Here are the players from Utah registered for Friday's 2024 NWSL Draft
Here are the players from Utah registered for Friday's 2024 NWSL Draft
Registration for the draft closed at midnight Tuesday, locking in over a dozen prospects from Utah for the annual event held Friday in Anaheim, California.
The 2024 NWSL Draft registration is closed, locking in 236 players for the annual event that will be held Friday, Jan. 12 at 5 p.m. PT (6 p.m. MT) during the United Soccer Coaches Convention at the Anaheim Convention Center.
The event is free and open to the public.
ION Television will televise the opening rounds of the draft, with every round available online at ION Plus.
Here’s a look at the 13 players from Utah who completed registration prior to the deadline, starting with six from the NCAA College Cup semifinalist BYU women’s soccer team (in alphabetical order, otherwise).
Former BYU forward Bella Folino (Aliso Viejo, Calif.) and outside back Olivia Smith-Griffitts (Eagle, Idaho) are also registered for the draft.
Ellie Boren, FW/MF, BYU (North Ogden; La Roca FC)
The 5-foot-8 winger from Weber High played mostly outside back for the Cougars, starting all but three games of her final two seasons in a BYU uniform while scoring four goals with 12 assists. A veteran of 91 matches with 44 starts, Boren — who is married to BYU football player Jacob — totaled 10 goals and 14 assists on 108 shots in her collegiate career.
Rachel McCarthy, FW, BYU (American Fork; Utah Celtic)
The 5-foot-7 former state champion at American Fork High can play a handful of positions, but excelled at forward primarily off the bench for the Cougars. McCarthy scored 21 goals with 18 assists in 101 appearances in five years at BYU, coming off the bench in 21- of 22 matches last season and scoring five goals on 29 shots (14 shots on goal).
Brecken Mozingo, FW, BYU (Sandy; Sparta ECNL)
One of the top attacking players in recent decades for BYU, the UCLA transfer and former Alta High star led the Cougars to two NCAA College Cup appearances in three seasons. The two-time All-American was a finalist for the 2023 MAC Hermann Trophy and Honda Sport Award after leading BYU with 14 goals and 15 assists this past season. Mozingo wrapped up her five-year college career with 36 goals and 37 assists in 93 appearances, including 74 starts.
Jamie Shepherd, MF, BYU (American Fork; Utah Celtic)
BYU’s all-time leader in appearances, the former American Fork High star started all 108 games of her five-year collegiate career in a handful of midfield positions — but mostly settled at defensive midfield (No. 6). Shepherd totaled 14 goals and 21 assists on 140 shots, including a goal and five assists as a senior in 2023 in helping the Cougars to their second College Cup semifinal in three years.
Laveni Vaka, DF, BYU (Sandy; Utah Avalanche ECNL)
A Tongan international whose twin sister Daviana also played for the Cougars before transferring to Florida for her senior year, Vaka was the No. 20prep defender in the Class of 2019 by Top Drawer Soccer and anchored the back line at center back for three-straight seasons at BYU. The 5-foot-6 Juan Diego product started 74 of 97 games in her career, including the final 71 matches of her career, with three assists and almost never came off the field during the 2023 season, totaling 2,271 of her career 7,068 minutes.
Olivia Wade-Katoa, FW/MF/DF, BYU (Kaysville; La Roca FC)
A five-time State Cup champion and member of the U.S. U-17 national team pool, Wade-Katoa was the leading scorer at Davis High for three-straight state championship seasons that included two national title nods by MaxPreps and USA TODAY. Joining the Cougars in time for the 2018 season and starting all 19 games with one goal on 22 shots as a freshman, the returned mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Houston, Texas totaled 25 goals and 20 assists in 120 matches, including 97 starts and playing 1,939 minutes of her senior season in an attacking midfield role.
Courtney Brown, MF, Utah (West Haven; La Roca FC)
An accounting major who earned Pac-12 academic honors for four seasons and was academic all-district as a senior in 2023, Brown was one of four players to start all 20 matches of her senior season while tallying a team-high four assists and 10 goals. The 5-foot-7 midfielder from Fremont High started 90 of 94 matches in five years, scoring 14 goals with 15 assists on 156 shots (72 shots on goal) for a total of 7,449 minutes played with the Utes.
Sydney Bushman, DF, Utah Valley (American Fork; Utah Celtic)
A second-team All-American as a freshman at Snow College in 2019, Bushman was another All-Academic standout for the Wolverines who started 75 of 79 matches with 10 goals and four assists in 6,803 minutes in Orem. She had four goals and two assists in each of her two most recent seasons at Utah Valley, earning WAC co-Defensive Player of the Year en route to back-to-back conference championships as part of a back line that totaled six shutouts.
Jenna Shepherd Gremillion, MF/DF, Utah Valley (American Fork; Utah Celtic)
The former multi-sport athlete at American Fork High, Shepherd is one of three sisters playing Division I soccer (with Jamie and Josie at BYU). But the fifth-year senior charted her own course at Utah Valley, where she started 101 of 102 matches on the back line with 11 goals and nine assists on 26 shots. In addition to anchoring the back line to consecutive WAC championships, Shepherd helped UVU to its first-ever at-large bid in the NCAA Tournament in 2022, starting 21 of 22 matches in a record-breaking season and earning WAC Defensive Player of the Year and All-WAC first-team honors while working on her MBA at UVU.
Heather Stainbrook, MF, Utah Valley (Sandy; La Roca FC)
The 5-foot-4 former Alta High star earned WAC Offensive Player of the Year honors as a junior in 2022, when she totaled 13 goals and seven assists in 21 matches for the league champion Wolverines. Stainbrook was also the program’s first-ever Academic All-American while studying behavioral science before wrapping up her five-year career with 40 goals and 25 assists in 102 appearances (8,175 minutes).
Kelsey Kaufusi, DF, Utah State (Syracuse; Crush)
The 2023 Mountain West Defensive Player of the Year and first-team All-Mountain West standout, Kaufusi helped the Aggies field the conference’s top defense with just six goals allowed in 13 Mountain West games. The former Syracuse High standout recorded three assists in a team-high 2,090 minutes as a senior, finishing her career with seven assists and 12 shots on goal in 7,028 minutes over 76 matches — all starts.
Diera Walton, GK, Utah State (Draper; La Roca FC)
The graduate goalkeeper from Jordan High set program records in career shutouts (30), career saves (339) and goalkeeper minutes (7.704) en route to the third-best goals-against average (0.90) in Aggie soccer history. Walton started all 23 games in goal as a senior in 2023, leading Utah State to a 14-8-1 record with nine shutouts, the third-most in a single season in school history, en route to All-Mountain West second-team honors.
Emily Jensen, FW/MF, Saint Mary’s (CA) (Salt Lake City; Utah Soccer Alliance/Utah ODP)
A fifth-year midfielder from East High, Jensen started all 18 games for the Gaels as a senior in 2023 with five goals and two assists, finishing second on the team in goals and second with 24 shots and 15 shots on goal. The Academic All-District selection with a 3.94 GPA in allied health science was an all-state selection for all four years in high school by the Deseret News, including leading her team to the state finals in 2016 and semifinals in 2017.