Utah Royals select American Ally Sentnor, 19, 1st overall in NWSL draft

The Utah Royals took University of North Carolina's Ally Sentnor, the Atlantic Coast Conference Midfielder of the Year, with the first pick of the NWSL draft Friday.

The 19-year-old sophomore scored 11 goals and adding seven assists for 29 points, all which led North Carolina this season. Sentnor, who can play midfielder and forward, captained the U.S. at the 2022 FIFA U-20 World Cup.

Fellow expansion side Bay FC, from the San Francisco Bay Area, also opted for a teenage Tar Heel with the second pick in the form of 18-year-old defender Savy King. The U.S. youth international logged a team-high 2,030 minutes and was named to ACC All-Freshman team.

Sentnor and King were among the five finalists for U.S. Soccer's 2023 Young Female Player of the Year Award which went to Portland Thorns midfielder Olivia Moultrie.

A DREAM COME TRUE!<br><br>NUMBER 1 PICK! <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NWSLDraft?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NWSLDraft</a> <a href="https://t.co/cnRxEH1Ffc">pic.twitter.com/cnRxEH1Ffc</a>

University of Georgia midfielder Croix Bethune went third to the Washington Spirit, which sent defender Sam Staab to the Chicago Red Stars to get the pick. Bethune played three seasons at USC, where she was twice named PAC-12 Midfielder of the Year, before heading to Georgia where she collected four goals and five assists across 15 matches.

Utah used the fourth pick to select BYU midfielder Brecken Mozingo, a senior who led the Cougars in goals (14) and assists (15) this season. Washington then traded midfielder Ashley Sanchez to the North Carolina Courage in exchange for US$250,000 in allocation and the fifth overall pick which it used to select Clemson defender/midfielder Hal Hershfelt.

UCLA forward Reilyn Turner