Angel City now hold the No. 1 selection in next week’s 2023 NWSL Draft after completing a pair of trades on Thursday.
Angel City dealt its initial first-round pick (No. 5 overall), its second-round pick in 2024 and $200,000 to the Portland Thorns to acquire midfielder Yazmeen Ryan.
Then the Los Angeles-based club traded Ryan and $250,000 to NJ/NY Gotham FC in exchange for the No. 1 pick.
Angel City will use the selection to sign Harvard-Westlake’s Alyssa Thompson.
The club was an expansion team last season, its ownership group featuring soccer legends Mia Hamm, Julie Foudy and Abby Wambach, along with Serena Williams and actresses Eva Longoria, Jessica Chastain and Natalie Portman.
Angel City went 8-9-5 in its inaugural season and did not make the playoffs.
“We were extremely proud of the product we put on the field in our inaugural season, but we have our sights set on making the playoffs and winning championships,” general manager Angela Hucles Mangano said in a news release. “We know that in order to achieve these goals, we have to set ourselves up for on-field success for many years to come, which is why we wanted to be able to control our destiny with the No. 1 overall draft pick of the 2023 Draft. We are focused on making as big of an impact on the field as possible, and we look forward to being able to do so in our second season.”
The draft will be held on Jan. 12 in Philadelphia.
