The 2020 NWSL Draft is officially behind us, and given how hectic this offseason has been, it only seems fitting that the draft was equally dramatic. A last-minute flurry of trades radically re-ordered the first five picks just as the selections were getting underway. Many of the deals involved allocation money, immediately raising questions about the new rule. The biggest story of the day, however, was Mallory Pugh being traded from Washington to Sky Blue in a deal that could have a long-term impact on both franchises.

Below, we run through all the biggest NWSL headlines from draft day and beyond:

Portland snags the top two picks, sparking debate: Portland had already traded Emily Sonnett to Orlando ahead of the draft for the No. 1 pick, with which they were widely expected to select Stanford’s Sophia Smith. They did just that, and then shocked the league by trading $70,000 of allocation money and two later picks to the Chicago Red Stars for the No. 2 pick, which they subsequently used on Washington State’s Morgan Weaver. Weaver was a one-woman wrecking crew during Washington State’s magical run to last year’s College Cup, where Smith herself scored a hat trick in the semifinal. Portland now has two young offensive stars to anchor its apparent rebuild.

The trade between Portland and Chicago was one of many on draft day to involve allocation money, which was only introduced this past November. Intended to help teams pay certain players above the salary cap, the new spending mechanism is now already under fire, as coaches (including North Carolina’s Paul Riley) have said it will set a new precedent allowing teams to essentially buy first round draft picks. Expect this to be a hotly-debated issue moving forward.

Sky Blue trades for Mallory Pugh: In a deal no one saw coming, the 21-year-old USWNT forward was traded from Washington to Sky Blue for the 4th, 13th, and 17th overall picks in this year’s draft, as well as a first round pick in next year’s draft. Pugh skipped college to join the Spirit three years ago, but hasn’t quite lived up to, let alone surpassed, the hype that comes with being a teenage wunderkind, and just last week she was left off the USWNT’s Olympic roster. Still, she’s only 21, making this trade a potential franchise-changer for Sky Blue if Pugh can get back on track. A year ago Sky Blue couldn’t even convince their two draft picks to sign with the club. Now they have an A-list name to headline their roster as they move into Red Bull Arena next season, completing a stunning one-year turnaround.

Washington Spirit trade up for Ashley Sanchez: Sanchez, like Sophia Smith, left school early to enter the NWSL draft. Unlike Smith, it wasn’t obvious from the outset where Sanchez would go, and few could have predicted Washington, a franchise that initially had no first-round picks. That changed when they traded Mallory Pugh to Sky Blue, giving the Spirit the opportunity to immediately draft her potential replacement in Sanchez, another dribble-heavy offensive talent who starred for the USWNT at the youth level before being called into the senior team as a teenager. With the additions of Sanchez and Averie Collins (Washington’s second-round pick) to a squad that already includes Rose Lavalle, Jordan DiBiasi, Tegan McGrady, and Andi Sullivan — all of whom are under 25 —  it’s clear the Spirit now have a young core to build around.

Chicago Red Stars rake in players, money, and future picks: After falling in last season’s championship game and watching Sam Kerr decamp to Chelsea, the Red Stars managed to turn four first round picks in this years draft into Rachel Hill, a reported $85,000 in allocation money, five picks in this draft, and a first round pick in next year’s draft. The Red Stars now have four first round picks in next year’s draft, and while neither Hill nor any of the five players selected this year may turn out to be franchise stars, they’re all valuable assets that can be bundled in a variety of ways moving forward as Chicago looks to rebuild on the fly.

Reign FC announce new, controversial head coach: Former OL and PSG head coach Farid Benstiti has officially been named the new head coach of Reign FC. Benstiti won four league titles and three cups during his time in France and has a long track record of developing world-class players. He’s also the coach who told Lindsey Horan she wouldn’t be allowed off the bench until she lost weight. Horan went on to make an entire commercial based on the slight, and though she’s since said that Benstiti’s tough love made her a better player, there’s no doubt this hire — the first to be made by new ownership group OL Groupe — could come under serious fire if Benstiti isn’t able to establish good relationships out of the gates.

