Bay FC and Utah Royals FC added additional players to their respective teams via the NWSL expansion draft on Friday night. Bay FC added five players across the positional groups, and secured a goalkeeper in North Carolina Courage’s Katelyn Rowland. The Royals, carrying a larger roster into Friday night, only opted to make two picks, but made the most of those two picks.
With most of the teams maneuvering ahead of the draft to trade their way out — whether partially or fully — from Friday night’s draft, the event itself was a drastically reduced affair compared to previous versions, especially as the teams passed during later rounds.
Here are each team’s picks with quick analysis, plus more on the future of the expansion draft.
Bay FC picks
Defender Alyssa Malonson from OL Reign
Midfielder Tessa Boade from the North Carolina Courage
Forward Rachel Hill from San Diego Wave FC
Goalkeeper Katelyn Rowland from the North Carolina Courage
Midfielder Sierra Enge from San Diego Wave FC
Bay FC came in with the smaller roster of the two, though they still did not maximize the number of selections they could have made on Friday night. But the balance of their selections helps them across the board — and their final pick of the night in Enge brings back a Stanford kid back to the Bay…
