2017 NWSL College Draft

*goes and looks up all the colleges these athletes are from*

Cool that it's up in L.A. I might need to go.

 

assuming Salt Lake is granted an expansion team, any 2017 mocks should feature 11 teams per round.

 

Assuming expansion, they've said they want 2 teams at a time. Any 2017 mock drafts should feature 12 teams per round. That, and it might be a tad early to figure the pecking order. But hey, it's never too soon!

 

It's a great draft class. Top five picks include a finishing striker, technical midfielder, imposing defender and aspiring USWNT goalkeeper. And one time prodigy Morgan Andrews, whose future is perhaps looking up again?

 

Morgan Andrews had one off year at Notre Dame.
No one in this draft can take over a game and put her entire team on her back like she can.

 

As of now (until expansion is confirmed), the Breakers have these draft picks lined up in the 2017 draft.

Breakers 2017 Draft picks (in real time, as of June 25):
#1 pick (1st round) (due to being the worst team)
#11 pick (2nd round)
#12 pick (2nd round) (from WNY in Zerboni trade, from Houston to WNY originally)
#15 pick (2nd round) (from Seattle)
#19 pick (2nd round) (from Chicago)
#21 pick (3rd round)
#31 pick (4th round)

Trading Zerboni away for what looks like could be the #12 overall pick in a great draft is a solid trade for them.
It was the trade for acquiring Zerboni in which they gave up way too much to get Zerboni in the first place.
That was one of the worst trades in soccer history.

I've been proposing that Boston needs to go with an all-out youth movement (WNY Flash style).
Gid rid of the more seasoned Zerboni (which they recently did) for a high draft pick.
Trade Angela Salem for another draft pick.
Get rid of Farrelly for whatever they can get.
Trade Kyah Simon to Orlando. Sermanni will give up something nice in return.


Here are some Moves they can make:

-Trade Whitney Engen and #19 overall pick to Sky Blue for Kelley O'Hara (Engen becomes Rampone's replacement)
-Trade Kelley O'Hara, Julie King, Louise Schillgard, and an international slot to WNY for Sam Mewis
-Trade Kyah Simon and Brooke Elby to Orlando (to Tom Sermanni) for Sam Witteman
-Trade Angela Salem and #31 pick to Portland for #20 pick
-Trade Sinead Farrelly, Brittany Ratcliffe, and 2018 NWSL 3rd round pick to WNY for Adriana Leon
-Trade Katie Schoepfer to Orlando for #36 pick


The Breakers would then have these draft picks:
#1, #11, #12, #15, #20, #21, #36

Roster before draft (current age shown in parenthesis)

F - Stephanie McCaffrey (23), Adriana Leon (23)
MF - Kristie Mewis (25), Sam Mewis (23), Sam Witteman (22), Stephanie Verdoia (23)
D - Mollie Pathman (23), Christen Westphal (22), Kassey Kallman (23), Rachel Wood (25)
GK - Abby Smith (22), Libby Stout (25)

That's a nucleus of 12 players for the 2017 season.
And with 7 draft picks, plus international slots, and free agency, the Breakers should be able to get up to 20 players.

So who do they take in the draft?
Imagine a draft class like this ....

#1 pick - Kadeisha Buchanan (D) (West Virginia)
#11 pick - Stephanie Amack (D) (Stanford)
#12 pick - Toni Payne (MF) (Duke)
#15 pick - McKenzie Meehan (F) (Boston College)
#20 pick - Nickolette Driesse (MF) (Penn State)
#21 pick - Margaret Purce (F/MF) (Harvard)
#36 pick - Simone Charley (F) (Vanderbilt)

Drafting Buchanan, Meehan, Payne, Purce, and Charley gives the Breakers the fastest draft class in history.
Now the team has more of an identity. And a team filled with lots of diversity, with speedsters and minority sisters.
Yes, this has been done before (WNY Flash), but that blueprint is certainly working out for them.

This new Breakers team could run other veteran teams off the pitch, with their youth, fitness, speed, and swagger.

