Two new California-based teams are joining the NWSL for the 2022 season, and next Thursday, December 16, is their opportunity to pluck talent from existing teams to build out their inaugural rosters. Several existing teams have already made deals with Angel City and San Diego to protect all or a subset of their players from selection in the expansion draft, but as of now OL Reign will lose two players next Thursday.
Ahead of the 2022 Expansion Draft, the remaining vulnerable teams can protect nine of their current players, including only one US federation player.