash announces protected list ahead of NWSL Expansion Draft" (Press release). Houston Dynamo. December 10, 2021. Retrieved July 21, 2023.

[25] "OL Reign Announces Players Available in NWSL Expansion Draft" (Press release). OL Reign. December 10, 2021. Retrieved July 21, 2023.

[26] "Orlando Pride Announces 2022 NWSL Expansion Draft Protected List" (Press release). Orlando City SC. December 10, 2021. Retrieved July 21, 2023.

[27] "NWSL releases protected lists ahead of 2022 NWSL Expansion Draft presented by Ally" (Press release). Portland Timbers. December 10, 2021. Retrieved July 21, 2023.

[28] "Racing sets protected list for 2022 Expansion Draft" (Press release). Racing Louisville FC. December 10, 2021. Retrieved July 21, 2023.

[29] Small, Jordan (December 10, 2021). "Washington Spirit Announce Protected and Unprotected Lists Ahead of 2022 NWSL Expansion Draft" (Press release). Washington Spirit. Retrieved July 21, 2023.

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