 

Have to say...I love your draft from a KC perspective...I was just going to post something in the KC thread about how I would prob be ok with KC selling their soul to get Lavelle.

Just a little side note...that's prob annoying but I'd be shocked if KC doesn't take Jaycie Johnson, prob a little earlier than necessary. Not only is she a local gal but played for Vlatko and Huw when they still coached club at Sporting Blue Valley.

Thanks for sharing!

 

How about this scenario. Assume they do expand by two teams and that both teams end up being from out west, and let's say it is San Jose Earthquakes and Real Salt Lake for the sake of discussion, and let us also assume that players like Press and Johnston decided they would like to be traded so they could play closer to home, then Chicago probably would then get each expansion team's number one pick.

 

Arielle Ship will go much higher than #40 overall.
The Pac 12 player of the year will possibly be the rookie of the year in NWSL, as she will be competing against the likes of Savnannah Jordan, Rose Lavelle, and Morgan Andrews for that award. She is a clutch goal scorer.

The one thing that could hurt her draft stock is the fact that at some point she would like to attend medical school.
If it's perceived that she will have a shorter career, that could move her down a few picks, even a whole round.
Still, even getting her as a "rent-a-player" (let's say 3 years), is still worth no less than the #24 overall pick, so she'd be no worse than a 2nd round pick in a 12 team draft.

http://www.calbears.com/news/2015/11/11/210485720.aspx

 

While we're reviving talk of the draft, it's worth pointing out that Orlando's acceptance into the league was in mid-October after a couple months of obvious machinations going on as expansion efforts ramped up. As we haven't seen any similar rise of an expansion candidate this year yet, much less having one announced, I think it's very safe to assume the draft will only include the ten teams we currently have.

 

Yes to Hatch for sure.

Tabby Tindell is another one:
http://www.fgcuathletics.com/roster.aspx?rp_id=4027&path=wsoc

I think she will be drafted by Orlando in the later rounds. She has 13 goals and 8 assists in 16 games for Gulf Coast.
She has put together a "complete" 4 year career (65 goals, 30 assists).
I believe she is the only "current" player in collegiate soccer (male or female) to be a part of the current 65/30 club.

I'm not sure anyone has benefited more than Christina Gibbons.
She is having a great year, and is showing her "professional" worth.
I would even look at her as a possible outside back candidate on the senior national team.
Her defending, attacking, and composure on the ball, and just her pure hustle and play-making abilities.
She has shown that she is a complete player.

The Stanford players will be taken high in the draft (Campbell, Bauer, Amack).
It is always perceived that the elite players from Stanford are always professionally groomed and ready.

In a creative way, Rose Lavelle might benefit (she was always going to be a first round, probable Top 5 pick).
Just knowing that her odds of being a full national player in the near future have lowered, in essence this has increased her draft status, because NWSL teams know there is a likely chance they can get her for a "full season" now in the near/immediate future. There's a chance she may still get called up, but it appears that Jill is looking at exploring with others, while also reverting back to what she feels comfortable with in the end (her veterans).

As far as stating the ones who are slightly slipping, I could see the two BC players (Meehan, Dowd) getting drafted lower than nearly everyone was predicting earlier for them. The Breakers should be able to at least get one of them in the middle rounds. Hatch has moved ahead of them for sure. Jordan is ahead of them, provided she even declares for the draft.

Serina Kashimoto (from Japan) could really surprise people in this draft. It wouldn't be a surprise to see her taken a lot higher than originally anticipated.

http://butlersports.com/roster.aspx?rp_id=4189

 

Here are the top players from TDS:
http://www.topdrawersoccer.com/college-soccer/college-national-top-100/women

 

Her draft status has certainly gone up in the 2018 NWSL Draft ...........

 

I think that is something they should consider.
Trading down for more picks.
They already have a championship worthy starting lineup, and coaching (Paul Riley is a winning "eastern" coach).
Sometimes, geography, setting, comfort, time/place, it just matters.

