On Thursday, the NWSL will hold an in-person draft for the first time since January 2020. On that day, weeks before the world shut down amid a global pandemic, a chaotic flurry of activity only possible on a draft day floor ushered in the next generation of star talent and dramatically reshaped the current player pool in the NWSL.
Top 2022 draft picks Sophia Smith, Ashley Sanchez, Taylor Kornieck and Morgan Weaver have been at the center of some of the biggest league moments in the last two years. But their journeys, which began at the 2020 draft, showed that even the best-laid plans for young talent can go awry.
Draft day chaos sets the scene
From the very first week of January 2020, Portland had targeted the first overall pick in the draft. On Jan. 8, the Thorns acquired the No. 1 pick from the Pride in exchange for the rights to USWNT defender Emily Sonnett and Australian international Caitlin Foord, as well as other draft picks. The understanding across the league was that the Thorns intended to select Smith, a sophomore out of Stanford and a U.S. youth national team standout.
With allocation money in play for the first time, the draft-floor moves weren’t relegated to…
