Post by Monika on Jan 13, 2021 21:11:38 GMT -8
(Clockwise from top left): Yazmeen Ryan, Sam Coffey, Hannah Betford, Amirah Ali.
January 13, 2021 --
The 2021 National Women's Soccer League Draft was held today with 40 college players being selected by the 10 teams around the league. The draft was held virtually due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Portland Thorns FC made four selections and were involved in a trade involving two of those selections.
After swapping picks at spots six and seven, the Thorns selected TCU midfielder Yazmeen Ryan at number six. They followed that up by taking Sam Coffey, a forward from Penn State with the 12th overall selection. In the third round, at pick 22, they took Amirah Ali, a forward and midfielder from Rutgers. The Thorns closed out their draft with the selection of Wake Forest forward Hannah Betfort. Suffice to say, the Thorns went heavy on offense this year.
Ryan, a 5'6" native of Norman, Oklahoma, holds a host of career honors for the Horned Frogs. Most meaningful statistics come from the 2019 season in which she was named USSCA 1st-Team All-Midwest Region (also in 2018, 1st-Team All-Big-12. She was named to that year's Big-12 All-Tournament Team and was ranked 88th on TopDrawerSoccer's Top 100. In addition to her mother, Lisa, she has three sisters.
Coffey, 5'6", was tied for second in the Big Ten with 11 goals in 2019 and also had 10 assists. That year she was named United Soccer Coaches Team Scholar All-America, while bring named First-Team All-North Region. She also was named First Team All-Big Ten and named to TopDrawerSoccer Best XI Second Team. She transferred from Boston College to Penn State over the summer of 2018. Interesting fact: Coffey is a native of Sleepy Hollow, New York, which is the home of the Legend of Sleepy Hollow.
Ali, a 5'8" native of Voorhees, New Jersey, won multiple awards during her career at Rutgers. She earned All-American First Team honors in 2019 and Second Team honors a season before. She was named to the All-Region First team and All-Big Ten First Team in each of the 2018 and 2019 seasons. She scored 25 goals and dished 12 assists in three seasons of play. Ali played in the High School All-America Game in 2016.
Betfort, a 5'11 native of Charleston, South Carolina, was a team captain for Wake Forest for her final two seasons and logged over 5,000 minutes on the pitch with the Demon Deacons, including full game performances a multitude of times over her career. She and her Wando High School team won the state championship in 2014. She majored in Health and Exercise Science at Wake Forest. Her selection by the Thorns in the draft is a bit of an belated birthday gift, given her birthday of January 4.
Below are the complete results of the four rounds of the 2021 NWSL Draft. Included are the teams, players selected, teams and colleges attended. SCtoC also has listed the trades which took place during the draft, as well as a key to denote position abbreviations.
ROUND 1
1. Racing Louisville FC - Emily Fox; D, UNC
2. Washington Spirit - Trinity Rodman; F, Washington State
3. Sky Blue FC - Brianna Pinto; M, UNC
4. Kansas City (from Sky Blue FC) - Kiara Pickett; D, Stanford (trade A)
5. Racing Louisville FC - Emina Ekic; F/M, University of Louisville
6. Portland Thorns FC (from Chicago Red Stars) - Yazmeen Ryan; M, TCU (trade B)
7. Chicago Red Stars (from Portland Thorns) - Madison Haley; F, Stanford (trade B)
8. Washington Spirit (from Sky Blue FC) - Tara McKeown; F, USC - (trade C)
9. Orlando Pride - Viviana Villacorta; M, UCLA
10. North Carolina Courage - Deanne Rose; F, Florida
ROUND 2
11. Racing Louisville FC - Taylor Otto; M, UNC
12. Portland Thorns - Sam Coffey; F, Penn State
13. Racing Louisville (from Sky Blue FC) - Kirsten Davis; F, Texas Tech - (trade D)
14. Orlando Pride - Mikayla Colohan; M, Brigham Young University
15. Kansas City - Victoria Pickett; M, Wisconsin
16. Kansas City - Lucy Parker; D, UCLA
17. Kansas City - Addie McCain; M, Texas A&M
18. Chicago Red Stars - Kelsey Turnbow; F, Santa Clara
19. Washington Spirit - Anna Heilferty; F, Boston University
20. North Carolina Courage - Alyssa Malonson; D, Auburn
ROUND 3
21. Racing Louisville FC - Parker Goins; F, Arkansas
22. Portland Thorns FC - Amirah Ali; F/M, Rutgers
23. Sky Blue FC - Taryn Torres; M, Virginia
24. Orlando Pride - Kerry Abello; F, Penn State
25. Chicago Red Stars - Brianna Alger; F, Washington State
26. Houston Dash - Joelle Anderson; F/M, Pepperdine
27. Houston Dash - Makamae Gomera-Stevens; F, Washington State
28. OL Reign - Jimena Lopez; D, Texas A&M
29. Washington Spirit - Sydney Schneider; GK, UNC-Wilmington
30. North Carolina Courage - Myra Konte; D, Vanderbilt
ROUND 4
31. Racing Louisville FC - Emily Smith; D, UC Berkeley
32. Chicago Red Stars (from Portland Thorns FC) - Channing Foster; M/F, Mississippi - (trade B)
33. Sky Blue FC - Delanie Sheehan; D, UCLA
34. Orlando Pride - Kaylie Collins; GK, USC
35. Chicago Red Stars - Alissa Gorzak; F, UVA
36. Kansas City - Alex Loera; F, Santa Clara
37. Portland Thorns - Hannah Betfort; D, Wake Forest
38. Kansas City - Brookelynn Entz; M, Kansas State
39. Washington Spirit - Mariana Speckmaier; F, Clemson
40. Sky Blue FC - Tess Boade; F/M, Duke
TRADES
A. Kansas City obtained the 4th pick from Sky Blue FC in exchange for $175,000 in allocation money
B. Portland Thorns FC obtained the 6th pick from the Chicago Red Stars in exchange for 1 international slot for 2020, the 7th pick and the 32nd pick
C. Washington Spirit obtained the 8th pick from Sky Blue FC in exchange for $100,000 in allocation money and the Spirit's natural 2nd round pick in the 2022 draft.
D. Racing Louisville FC obtains the 13th pick and a player to be named later from Sky Blue FC in exchange for $35,000 in allocation money.
POSITION KEY
F - Forward. M - Midfielder. D - Defender. GK - Goalkeeper
To share this post on social media, please go to the right side of the page to the social media icons and choose which social media site(s) to share the thread. To comment on this thread and others on this forum, please login or register
