NWSL Draft first round winners and losers: Utah Royals make noise with No. 1 pick Ally Sentnor

True to form, NWSL Draft day has delivered plenty of drama that will shake things up on the field once the 2024 season is officially underway. First round trades, some surprises and more highlighted an eventful first round with expansion sides Utah Royals and Bay FC making their first ever NWSL Draft picks.

Here’s a look at the winners and losers from the first round.

Winners: Utah Royals

The expansion side prioritized midfield and attack with two promising talents that will add meaningful depth, if not be instant contributors. No. 1 pick Ally Sentnor is a highly regarded attacking midfielder while No. 4 pick Brecken Mozingo demonstrated a nice goalscoring ability, and the selections begin to answer questions about what Amy Rodriguez’s attack might look like.

Losers: The teams with no first round picks (except Courage)

Angel City, the Houston Dash, the Kansas City Current, and the Seattle Reign all traded away their first round picks and opted not to acquire new ones. They may have missed out on some useful talent and will need to establish ways to ensure they can make up for it in other ways, but with some months left before the season begins, they may not be losers forever. (Looking at you, Dash, after signing free agent Yuki Nagasato.)

Winners: North Carolina Courage

They may have lost both of their first-round draft picks through trades, but what they picked up was major. In the big trade of the night, they acquired USWNT forward Ashley Sanchez from the Spirit and a total of $425,000 in allocation money from the Washington, D.C.-based club and the Red Stars. They’re now unofficially on the clock to spend that money, and might find some exciting ways to do so.

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TBD: Washington Spirit’s busy night

They had three total picks in the first round and sent Sam Staab and Sanchez and a lot of allocation money to new teams in the process. Though they selected players (Georgia midfielder Croix Bethune, Clemson defender/midfielder Hal Hershfelt and Penn State defender Kate Wiesner) who could eventually replace their outgoing talents, considering the transition from college to the pros, it might be a bit more of a long-term project than a short one. Combined with the fact that the Spirit will be under new head coach Jonatan Giraldez but he will not arrive until May, this season might be a slow build before they show their best.