Bay FC still does not know when the 2024 National Women’s Soccer League’s expansion draft will take place.
But as of Wednesday, they know they’re on the clock.
The NWSL announced several roster procedural decisions on Wednesday for its two new clubs joining in 2024 — Bay FC and the Utah Royals.
Bay FC will have the first choice in the 12-round expansion draft, which is expected to take place in the fall. In prior expansion drafts, this slot has allowed for the expansion clubs to facilitate trades and acquire assets even before making the selection.
Before Bay FC will get to make a choice, each current NWSL team will have the opportunity to protect a set number of players. In the last expansion draft for Angel City FC and San Diego Wave FC, that number was set at nine, with a maximum of one U.S. women’s national team player. Both Angel City and San Diego started to make trades in the run-up to the draft, with the first trade coming as early as August.
The 2024 NWSL Draft order was also set for the two expansions clubs, with Bay FC receiving the second choices in the first and third rounds and the first selections in the second and fourth rounds. That draft typically is held in January, before the start of training camps.
In addition to the draft rules, Utah received priority in the discovery order, which the league uses whenever non-USWNT players are being sought by NWSL teams, and the waiver order, which is used for players cut loose by other NWSL teams.
But Bay FC is now atop the distribution process list, which is used to help place any U.S. women’s national team players who are not in the NWSL but intend to join the league.
The current USWNT roster that will suit up at San Jose’s PayPal Park in a send-off match ahead of this summer’s FIFA Women’s World Cup only has one non-NWSL player — Lindsay Horan, who just signed a long-term deal with Lyon in France and officially left the Portland Thorns. In fact, the vast majority of top American soccer players are currently playing in the NWSL.
But the one USWNT player who is not playing stateside is midfielder Catarina Macario, a Stanford alum who is currently unavailable for the USWNT at the World Cup because of an extended rehabilitation from a torn ACL.
Macario, 23, is considered one of the best women’s footballers in the world, having scored eight goals in 17 career appearances for the USWNT and scoring 22 goals in 33 matches for her French club Lyon in her last full professional season. Her ability to play in both the midfield and up as a forward would have been invaluable for the U.S. in this summer’s World Cup.
When her contract with Lyon expired in early June, Macario signed a three-year deal with English powerhouse Chelsea. It doesn’t seem likely that she’ll want to leave to come to the NWSL.
But if she does, Bay FC may hope her past time in the Bay is a draw. Macario scored 63 goals in 68 matches at Stanford during her collegiate career and led the Cardinal to two national titles (2017, 2019). She even finished her degree at Stanford remotely, graduating in 2021.
If there was ever a young superstar for Bay FC to build around, Macario would be her. And while it may require some patience, they appear to be in prime position to bring her back to the Bay Area if she ever decides to come to the NWSL.
