2024 NWSL Draft


The 2024 NWSL Draft presented by Ally was the twelfth annual meeting of National Women's Soccer League franchises to select from a list of amateur players above the age of 18 playing in the United States who exhausted, lost, or renounced any remaining collegiate eligibility. It was held on January 12, 2024, at the 2024 United Soccer Coaches Convention in Anaheim, California, and broadcast by ION.
Expansion sides Utah Royals and Bay FC held the first and second overall picks respectively. Ally Sentnor was selected by Utah Royals with the first overall pick. It was the first time Utah Royals had selected first and the third time a player out of North Carolina was selected first.
It was the final NWSL college draft to be held prior to the draft's abolition as part of the new Collective Bargaining Agreement signed in August 2024, making the NWSL the first major professional sports league in the United States to eliminate the draft system. Beginning with the 2025 rookie class, first-year players could sign with teams as free agents.

Format

  • All 14 teams of the National Women's Soccer League took turns making their selections over four rounds, with 14 picks per round. Draft order in each round was determined by the reverse order of the final 2023 regular season standings, with the exceptions being Utah Royals and Bay FC taking the first two selections as expansion teams and the two teams that contested the 2023 Championship game, Seattle Reign FC and NJ/NY Gotham FC, taking the last two selections.
  • The final list of players eligible for selection was released on January 9, 2024. 230 players representing 138 schools declared for the draft.
  • Gaining the first choice in the asset selection process through a random generator, Utah Royals selected priority in the NWSL Draft. As a result, Utah received pick No. 1 in both the first and third rounds of the draft, while Bay will select first in rounds two and four. By virtue, Bay were given the first pick in the 2024 NWSL Expansion Draft.
  • Ion Television covered the draft domestically. International broadcast was available on the NWSL website.

    Results

Key

Picks

Notable undrafted players

Below is a list of undrafted rookies who appeared in a competitive NWSL game in 2024.
PlayerOriginal NWSL teamCollege
sn|Madison|Ayson

Trades

Round 1:
Round 2:
Round 3:
'''Round 4:'''

Summary

In 2024, a total of 30 colleges had players selected. Of these, five had a player drafted to the NWSL for the first time: Iowa, Memphis, Pittsburgh, Saint Mary's and Utah State. The draft also saw North Carolina equal the record for most selections from a school in a draft with six.

Schools with multiple draft selections

Selections by college athletic conference

Selections by position

Future draft trades

2025 NWSL Draft trades