Chicago makes Bywaters first pick in NWSL history

She’s 21 years old, part of the United States’ U-23 player pool, and the current Pac-12 Player of the Year, but a few minutes after 9:00 a.m. Eastern on Friday morning, UCLA forward Zakiya Bywaters had another claim to fame. The Las Vegas native became the first college draft pick in National Women’s Soccer League history.

“I always knew after school I wanted to play professional soccer, I just didn’t know the means of how I was going to get there,” Bywaters said after the Chicago Red Stars made her the day’s surprise first overall pick. “I just took it day-by-day and made sure the environment I was in was helping me prepare for this day, so I’m very pleased with the outcome.”

It looks like a need pick for Chicago. After last week’s allocation, the Red Stars were left reliant on 34-year-old Maribel Dominguez for goalscoring. Bywaters’ athleticism, speed, and versatility led to her being selected ahead of highly-rated prospects Kristie Mewis (Boston College) and Christie Nairn (Penn State). The two midfielders fell to third and seventh, respectively.

Those steals made Kansas City and Seattle two of Friday’s winners. With Mewis, Kansas City gets a potential star to complete a spine that includes likely striker Lauren Cheney, ball winner Desiree Scott, defensive general Becky Sauerbrunn, and veteran goalkeeper Nicole Barnhart. In Seattle, Nairn’s best-case scenario would give former Arsenal Ladies coach Laura Harvey the type of midfield punch she enjoyed in London with England international Kelly Smith.

Another potential steal fell to Portland in the third round. North Carolina’s Amber Brooks, who signed with Bayern Munich last week, was selected with the last pick of the third round. Should the midfielder/defender return this summer, Thorns FC will add another first round-level talent. The fact that her name wasn’t pulled from the draft hints the former Tar Heel will play with Portland this summer.

But theme of the day was addressing need. With only six-or-seven players on each team’s books, the league’s eight clubs used the draft to address holes. The Boston Breakers selected three midfielders to complement right winger Heather O’Reilly. A Washington Spirit team lacking attackers took forwards with their first two picks. Five goalkeepers were taken among the day’s 32 picks.

Here are the full results (as copy-and-pasted from the link, above):

First round

1. Chicago Red Stars – Zakiya Bywaters, F, UCLA
2. Washington Spirit – Tiffany McCarty, F, Florida State
3. FC Kansas City – Kristin Mewis, M, Boston College
4. Sky Blue FC – Lindsi Linsonbee-Cutshall, D, BYU
5. Boston Breakers – Casey Short, M/D, Florida State
6. Western New York Flash – Adrianna Franch, G, Oklahoma State
7. Seattle Reign FC – Christine Nairn, M, Penn State
8. Portland Thorns FC – Kathryn Williamson, D, Florida

Second round

9. Chicago Red Stars – Rachel Quon, D, Stanford
10. Washington Spirit – Caroline Miller, F, Virginia
11. FC Kansas City – Erika Tmyrak, F/M, Florida
12. Sky Blue FC – Kendall Johnson, M/D, Portland
13. Boston Breakers – Mariah Nogueira, M, Stanford
14. Western New York Flash – Amy Barczuk, M, Colorado
15. Seattle Reign FC – Mallory Schaffer, M, William and Mary
16. Portland Thorns FC – Nicolette Radovcic, F, Central Florida

Third round

17. Chicago Red Stars – Taylor Vancil, G, Florida State
18. Washington Spirit – Holly King, M, Florida
19. FC Kansas City – Whitney Berry, M/F, Kansas
20. Sky Blue FC – Ashley Baker, G, Georgia
21. Boston Breakers – Jo Dragotta, D, Florida
22. Western New York Flash – Victoria DiMartino, F, Boston College
23. Seattle Reign FC – Kristen Meier, M, Wake Forest
24. Portland Thorns FC – Amber Brooks, M/D, North Carolina

Fourth round

25. Chicago Red Stars – Jen Hoy, F, Princeton
26. Washington Spirit – Colleen Williams, M, Dayton
27. FC Kansas City – Nia Williams, D, Missouri State
28. Sky Blue FC – Becky Kaplan, F, Maryland
29. Boston Breakers – Maddy Evans, M, Penn State
30. Western New York Flash – Jackie Logue, D, Wake Forest
31. Seattle Reign FC – Haley Kopmeyer, G, Michigan
32. Portland Thorns FC – Roxanne Barker, G, Pepperdine

And thanks to US Soccer, we have the draft by team: