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: Portland — Sophia Smith, Stanford Portland — Morgan Weaver, Washington State Orlando — Taylor Kornieck, Colorado Washington — Ashley Sanchez, UCLA Sky Blue — Evelyne Viens, USF North Carolina — Alleandra Watt, Texas A&M Orlando — Courtney Peterson, Virginia Utah — Tziarra King, North Carolina State University Reign FC — Kelcie Hedge, Santa Clara Round 2: Orlando — Konya Plummer, UCF Sky Blue — Kaleigh Riehl, Penn State Utah — Kate Del Fava, Illinois State Washington — Natalie Jacobs, USC Orlando — Phoebe McClernon, UVA Chicago — Julia Bingham, USC Chicago — Camryn Biegalski, UW Washington — Averie Collins, Washington State Houston — Bridgette Andrzejewski, UNC Round 3: Chicago — Zoe Morse, UVA Sky Blue — Amanda McGlynn, Virginia Tech Orlando — Cheyenne Shorts, Denver Houston — Chloe Castaneda, UCLA Washington — Katie McClure, Kansas Chicago — Ella Stevens, Duke Portland — Meaghan Nally, Georgeton Orlando — Abi Kim, Cal North Carolina — Sinclaire Miramontez, Nebraska Round 4: North Carolina — Addisyn Merrick, Kansas Sky Blue — Chantelle Swaby, Rutgers Orlando — Chelsee Washington, Bowling Green Utah — Cyera Hintzen, Texas Washington — Kaiya McCullough, UCLA Reign FC — Sam Hiatt, Stanford Reign FC — Meg Brandt, Nebraska Chicago — Aerial Chavarin, Yale North Carolina — Brianne Folds, Auburn
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: Portland — Sophia Smith, Stanford Portland — Morgan Weaver, Washington State Orlando — Taylor Kornieck, Colorado Washington — Ashley Sanchez, UCLA Sky Blue — Evelyne Viens, USF North Carolina — Alleandra Watt, Texas A&M Orlando — Courtney Peterson, Virginia Utah — Tziarra King, North Carolina State University Reign FC — Kelcie Hedge, Santa Clara Round 2: Orlando — Konya Plummer, UCF Sky Blue — Kaleigh Riehl, Penn State Utah — Kate Del Fava, Illinois State Washington — Natalie Jacobs, USC Orlando — Phoebe McClernon, UVA Chicago — Julia Bingham, USC Chicago — Camryn Biegalski, UW Washington — Averie Collins, Washington State Houston — Bridgette Andrzejewski, UNC Round 3: Chicago — Zoe Morse, UVA Sky Blue — Amanda McGlynn, Virginia Tech Orlando — Cheyenne Shorts, Denver Houston — Chloe Castaneda, UCLA Washington — Katie McClure, Kansas Chicago — Ella Stevens, Duke Portland — Meaghan Nally, Georgeton Orlando — Abi Kim, Cal North Carolina — Sinclaire Miramontez, Nebraska Round 4: North Carolina — Addisyn Merrick, Kansas Sky Blue — Chantelle Swaby, Rutgers Orlando — Chelsee Washington, Bowling Green Utah — Cyera Hintzen, Texas Washington — Kaiya McCullough, UCLA Reign FC — Sam Hiatt, Stanford Reign FC — Meg Brandt, Nebraska Chicago — Aerial Chavarin, Yale North Carolina — Brianne Folds, Auburn