Utah Royals add DF Kaleigh Riehl from NWSL Shield champions San Diego

The 27-year-old defender from Penn State joins Utah in exchange for $60,000 in allocation money and expansion protection for Wave FC in the upcoming NWSL expansion draft.

The Utah Royals family is growing again.

Less than a week after signing the relaunched NWSL expansion club’s first player — former Davis High and BYU midfield ace Mikayla Colohan from Orlando — the Royals were back building the foundation of the roster that will take to America First Field next spring.

Welcome to Utah, Kaleigh Riehl.

Utah announced the signing of the veteran defender Monday morning, sending $60,000 in allocation money and expansion protection in the upcoming NWSL expansion draft to San Diego Wave FC in exchange for the 27-year-old defender who started in 18 of the Wave’s 22 matches in 2023.

In the Royals, Riehl’s professional career comes full circle. The Penn State alum and former Big Ten defender of the year in 2018 made her NWSL debut with Sky Blue (now Gotham) FC against the Royals in the 2020 NWSL Challenge Cup, appearing July 4, 2020 at Zions Bank Stadium in Herriman.

“I’m incredibly excited to join Utah Royals FC. I can’t wait to bring women’s professional soccer back to Utah,” Riehl said. “Amy Rodriguez has an immense amount of knowledge and experience in the game and I can’t wait to learn from her and her staff. I’m looking forward to competing with my teammates every day and contributing to this club in any and every way I can.

“I’m also looking forward to getting to know the city, the fans and the community — everyone who makes this place special.”

Following an eight-game loan to Paris FC in France, Riehl was selected by Louisville in the expansion draft after her rookie season, appearing in 21 matches with the River City club in 2021.

The 5-foot-8 native of Fairfax Station, Virginia, was then selected by San Diego in the 2022 NWSL expansion draft, where she scored one goal in 19 appearances (all but one of them a start) en route to the NWSL shield.

“Both Kelly Cousins and myself are excited to welcome Riehl to the Club,” said Utah coach Amy Rodriguez. “I have no doubt that these players will put their blood, sweat and tears into this team. As we build Utah Royals FC from scratch, these are precisely the type of players that you want — ones that will bring not just talent but also a relentlessness to roll up their sleeves up and get to work.”

The move was announced following the close of a two-day trade window leading open to the start of NWSL free agency Monday. All trade announcements must be made prior to 1 p.m. MT Monday, while the waiver wire will open for two days beginning Tuesday prior to a transaction moratorium beginning Tuesday, Dec. 12 — when teams must submit their listed of protected and unprotected players to Utah and Northern California side Bay FC ahead of the expansion draft.

The NWSL expansion draft is scheduled for Friday, Dec. 15, beginning at 5 p.m. MT. Utah is slated to pick second, with full coverage available on CBS Sports Network and CBS Sports Golazo Network.