The 2023 NWSL Draft started at 6 p.m. ET Thursday, but teams did not wait until then kick off the action.
The 24 hours leading up to the draft brought a flurry of trades, and even more came during the draft itself. Just Women’s Sports keeps track of everything that has happened so far.
Jan. 12 — Washington Spirit make several moves in third round
First, the Spirit sent $75,000 in allocation money to the Orlando Pride in exchange for the No. 29 and No. 34 picks.
Next, the Spirit swapped third-round picks with Racing Louisville, receiving the No. 28 pick in exchange for the No. 29 pick and $30,000 in allocation money. Then the Spirit sent the No. 44 pick and an additional $30,000 in allocation money to the Houston Dash to jump to the No. 30 pick.
The biggest trade of the bunch came last: Washington received the No. 32 pick in this year’s draft and OL Reign’s natural first-round pick in 2024 in exchange for a player to be named later, rumored to be U.S. women’s national team defender Emily Sonnett.
Jan. 12 — Portland Thorns and Houston Dash exchange picks
The clubs swapped third-round picks. The Thorns received the No. 32 pick, while the Dash received the No. 36 pick and $20,000 in allocation money.
