NWSL Ending Their Draft – What That Means For Your Career

The big news in August 2024 was that the NWSL is ending their college draft. This is a monumental shift in the college-to-professional pipeline and is going to significantly impact how NWSL teams build their rosters. Instead of having to pick in order, it will be more like the college recruitment process – a free for all where you will be able to negotiate with teams directly. This is likely good news for your career.

What the NWSL Draft Ending Truly Means

The draft is a special moment when it feels all the hard work – the individual training, the long drives to games, the recovering from injuries – pays off. You made it, you’re a professional soccer player now!

But that’s when the work begins. Literally – getting paid to play the game changes it from fun to work. We’re not saying this for any other reason than to say that the end of the draft for the NWSL is not changing much in reality.

While we don’t fully know how it will work going forward, we can make educated guesses. Without the draft, the college-to-pro pipeline is going to likely be more like the academies-to-first-team pathways in Europe. Teams are going to scout more for needs than resign themselves to seeing what’s available when it’s their pick. They’re going to look at who you are as a person and get a feel for how you will integrate into the team.

How This Should Change Your Approach Off The Field

On the field, it shouldn’t change anything. And with your team (whether you are playing in college now or are in high school at a club looking to move to a college program in the next few years) your focus should be the same.

Off the field, networking will be more important. Using social media to stay connected to everyone you know in the soccer community is vital – just as finding out your U13 coach played college ball with the head coach at a University, finding someone you’re close to is scouting for an NWSL team or coming on as their goalkeeper coach is an important leg up.

Additionally, look at the NWSL teams and specifically the players that play your positions. Look for the team you could help the most based on style of play, depth, players likely to retire in the next year or two. Do that legwork, find their Sporting Director, and see if you have any connections in common. Then see if you can send along some game tape to get on their radar.  

When Should You Get an Agent?

This is an important question – and the answer is it remains to be seen. When the NWSL Draft was the main pathway, getting ready for the draft was the right time to get an Agent.

Now, you should expect to start getting those calls earlier from Agents looking to work with you. When you should get an agent depends on when you are ready to actively make the jump from college to the pros.

In the end, the one constant in life is change. This feels like the earth is shifting underneath our feet, but the truth is it’s the way it always was – a mechanism that was in place is just being removed. How you handle it determines what happens next. And the good news: this opens more pathways to getting to the next level.

If you want to talk to someone that’s gone through the college-to-pro transition, or someone that went from the academy-to-pro move, contact us. We’re happy to sit down and see if we’d be a good fit to mentor you through the process.