Below is every pick from the 2020 draft:

Round 1:

1. Portland — Sophia Smith, Stanford

2. Portland — Morgan Weaver, Washington State

3. Orlando — Taylor Kornieck, Colorado

4. Washington — Ashley Sanchez, UCLA

5. Sky Blue — Evelyne Viens, USF

6. North Carolina — Alleandra Watt, Texas A&M

7. Orlando — Courtney Peterson, Virginia

8. Utah — Tziarra King, North Carolina State University

9. Reign FC — Kelcie Hedge, Santa Clara

Round 2:

1. Orlando — Konya Plummer, UCF

2. Sky Blue — Kaleigh Riehl, Penn State

3. Utah — Kate Del Fava, Illinois State

4. Washington — Natalie Jacobs, USC

5. Orlando — Phoebe McClernon, UVA

6. Chicago — Julia Bingham, USC

7. Chicago — Camryn Biegalski, UW

8. Washington — Averie Collins, Washington State

9. Houston — Bridgette Andrzejewski, UNC

Round 3:

1. Chicago — Zoe Morse, UVA

2. Sky Blue — Amanda McGlynn, Virginia Tech

3. Orlando — Cheyenne Shorts, Denver

4. Houston — Chloe Castaneda, UCLA

5. Washington — Katie McClure, Kansas

6. Chicago — Ella Stevens, Duke

7. Portland — Meaghan Nally, Georgeton

8. Orlando — Abi Kim, Cal

9. North Carolina — Sinclaire Miramontez, Nebraska

Round 4:

1. North Carolina — Addisyn Merrick, Kansas

2. Sky Blue — Chantelle Swaby, Rutgers

3. Orlando — Chelsee Washington, Bowling Green

4. Utah — Cyera Hintzen, Texas

5. Washington — Kaiya McCullough, UCLA

6. Reign FC — Sam Hiatt, Stanford

7. Reign FC — Meg Brandt, Nebraska

8. Chicago — Aerial Chavarin, Yale

9. North Carolina — Brianne Folds, Auburn

Montréal Victoire captain Marie-Philip Poulin has won the 2024/25 PWHL Billie Jean King MVP award, the league announced at its end-of-season ceremony on Wednesday.

Poulin beat out Toronto Sceptres defender Renata Fast and former Boston Fleet forward Hilary Knight for the honor, becoming the PWHL's first-ever two-time MVP finalist in the process.

The prolific forward never saw three straight games without a point this season, leading the league in scoring with 19 goals on the season — a tally that comprised an impressive 25.7% of Montréal's 2024/25 goals.

The awards cap a banner year for the Canadian national, who also picked up 2025 IIHF Player of the Year as well as MVP honors at April's IIHF Women's World Championship.

Wednesday's win also keeps the PWHL MVP award in Canada, with Poulin joining inaugural winner and Toronto Sceptres forward Natalie Spooner as the league's first two top individual honorees.

Along with her MVP trophy, the 34-year-old also snagged this season's Forward of the Year honor, while Fast scored the PWHL Defender of the Year title.

Montréal ultimately claimed the most hardware of the night, with manager Kori Cheverie taking home the season's Coach of the Year title while Poulin's Victoire teammate Ann-Renée Desbiens earned the Goaltender of the Year award.

As for the 2024/25 season's best debutant, last year's No. 1 draftee Sarah Fillier snagged the Rookie of the Year title following a stellar first pro season with the New York Sirens.

Incoming NWSL expansion side Boston Legacy FC announced the hiring of the club's first-ever head coach on Wednesday, tapping Benfica manager Filipa Patão ahead of the team's inaugural 2026 season.

"I'm very excited about going to Boston. I can't wait to get to the city, meet all the people and start working," said Patão, who will join the front office in July to help build the Legacy's roster.

