Angel City FC positions itself for top 2023 draft spot — angling for player who might not even enter draft

Angel City FC made a pair of transactions with the Portland Thorns and Gotham FC to acquire the No. 1 pick in the 2023 NWSL Draft, the club announced Thursday. A year after trading out of the pole position a season ago, Angel City has traded its way back to the top of the board.

“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 statement.

In a deal with Portland, Angel City sent its 2023 first-round pick – No. 5 overall – along with a 2024 second-rounder and $200,000 in allocation money to the Thorns. In return, Angel City received midfielder Yazmeen Ryan, the No. 6 overall pick in last year’s draft. 

Angel City then flipped Ryan and $250,000 more in allocation money to Gotham in exchange for the No. 1 overall selection in this year’s draft.

“We know that in order to achieve these goals,” Mangano said, “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.”

A year ago, Angel City did not make a selection in either of the first two rounds of the 2022 draft, despite owning the rights to both the No. 1 and No. 6 overall picks. The club sent both, in separate deals, to Louisville for Christen Press and 2022 top-scorer Savannah McCaskill.

Angel City appears to have no such plans this season, as the Los Angeles Times is reporting the club has zeroed in on Harvard-Westlake senior Alyssa Thompson at the top spot. The 18-year-old made a pair of appearances for the senior USWNT last fall, and is nominated for U.S. Soccer Young Female Player of the Year.

While Thompson has already verbally committed to Stanford, she has until midnight PT on Jan. 9 to declare for the draft.