ESPN.com · Mar 7, 2025
How NWSL, its players plan to thrive without college drafts
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When NCAA All-American striker Diana Ordóñez debuted in the NWSL in 2022, there was little more that she could ask from her rookie season with the North Carolina Courage. Within her first professional year, Ordonez immediately became a star for the Courage, broke the league's scoring record for a rookie, and also earned a call-up for Mexico's national team.
The only problem: She had no say in going to North Carolina.
"I'm incredibly grateful for the experiences that I had there, the coaches that I had, the teammates," the now-Houston Dash forward told ESPN about her first club. "[But] I didn't get to choose to go there, they picked me.