Utah Royals add Emily Gray and Francesca Tagliaferri from North Carolina

The Courage midfield duo join Utah Royals FC as the second and third players under the club's relaunch, following midfielder Mikayla Cluff (Orlando) and defender Kayleigh Riehl (San Diego).

You thought the trade announcements were done today? The Utah Royals are just getting started.

A few hours after announcing the addition of San Diego Wave defender Kaleigh Riehl, the Royals added two players from North Carolina, sending $30,000 in allocation money and expansion protection to the Courage in exchange for midfielders Emily Gray and Francesca “Frankie” Tagliaferri.

Riehl and Tagliaferri played together for three years at Penn State, while the Carolina duo both come from South Jersey.

With the move, three clubs — Orlando Pride, San Diego Wave, and the North Carolina Courage — have expansion protection from Utah, which will pick second in the upcoming NWSL expansion draft. Teams could lose no more than two players to the Royals and fellow expansion side Bay FC, while protecting nine players each for an ineligible group that also includes unsigned free agents, under-18 players, individuals on any team’s discovery list, players with a “no-trade” clause, and any player marked for injury, retirement or loan prior to Jan. 1, 2024, which must be shared with the expansion teams, according to the league.

Gray, 23, returns to the NWSL after missing the entire 2023 season following surgery to repair a torn ACL. The former No. 3 overall pick in the 2022 NWSL college draft appeared in three games as a rookie, logging 176 minutes and two assists in two starts with three chances created and completing 69.1% of her passes.

The highest draft pick in Virginia Tech history, Gray led the Hokies to three NCAA tournament appearances and finished her career tied for fourth in program history with 27 goals and second with 24 assists.

“I’m really excited for this opportunity to further my career with the Utah Royals,” Gray said. “Obviously, Amy Rodriguez is a proven winner, and I’m looking forward to her leadership, to being coached by her and achieving great things at this club. I cannot wait to arrive in Utah and get things started.”

Tagliaferri, 24, joins the Royals after appearing in eight games in 2023, including three starts, logging one assist and five chances created in 261 minutes. The 5-foot-7 midfielder also started five of six matches in the 2023 NWSL Challenge Cup, when she scored two goals with one assist in 356 minutes and won 50% of her duels and completed 70.3% of her tackles.

The former Penn State standout scored 27 goals with 26 assists in 90 appearances in four years with the Nittany Lions before transferring to Rutgers for a fifth season and starting all 25 games with 13 goals and nine assists.

The two-time All-American was the 2021 Big Ten Midfielder of the year and a three-time All-Big Ten first-team selection.

“I’m extremely excited for everything this opportunity has to offer, to go somewhere new to test my abilities and play soccer with another amazing club, learning from new players and staff,” said Tagliaferri, who appeared in a total of 114 games in her NCAA career after starring on the U.S. youth international level. “I’ve seen and heard so many amazing things about the Utah Royals club, they’ve handled everything so awesomely, the facilities are top-notch and obviously Amy is amazing. Growing up, I watched her closely — she was a favorite player of mine, winning gold medals and playing in World Cups, displaying grit and determination and so much heart.

“Talking to her now, I can feel how excited she is to build this roster, to prepare us to be successful as we kick off new eras — individually and collectively — in Utah.”

All announcements from the two-day NWSL trade window must be made by 1 p.m. MT Monday, when NWSL free agency opens.

The NWSL expansion draft, where Utah is slated to pick second with Northern California side Bay FC, is scheduled for Friday, Dec. 15 at 5 p.m. MT on CBS Sports Network and CBS Sports Golazo.