It’s that time of year again: the time when the most talented unpaid soccer players in what shouldn’t be our nation’s primary player development system gather together in the hopes of getting paid a very small amount as nominal professionals. That's right folks, it's the NWSL draft!
This year the Thorns have their natural second-round pick (17th overall) and their natural fourth-round pick (35th overall) and that is it. The club traded their 2019 third-round pick to the Chicago Red Stars during last year’s draft for a third-round pick that would become Bella Geist, and they traded their 2019 first-round pick to the Washington Spirit midway through the season for an international spot—as well as the ever-popular "future considerations"—to keep all their visa players rostered.