Patão has helmed Benfica since 2020, amassing a 156-28-15 W-L-D record across all competitions, including leading the team to the 2023/24 Champions League quarterfinals — the best finish of any Portuguese club in UWCL history.

"Boston is a club where we want to develop both technical identity and have a clear style of play, but also we want a coach who thinks about more than just winning games," said incoming Boston GM Domè Guasch in a team statement. "Filipa is a coach I believe can help us build a great culture where players understand they will come here to grow and learn."

Patão adds to the Legacy's increasingly European front office, following the likes of Guasch, who joined from FC Barcelona.

"The American league is extremely competitive and that's one of the reasons I accepted this project," Patão said. "I like competition, difficulty, and getting the players to strive for more and better."

Her penchant for developing players as well as her will to win are two reasons that Legacy controlling owner Jennifer Epstein says made Patão a perfect fit for Boston.

"Filipa demonstrates all of the qualities that personify this club and the way we want to play: with passion, grit, and style," said Epstein.

"We can’t wait to watch her build Boston's next championship team."

The world No. 1 USWNT takes the pitch against No. 25 Ireland on Thursday night, kicking off a three-friendly stretch that spans two games against the Girls in Green in Colorado and Ohio before a Washington, DC, clash against regional rivals No. 8 Canada.

"We're largely inexperienced and still learning with everything that we're looking to do, but this team, they are fast learners," US head coach Emma Hayes told media earlier this week.

After Hayes decided to give nearly all her Europe-based players a break during this international window, the USWNT enters this stretch of friendlies without a number of first-choice starters, giving young bubble players perhaps their last chance to impress.

Next week's bout with Canada will be the USWNT's last match opportunity until October's international window — the second-to-last break of 2025.

"We're at the stage where we are determining the criteria for 2027 and what that looks like," said Hayes. "From October onwards, I would say that extended pool will be the group that we will build towards 2027 with."

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Notably, Thursday's lineup could feature a boost from previously injured 2024 Olympians Rose Lavelle and Croix Bethune, with the veteran Lavelle also stepping into a newly elevated leadership role on the team.

"I had a lot of really great older players to look up to to help usher me into the position where I now can be that for the younger players, so it's definitely something that I lean into," Lavelle said on Wednesday.

How to watch the USWNT vs. Ireland on Thursday

The No. 1 USWNT will kick off their first friendly against No. 25 Ireland at 9 PM ET on Thursday, with live coverage airing on TBS.

The Indiana Fever waived their splashiest offseason signing, two-time WNBA champion DeWanna Bonner, at her request on Wednesday.

The the 37-year-old missed the last five games due to personal reasons, with recent reports alluding to the six-time All-Star's desire to sever her Fever contract.

"Despite our shared goals and excitement heading into the season, I felt the fit did not work out and I appreciate the organization's willingness to grant my request to move on, particularly at this point in my career," Bonner said in a statement.

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After bringing on key additions like Bonner, Natasha Howard, and Sophie Cunningham, the Fever were projected to take a serious leap forward under new Indiana head coach Stephanie White this season.

Unfortunately, Indiana has encountered multiple snags, with franchise player Caitlin Clark sidelined for weeks with a quad strain while White missed several games for personal reasons.

The Fever currently sit eighth in the WNBA standings with a 7-7 record, as Clark battles through a slump that saw her average just 26.5% from the field in her last three games.

She'll ride the bench again on Thursday night, as the superstar guard manages a groin injury.

To fill the gaps, Indiana signed Aari McDonald to a rest-of-season contract this week, rewarding the point guard for her strong performances in Clark's absence.

As for Bonner, she has 48 hours to clear the waiver wire, as some reports link her to a veteran minimum contract with the Phoenix Mercury for the remainder of the 2025 WNBA season.

How to watch the Indiana Fever in Thursday's WNBA lineup

The Indiana Fever will try to turn things around against the LA Sparks at 7 PM ET on Thursday night.

Live coverage of the game will air on Prime.