With the 2023 draft in the rearview and the start of the season just[two months away,](https://www.nwslsoccer.com/news/nwsl-announces-2023-season-schedule-footprint) a new class of rookies is ready to hit the pitch. On January 12, 48 players came one step closer to their NWSL dreams becoming a reality.
You heard their names called. Now, let’s get to know the 2023 draft class. This is the first of a four-part series, you guessed it, one round a day.
**Alyssa Thompson, Angel City FC**
At just 18, Alyssa Thompson is already making a splash. She’ll be staying in her native Los Angeles as part of Angel City FC, and General Manager [Angela Hucles Mangano called Thompson](https://www.angelcity.com/news/article/no-place-like-home-angel-city-selects-alyssa-thompson-at-2023-draft) “a generational player” who could “make an immediate impact.”
She is the youngest draftee in NWSL history and the first to be drafted straight from high school. She becomes Angel City’s FC’s first-ever number one overall pick.
Last fall, Thompson made her international debut at Wembley Stadium with the US Women’s National Team against England, making her the 70th teenager to ever make their debut for the USWNT and the youngest to debut for the USWNT in the last five years. [Empty Body]
**Michelle Cooper, Kansas City Current**
As a true sophomore, Michelle Cooper declared for the draft in early December, making her the first Duke soccer player to leave early to pursue a professional career, per [ The Duke Chronicle.](https://www.dukechronicle.com/article/2022/12/duke-womens-soccer-michelle-cooper-professional-announcement) She again made school history in January when she was voted the 2022 [MAC Hermann Trophy](http://www.machermanntrophy.org/) winner, an honor given to the top college soccer player.
Aside from her sheer talent, Cooper’s reputation as an outstanding teammate precedes her. She [told The Duke Chronicle](https://www.dukechronicle.com/article/2022/11/duke-womens-soccer-michelle-cooper-ncaa-tournament) that when her mom signed her up for soccer at a young age hoping she’d “run [her] energy off,” she found something more than an outlet in the game. Being able to share it with friends made it even more special. As her Blue Devils career blossomed, a few of her U8 teammates came out from Michigan to support her. [Empty Body]
**Emily Madril, Orlando Pride**
As the third overall pick, Emily Madril will be staying in her home state to begin her professional career. Madril grew up in Navarre and attended Florida State University, where she helped the Seminoles win two national titles. She was the first of three FSU players to be selected in the first round.
Madril forwent her final season of eligibility to pursue professional opportunities in Sweden, and also signed a general contract with the league so that she’d be eligible for the
January draft. She signed with BK Häcken FF in August 2022, and in October, she scored her first international goal in impressive fashion. Madril subbed in and scored on her very first touch of the game. [Empty Body]
**Jenna Nighswonger, NJ/NY Gotham FC**
Jenna Nighswonger was a consistent force at Florida State University, finishing her career with 72 total points, including 19 goals and 34 assists. The Tallahassee Democrat even dubbed Nighswonger the “queen of the corner kick.”
As impressive as her legacy at FSU might be (which includes winning the 2021 NCAA championship), one emotional moment just may top all the rest.
After losing her grandfather and traveling back to New England last September, Nighswonger returned to her team without missing any game action. In the two games following his death, Nighswonger notched two goals and five assists.
“I know my grandpa was always proud of me for what I did. And I think it's really nice to have gotten the goals in the past few games just to put my mind at ease and get the stress away,” she told The Tallahassee Democrat.
**Reyna Reyes, Portland Thorns FC**
Reyna Reyes wants to make history.
At just 14, she made the U-17 Mexico National Team and competed in the 2016 U-17 World Cup in Jordan. Though Mexico fell short in the quarterfinals, she penned an essay about what it meant to return in 2018 as a veteran for the team.
Mexico made it all the way to the U-17 World Cup final in 2018, but lost to Spain.
“To this day, I reflect on those first 15 minutes, wishing we could have them back. But at the same time, I got to go home with a silver medal. And that ain’t so bad either,” Reyes wrote.
Despite the heartbreak of the loss, Reyes said all of those moments led her to Alabama and to the moment her name was called in the draft.
“The road to the pros is difficult, I know. I’ve already had my fair share of bumps and bruises in my early career days,” she wrote. “But I guess that’s the price you have to pay. Especially if you want to write history.”
**Olivia Wingate, North Carolina Courage**
For any young girl playing soccer, No. 9 means one thing: Mia Hamm.
Olivia Wingate is no exception. Wingate rocked No. 9 at Notre Dame in honor of her childhood idol. With Hamm in mind, it is no wonder Wingate showed mental fortitude in her time with the Fighting Irish. She said she had to fight early in her career to earn her opportunities, something that will only benefit her in this next chapter.
“I think that I’m very prepared, and maybe a little bit more prepared than some other girls in this draft. I think that throughout my college career, I didn’t get a ton of playing time ... It was really hard to work up to where I was my grad year, my senior year, and some of my junior year,” Wingate recently told The New England Soccer Journal. “It mostly took off after COVID. So, I think that I’m very prepared, because I kind of already went through that. I kind of already have that mentality of ‘I’m just here to control what I can control.'”
[Empty Body]
**Penelope Hocking, Chicago Red Stars**
Penelope Hocking was selected seventh overall in the draft, and as it turns out she is not the only professional athlete in her immediate family.
Her fraternal twin sister, Iliana, was selected by NJ/NY Gotham FC in the fourth round of the 2023 draft. Additionally, Hocking’s father, Denny, spent 13 years in Major League Baseball, playing for the Twins, Rockies and Royals, and their mother, Venetta, played collegiate basketball. So, yes, it is safe to say it is a competitive family by nature.