But WNY still needs more "depth" among their reserves.
They don't really need another superstar.
And they can still get a potential future star with their #7 pick.
But if they trade out of their #2 pick, they can maybe acquire 3 picks out of it, and a valuable current reserve.

Right now, the Flash have the #2, #7, and the #18 pick.
Sky Blue has the #4, #10, #23, #24, #30, and #34 picks.

Sky Blue needs superstars.
WNY needs depth.

So how about this trade?

WNY trades the #2 pick to Sky Blue for the #10 pick, #23 (2nd round), #24 pick (2nd round), and Nikki Stanton.
Plus, Britt Eckerstrom is thrown in the deal from WNY, to give Sky Blue another goalkeeper (which they could use).
WNY still has Sabrina D'Angelo and Katelyn Rowland as their goalkeepers.

Nikki Stanton is not a star player, but does provide experience and depth for the Flash midfield, as a reserve.
The Flash can use that depth in their midfield.

After this trade, Sky Blue now has the #2, #4, #30, and #34 picks, plus an NWSL worthy goalkeeper they can use.
Honestly, Eckerstrom could even become their starter.

Sky Blue can then draft Morgan Andrews/Rose Lavelle (one of the two), and Savannah Jordan/Ashley Hatch (one of those two as well). That's a dynamite midfielder, and a dynamite striker. And Sky Blue needs to do that, and build young from the ground up, like WNY has been doing. Sky Blue can then get Serina Kashimoto with the #30 pick. She can be a steal and a very dynamic outside back for them, and maybe that frees up an opportunity in the future to trade Kelley O'Hara for more draft picks in the 2018 NWSL Draft or so.

As for WNY, after trading down in the 2017 Draft with Sky Blue in this hypothetical deal, they would have the #7, #10, #18, #23, and #24 picks. That is very meaty.

Lots of quality options there, and this draft will be very deep for at least the first 25 picks overall, so they can now get five rookies to come in and help out with depth (and gives them some margin for error in this draft). They can take a risk or two.

 

If we're just talking about identity here, in terms of rookies matching a team's identity or need.

Kadeisha Buchanan (Boston)
Ashley Lawrence (Boston)
Morgan Andrews (FCKC) (FCKC identity, getting a potential rookie of the year, especially if she is not capped yet)
Rose Lavelle (WNY) (identity here, Levelle and Mewis together in the midfield, they just go together here)
Savannah Jordan (Seattle) (her style as a striker fits here, they'll need goals with getting less from their MF (Little)
Ashley Hatch (Salt Lake) (it's just a perfect match, a match made in NWSL Expansion Heaven)
Christina Gibbons (Houston) (would fit the rest of their younger crop) (Houston won't get her though)
Jane Campbell (Seattle) (Hope's replacement, and that may be needed immediately)

 

IMO, the 5 top picks will be:

Buchanan
Lavelle
Andrews
Campbell
Jordan

Not necessarily in that order.

 

Jane Campbell could be taken in the Top 5, and should be a clear-cut first round pick.
Jordan should be taken over Hatch. Hatch could still be taken in the first round.
Morgan Andrews may be the most likely candidate right now to be Rookie of the Year.
Especially if she ends up going to a team that is at least .500 next year, and fighting for a playoff spot.

 

CHICAGO (Nov. 3, 2016) –
The National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) announced today the 2017 NWSL College Draft will be held on Thursday, Jan. 12, 2017 at the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) Convention in Los Angeles, Calif.
2017 NWSL College Draft
JW Marriott – Los Angeles at L.A. Live
900 W Olympic Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90015
Thursday, Jan. 12, 2017
Start time: 1pm ET
Room: Diamond Ballroom
The draft will be held in the Diamond Ballroom at the JW Marriott – Los Angeles at L.A. Live and will be open to the public and media. In addition, NWSL will once again live stream the draft with more details to be announced.
The latest order for the 2017 College Draft can be found here. You can also find the selections from the 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016 drafts on NWSLsoccer.com.
For a complete schedule of events and more information about the 2017 NSCAA Convention, please visit the official website at nscaaconvention.com