The 2023 NWSL Draft saw California high school forward Alyssa Thompson land at Angel City FC for the first time thanks to a series of wild trades made in the days leading up to the draft. Only 18, the Los Angeles native is expected to contribute immediately and has unlimited potential if the Angel City is able to properly develop Thompson. In a normal draft, a high school student going first overall would be the scariest thing, but in this 2023 NWSL draft, it was anything but normal.
Duke star forward Michelle Cooper went No. 2 while the first defender off the board was Florida State’s Emily Madril, who went No. 3 overall with the Orlando Pride.
With a record 12 trades during the draft, the Washington Spirit was able to take control of the draft in the third round when the North Carolina Courage used their draft capital to collect four first-rounders. There are many ways to build a roster in the NWSL but the draft, especially this one, has talent up and down. With COVID allowing players a fifth year of eligibility and in some cases transferring to other schools, such as Penn State’s Penelope Hocking, this is a polished class and teams wanted to add depth, and many did.
They’ll need that depth as key players head to the 2023 Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand this summer, so not only were several goalkeepers selected but some teams, like the Kansas City Current, essentially selected entirely new backlines. Hawking also saw his twin sister Ileana create a new sibling rivalry in the league in NJ/NY Gotham FC. It was an exciting, record-setting draft, which saw the U.S. Women’s National Team advance Lynn Williams traded.
Here are the full draft results:
Draft results
Round 1
- 1. Angel City FC — Alyssa Thompson, FWD (Harvard-Westlake Prep)
- 2. Kansas City Current — Michelle Cooper, FWD (Duke University)
- 3. Orlando Pride — Emily Madril, DEF (Florida State University)
- 4. NJ/NY Gotham — Jenna Nightswonger, MID (Florida State University)
- 5. Portland Thorns FC — Reyna Reyes, DEF/MID (University of Alabama)
- 6. North Carolina Courage – Olivia Winget, FWD (University of Notre Dame)
- 7. Chicago Red Stars – Penelope Hocking, MID/FWD (Penn State University)
- 8. North Carolina Courage — Sidney Collins, DEF/MID (University of California)
- 9. North Carolina Courage — Clara Robbins, MID/FWD (Florida State University)
- 10. Kansas City Current — Alexa Spanstra, MID/FWD (University of Virginia)
- 11. North Carolina Courage — Haley Hopkins, FWD (University of Virginia)
- 12. Portland Thorns FC – Izzy D’Aquila, FWD (Santa Clara University)
Round 2
- 13. San Diego Wave — Sierra Angel, DEF/MID (Stanford)
- 14. Chicago Red Stars — Grace Yochum, MID (Oklahoma State)
- 15. Kansas City Current — Gabrielle Robinson, DEF/MID/FWD (West Virginia University)
- 16. Racing Louisville FC — Kayla Fisher, MID/FWD (Ohio State University)
- 17. Racing Louisville FC – Briana Martinez, DEF/MID (University of Notre Dame)
- 18. Kansas City Current — Jordan Silkowitz, GK (Iowa State University)
- 19. OL Reigns – Shea Holmes, DEF (University of Washington)
- 20. Houston Dash – Sophie Hurst, MID (Harvard University)
- 21. Orlando Pride — Messiah Bright, FWD (Texas Christian University)
- 22. Houston Dash — Jilisa Harris, DEF/MID (University of South Carolina)
- 23. Chicago Red Stars – Allison Slagle, MID/FWD (Penn State University)
- 24. Portland Thorns FC – Lauren Debeau, MID/FWD (Michigan State University)
Round 3
- 25. Orlando Pride — Torey Hansen, DEF (University of North Carolina)
- 26. Washington Spirit – Nicole Douglas, FWD (Arizona State University)
- 27. Angel City FC – Angelina Anderson, GK (University of California)
- 28. Washington Spirit – Lisa Bosselman, GK (Gonzaga)
- 29. Racing Louisville FC — Jaydn Edwards, MID/FWD (University of New Mexico)
- 30. Washington Spirit – Riley Tanner, MID/FWD (University of Alabama)
- 31. Racing Louisville FC – Riley Mattingly Parker, MID/FWD (University of Alabama)
- 32. Portland Thorns – Lauren Kozal, GK (Michigan State University)
- 33. San Diego Wave FC – Lauren Brzyksi, GK (University of California, Los Angeles)
- 34. Washington Spirit – Lena Silano, FWD (Long Beach State University)
- 35. Kansas City Current — Mykiaa Minniss, DEF (Washington State University)
- 36. Houston Dash — Lindsey Jennings, DEF (Louisiana State University)
Round 4
- 37. Washington Spirit – Sivana Kuhlman, FWD (University of Colorado)
- 38. Kansas City Current — Ella Shamberger, DEF (Vanderbilt University)
- 39. Orlando Pride — Summer Yates, MID/FWD (University of Washington)
- 40. Washington Spirit – Delanie Graham, DEF/MID/FWD (Duke University)
- 41. Orlando Pride — Kristen Scott, MID/FWD (University of Central Florida)
- 42. Kansas City Current — Rylan Childers, MID (University of Kansas)
- 43. Chicago Red Stars – Sophie Jones, MID (Duke University)
- 44. NJ/NY Gotham FC – Iliana Hocking, DEF/MID (University of Arizona)
- 45. San Diego Wave FC – Giovanna DeMarco, MID (Wake Forest University)
- 46. OL Rain – Natalie Viggiano, MID/FWD (University of Wisconsin)
- 47. Kansas City Current — Ashley Orkus, GK (University of Mississippi)
- 48. Houston Dash – Madeline Deciano DEF (University of California, Los Angeles)