Penelope and Iliana spent most of their lives playing alongside one another, but they went separate ways in college. Penelope headed off to USC before eventually transferring to Penn State for her final year of eligibility, and Iliana attended the University of Arizona. Having both attended Pac-12 schools, the sibling rivalry did in fact heat up.
Now, they just might have the chance to face off yet again in the pros.
**Sydney Collins, North Carolina Courage**
The Hocking family isn’t alone in making professional sports a family affair. Defender Sydney Collins comes from an athletic home, as well. Her mother, Susan, played professional volleyball in Canada. Her father, Brett, played in the NFL for three seasons with the Green Bay Packers and the Los Angeles Rams, as well as in the CFL.
The three-year captain for the Bears at California was the [only Canadian](https://canadiansoccerdaily.com/2023/01/13/sydney-collins-selected-in-2023-nwsl-draft-as-the-lone-canadian-drafted/) selected in this year’s draft. A dual citizen, she has played for US youth national teams, but she still has the option to play for either side’s senior squad.
**Clara Robbins, North Carolina Courage**
Clara Robbins is a college soccer veteran of the highest order.
Robbins played six seasons at Florida State University and was part of two national championship teams. In December 2021, she earned her masters degree in exercise physiology. She played in 110 games, the most in FSU’s history and the second-most in women’s Division 1 college soccer history.
After the resignation of Head Coach Mark Krikorian in the spring 2022, Robbins’s decision to return to FSU provided a sense of stability for the team. With new leadership coming in, Robbins helped Coach Brian Pensky’s transition into the role.
“Two national championships, a bunch of ACC championships, two ACC tournament MVP honors. She's got a lot and is an engaged young woman," Pensky [told The Tallahassee Democrat.](https://www.tallahassee.com/story/sports/college/fsu/football/2022/10/26/seminoles-soccer-7th-year-player-clara-robbins-doesnt-regret-returning-fsu/10578883002/) "So there's a lot to Clara ... She's a wonderful person and can have a long life in this game, if she chooses to do so."
**Alexa Spaanstra, Kansas City Current**
Alexa Spaanstra made a splash from the get-go at the University of Virginia. In 2019, she was named the Female Rookie of the Year at the Hoos Choice Awards.
Though she found success as a forward her first season, Spaanstra showed versatility when she moved positions coming into her sophomore year. When asked ahead of the 2019 Women’s World Cup who on the national team she looked up to, Spaanstra said saw herself in Julie Ertz.
“In college, she was a forward/midfielder for Santa Clara,” Spaanstra [told her school’s newspaper.](”https://www.cavalierdaily.com/article/2019/10/looking-up-to-the-champions-no-1-womens-soccer-picks-favorite-players-on-the-u-s-womens-national-team”) “When she first started playing for the national team she was put as a center back and is now playing center mid. My first year in college, I was an outside forward, and now during my second year, I am playing center mid.”
[Empty Body]
**Haley Hopkins, North Carolina Courage**
For most draft picks, making it to this moment is the culmination of a lifelong dream. Forward Haley Hopkins is no different, and she has the proof.
“I looked back at a couple time capsules I made back in Girl Scouts in like second grade and was like, what do you want to be when you grow up? A professional soccer player,” Hopkins [said in her post-draft media availability.](https://www.forbes.com/sites/howardmegdal/2023/01/12/destinies-fulfilled-childhood-dreams-realized-at-the-2023-nwsl-draft/?sh=2f39f4fc49b0)
A Newport Beach, Calif. native, Hopkins spent four years at Vanderbilt, earning a bachelor’s degree in medicine, health and society and putting her name in the record books as Vandy’s second all-time leader scorer. With years of playing eligibility available and a post-soccer goal of becoming a [physician assistant](https://virginiasports.com/news/2021/09/15/hopkins-embraces-life-as-cavalier/) , Hopkins arrived at the University of Virginia as a graduate transfer. She tallied 58 points in two seasons, while beginning her master’s of public health.
She’s not the first member of her family to star for Virginia athletics or get drafted professionally. Her father, David, played football and baseball at the school. A right-handed pitcher, he was drafted in the 14th round of the 1982 MLB draft by the Texas Rangers.
[Empty Body]
**Izzy D’Aquila, Portland Thorns FC**
Izzy D’Aquila is a student of the game, and [cites several of the game’s greats](https://www.sfchronicle.com/sports/college/article/Izzy-D-Aquila-has-joined-Santa-Clara-s-galaxy-17590773.php) as inspiration for her, including Mia Hamm and Abby Wambach.
Hailing from Santa Clara University, she’s even gotten to learn from some of those heroes, including Brandi Chastain, who has volunteered as an assistant coach for the Broncos, a relationship that D’Aquila said she appreciates greatly.
Because she grew up watching some of the greats, she knows that the next generation’s eyes might just be on her, and that’s a responsibility she doesn’t take lightly.
“To think that I am 19 and there are little girls who look up to me is incredible,” D’Aquila [told She Plays.](https://ncaasoccer.she-plays.com/2021/06/07/how-izzy-daquila-and-santa-clara-conquered-the-ncaa-tournament/) “It’s not just for soccer. It’s not just for myself, that it is inspiring other little boys and girls to follow their dreams.”
**Get to Know the Rookies**
[Get to Know the Rookies - Round 2](https://www.nwslsoccer.com/news/get-to-know-the-rookies-round-2)
[Get to Know the Rookies - Round 3](https://www.nwslsoccer.com/news/get-to-know-the-rookies-round-3)
[Get to Know the Rookies - Round 4](https://www.nwslsoccer.com/news/get-to-know-the-rookies-round-4)

Match Highlights

Match Highlights